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Powder Metal Gears for Highly Loaded Powertrains: How Powder Metallurgy Supports Current Trends in Transmission Technology
Abstract:
The powder metallurgical (PM) process chain allows a resource- and energy-efficient production of powertrain components and, therefore, leads to a greener production process while being more economic than established cutting processes. Hence, PM powertrain components can be a cost-saving factor. Furthermore, current trends in automotive drivetrain development simultaneously demand for two challenging objectives: the increase of power density and lightweight design and the reduction of noise emission. The PM technology offers an integrative solution equalizing the trade-off between both aspects. With PM processes, multiple degrees of freedom arise compared to the conventional process chain regarding geometry and material properties.
In this article, acoustic benefits of PM due to damping and insulation effects of porous materials will be discussed as well as strategies for the optimization of noise excitation by a stiffness-based geometry design of densified PM gears with finite element (FE) approaches. Regardless, the manufacturing of PM components needs a whole new process chain than powertrain components from wrought steel. Hence, this article also evaluates the manufacturing-related properties of PM components, their influence on the operational behavior, and how this can be considered already in the design process.