Application of the GRAMC mesh-handling strategy for the simulation of dip and injection lubrication in gearboxes

Abstract

Computer-aided engineering (CAE) refers to software applications aimed at helping solve technological problems through numerical methods. Exploiting CAE, it is possible to evaluate determined systems through virtual models rather than physical prototypes. By doing so, useful information on the system’s performance can be gathered at the beginning of the design phase, when the modifications to the project cost less. In the field of lubrication and efficiency, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been applied to geared transmissions, leading to an important step forward in the understanding of multiphase physics and the optimization of the systems’ layout. Being the simulations of gears non-stationary, the topological changes of the domain require the adoption of mesh-handling strategies capable of accomplishing the boundaries’ rotation. In this analysis, the Global Remeshing Algorithm with Mesh Clustering (GRA^MC), previously developed by the authors to reduce the computational time associated with the remeshing process, is applied to study dip and injection lubrication in helical and spur gearboxes. The results suggest that this methodology is an effective and efficient solution to analyse the lubrication and the efficiency even for complex kinematics. The investigation was conducted in the OpenFOAM framework.