The Measurement of Oil-Film Thickness in Gear Teeth

Abstract

The voltage drop across thin oil films when a constant current of 1 amp is passed, i.e., the discharge voltage, is used to measure the oil-film thickness between loaded gear teeth while running. It is found that the thickness at the pitch line is between 1 and 4 × 10−4 in., which varies slightly with the viscosity and rather more strongly with load. The thickness at the tips and roots is very dependent on the tip relief. The conditions here may explain the difference between disk and gear tests. These experimental values are compared with theoretical work and are shown to be of the same order of magnitude.