Research on the running-in scuffing of aviation spiral bevel gears based on measured analysis of surface integrity parameters
YIN Feng
YANG Duo
DENG Mingming
TANG Jinyuan
FENG Xin
Abstract：[Objective]The primary failure modes of aviation spiral bevel gears include tooth surface scuffing,wear,and scoring.Current evaluation methods for these failures neglect the influence of surface integrity parameters,making it difficult to accurately assess the correlation between the appearance of scuffing and the actual degree of damage.This study was conducted to establish a clear relation between surface integrity parameters and the extent of tooth surface damage.[Methods]Taking a pair of aviation main reducer spiral bevel gears as the research object,the evolution of its surface integrity parameters—surface roughness,residual stress,and surface layer crystal structure—was systematically measured and analyzed pre-and post-scuffing.Specifically,the surface morphology skewness and kernel average misorientation maps at various depths were employed to quantitatively characterize the scuffing topography and the micro-plastic strain state.Based on the numerical changes in these integrity parameters,the actual damage state of the tooth flank was analyzed,leading to the proposal of a new concept and a precise evaluation method for a phenomenon termed"running-in scuffing".[Results]For the specific aviation spiral bevel gears studied,significant contact stress and high sliding velocity during test runs lead to tooth surface scuffing.The surface integrity parameters after scuffing are characterized by a decrease in surface roughness,a surface skewness approaching zero,an increase in residual compressive stress,and grain refinement.This type of scuffing is defined as"running-in scuffing",and it is proposed that gears exhibiting these characteristics can continue in service and should not be classified as failed.This research provides a new perspective on the classification and evaluation of gear tooth scuffing and offers a reference for troubleshooting scuffing faults in aviation gears.
Keywords：Spiral bevel gearRunning-in scuffingIntegrity parameter
Publication Date：2026-08-15
Online Publishing Date：2026-09-12(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：13( 58-70 )