Computerised design, simulation of meshing and stress analysis of bionic logarithmic spiral spur gear drives

Inspired by the inherent properties of logarithmic spiral in nature, a new cylindrical spur gear drives using logarithmic spiral as a gear tooth profile is proposed. The logarithmic spiral property is explored, and then the equation of meshing, conjugate tooth profile and contact path of the proposed gear pairs are derived. The meshing characteristics of the new pair are investigated, such as pressure angle, contact ratio and sliding ratio. Simulation analysis of the strength, transmission error and transmission efficiency are used to validate the performance of the gear pairs before production of the proposed gear, followed by gluing load capacity and bending fatigue strength testing of the fabricated gear pairs. The results show that the pressure angle at any point of the tooth profile on the proposed gear is constant and equal to the logarithmic spiral strike angle. The contact ratio of the gear decreases with the increase of the strike angle. Compared with that of involute gears, logarithmic spiral gears have better performance in terms of strength, transmission error, transmission efficiency and lifetime.