Design,fabrication,and static performance evaluation of carbon Fiber

Abstract

The automotive industry continuously seeks innovative materials to enhance performance, efficiency, and sustainability in component manufacturing. Spur gears are cylindrical toothed components widely used in industrial equipment to transmit mechanical motion and control speed, power, and torque. This study presents a theoretical and computational investigation of composite spur gears, focusing on optimizing their mechanical properties. The Taguchi method was employed to determine the optimal composition of carbon fiber (CF) and resin matrix layered with metal (Steel/Aluminum) wired array hybrid composite. Static structural finite element analysis (FEA) compared the performance of traditional steel gears with three composite variants, evaluating equivalent stress, total deformation, and factor of safety. The optimized composites were manufactured using a stacking method and water jet machining (WJM), with hybrid layered composite reinforcement enhancing toughness and compressive strength. Experimental validation via coupon-scale compression testing on UTM revealed that CF-reinforced composites with steel (Composite B) exhibited superior bending strength (62.3 MPa) and minimal deformation. The novel design achieved a sustainable gear design under high bending stress (supported by FEA and experimental data) and reduced gearbox weight by 18–20%, offering a promising solution for automotive applications.

Keywords

static analysis Taguchi method hybrid composite gears static structural analysis layered composite fabrication

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Pawar

Utpat

. Analysis of composite material spur gear under static loading condition. Mater Today Proc 2015; 2(4–5): 2968–2974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2015.07.278

Mahakul

Thatoi

Choudhury

, et al. Design and numerical analysis of spur gear using SolidWorks simulation technique. Mater Today Proc 2021; 41: 340–346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.09.554

Sánchez

Pleguezuelos

Pedrero

. Calculation of tooth bending strength and surface durability of internal spur gear drives. Mech Mach Theor 2016; 95: 102–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechmachtheory.2015.09.001

Iaccarino

Langella

Caprino

. A simplified model to predict the tensile and shear stress–strain behaviour of fibreglass/aluminium laminates. Compos Sci Technol 2007; 67(9): 1784–1793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2006.11.005

Hossan

. Strength evaluation and failure prediction of short carbon fiber reinforced nylon spur gears by finite element modeling. Appl Compos Mater 2013; 20(3): 315–330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10443-012-9274-7

Deepak

Deswal

Kaushik

, et al. Analysis of fused filament fabrication parameters for sliding wear performance of carbon reinforced polyamide composite material fabricated parts using a hybrid heuristic tool. Polym Test 2023; 118: 107910.

Mao

Greenwood

Ramakrishnan

, et al. The wear resistance improvement of fibre reinforced polymer composite gears. Wear 2019; 426: 1033–1039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2018.12.043

Aderikha

Shapovalov

. Effect of filler surface properties on structure, mechanical and tribological behavior of PTFE-carbon black composites. Wear 2010; 268(11–12): 1455–1464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2010.02.022

Spahr

M. E.

Roger

(eds). Roger Rothan. “Carbon Black as a Polymer Filler.” Polymers and Polymeric Composites: A Reference Series, edited by Shulamit Palsule. Springer, 2016, pp. 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-37179-0_36-2

10.

Hamid Malik

. Comparative study of process parameters’ influence on geometric accuracy and relative errors of lightweight compound gear printed by vat. photopolymerization and material extrusion, 2018, pp. 1–13.

11.

Buj-Corral

Zayas-Figueras

. Comparative study about dimensional accuracy and form errors of FFF printed spur gears using PLA and nylon, Polym Test 2023; 117(2023): 107862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2022.107862

12.

Goh

Toh

Yap

, et al. Additively manufactured continuous carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic for topology optimized unmanned aerial vehicle structures. Compos B Eng 2021; 216: 108840. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.108840

13.

Choi

Y-M

Hwangbo

S-A

Lee

, et al. Effect of particle size on the mechanical properties of TiO2–Epoxy nanocomposites. Materials 2021; 14(2866): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14112866

14.

Soudmand

. Experimental investigation on the durability and failure modes of polybutylene terephthalate/calcium carbonate nanocomposite gears. Eng Fail Anal 2020; S1350-6307(20): 31637.

15.

Wan

Takahashi

. Tensile and compressive properties of chopped carbon fiber tapes reinforced thermoplastics with different fiber lengths and molding pressures. Compos Appl Sci Manuf 2016; 87: 271–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2016.05.005

16.

Cai

Wada

Ohsawa

, et al. Interfacial adhesion of recycled carbon fibers to polypropylene resin: effect of superheated steam on the surface chemical state of carbon fiber. Compos Appl Sci Manuf 2019; 120: 33–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2019.02.020

17.

Kadu

Deshmukh

. Investigation of contact stress in spur gear using lewis equation and finite element method. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research 2013; 2(3): 310–321.

18.

Zhang

Chevali

Wang

, et al. Current status of carbon fiber and carbon fiber composites recycling. Compos B Eng 2020; 193: 108053.

19.

Lande

MSM

Desai

Verma

, et al. Stress analysis of polycarbonate spur gears for sugarcane juice machine using FEA. Internat J Recent Technol Mechanic Electric Engineer (IJRMEE) 2015; 2(10): 14–19.

20.

Rishikesh

Nitish

Prasanna

, et al. Design and computational analysis of hybrid carbon fiber-enhanced metal matrix composite spur gears. J Polymer & Compos 2026; 14(01): 158–172.

21.

Rishikesh

Nitish

Tarun

, et al. A systematic review of advanced composite materials for high-performance spur gear applications. J Polymer & Comp 2026; 14(01): 209–220.

22.

Karle

Campli

Zinjurde

, et al. Multi-response optimisation of wear behaviour of epoxy composites reinforced with metallic and ceramic particles using taguchi-grey method. J Mine Met Fuel 2024; 72(11): 1.

23.

Tike

R. H.

Design of carbon fiber-metal reinforced composite gear (Indian Patent Application No. 202321032098). Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks. The Patent Office Journal. 2023; (24/2023): 42695. https://search.ipindia.gov.in/IPOJournal/Journal/Patent.

Design,fabrication,and static performance evaluation of carbon Fiber–epoxy hybrid composite spur gears

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References