Simulation of Oil Flow in Gear Box Housing

In a mechanical complex system like the gear box of a power train the friction is responsible for the heat released and thus also responsible for the high temperatures. Therefore the various parts have to be cooled. The “ideal” gear box has minimized oil capacity with good lubrication of the rotating parts and a minimized heat release.

The paper describes a simulation method and the models applied to compute the oil flow in gear box housing. The simulation methods are validated with various measurement techniques (High Speed Camera, Laser Doppler Anemometry, Particle Image Velocimetry). Theses measurements are performed on modified gear box housing with optical access.

The paper shows the actual status of the simulation method developed and gives and outlook on the ongoing work. The results look very promising so that we are confident that the models and methods applied are able to depict the complex processes when looking on the oil flow in gear box housing.