Gearbox Sloshing Effect using ANSYS FLUENT
Objective
To analyse the flow pattern of the fluid for two different clearances of the same geometry.
- Normal Clearance
- Increased Clearance
Normal Clearance
Geometry
This is the 2D geometry of the normal clearance gearbox.
Mesh
The element size is given as 0.75 mm with method of Triangle method which gives a element count of 42137.
Below are the two different fluid elements for the Normal Clearance case.
Case 1 with water
The time step size is given as 5e-5.
No of time steps as 1000
No number iterations per time step 20.
Below are the residuals and the Contour of Volume fraction of Water.
Residuals
Contour of Water
Animation of Water
Case 2 with Oil
The time step size is given as 5e-5.
No of time steps as 1000
No number iterations per time step 20.
Changes to the material has been made from water to Oil where there is a change in density and Viscocity.
Below are the residuals and the Contour of Volume fraction of Oil.
Residuals
Contour of Oil
Animation of Oil
Comparison of Case 1 and Case 2
When comparing both the cases ,the dispersion of the oil lubricant is more efficient.THis is because of the viscocity and density of the fluid properties.
Increased Clearance
Geometry
This is the 2D geometry of the normal clearance gearbox.
Mesh
The element size is given as 0.75 mm with method of Triangle method which gives a element count of 45205.
Increased Clearance
Case 3- Increased Clearance of Oil
The time step size is given as 5e-5.
No of time steps as 1000
No number iterations per time step 20.
Below are the residuals and the Contour of Volume fraction of Oil.
Residuals
Contour of Oil
Animation of Oil
Case 4-Increased Clearance of Water
The time step size is given as 5e-5.
No of time steps as 1000
No number iterations per time step 20.
Changes to the material has been made from oil to water where there is a change in density and Viscocity.
Below are the residuals and the Contour of Volume fraction of Oil.
Residuals
Contour of Water
Animation of Increased Clearance of Water
Comparison of Case 3 and Case 4
When comparing case 3and 4 the case 3 has even distribution of the lubricant.
This is because of the property of the lubricant , during the rotation of the gear the lubricant in case 4 begins to fall since the viscocity of water is low when compared to viscocity of oil.
Conclusion
Therefore we can come conclusion better lubricant can lead to decreace wear and tear of the gears.
When comparing the two clearance cases and different lubricants Oil lubricant has performed well and with increased clearance gives improved overall lubrications.