A Study on the Influence Mechanism of the Oil Injection Distance on the Oil Film Distribution Characteristics of the Gear Meshing Zone

Under the trend of lightweight and high-efficiency development in industrial equipment, precise regulation of lubrication in gear reducers is a key breakthrough for enhancing transmission system efficiency and reliability. This study establishes a three-dimensional numerical model for high-speed gea...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wentao Zhao, Lin Li, Gaoan Zheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Machines
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/13/7/606
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849733546613145600
author Wentao Zhao
Lin Li
Gaoan Zheng
author_facet Wentao Zhao
Lin Li
Gaoan Zheng
author_sort Wentao Zhao
collection DOAJ
description Under the trend of lightweight and high-efficiency development in industrial equipment, precise regulation of lubrication in gear reducers is a key breakthrough for enhancing transmission system efficiency and reliability. This study establishes a three-dimensional numerical model for high-speed gear jet lubrication using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and dynamic mesh technology. By implementing the volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase flow model and the standard k-ω turbulence model, the study simulates the dynamic distribution of lubricant in gear meshing zones and analyzes critical parameters such as the oil volume fraction, eddy viscosity, and turbulent kinetic energy. The results show that reducing the oil injection distance significantly enhances lubricant coverage and continuity: as the injection distance increases from 4.8 mm to 24 mm, the lubricant shifts from discrete droplets to a dense wedge-shaped film, mitigating lubrication failure risks from secondary atomization and energy loss. The optimized injection distance also improves the spatial stability of eddy viscosity and suppresses excessive dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy, enhancing both the shear-load capacity and thermal management. Dynamic data from monitoring point P show that reducing the injection distance stabilizes lubricant velocity and promotes more consistent oil film formation and heat transfer. Through multiphysics simulations and parametric analysis, this study elucidates the interaction between geometric parameters and hydrodynamic behaviors in jet lubrication systems. The findings provide quantitative evaluation methods for structural optimization and energy control in gear lubrication systems, offering theoretical insights for thermal management and reliability enhancement in high-speed transmission. These results contribute to the lightweight design and sustainable development of industrial equipment.
format Article
id doaj-art-719934f41fa54d93966ab31df0462e35
institution DOAJ
issn 2075-1702
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Machines
spelling doaj-art-719934f41fa54d93966ab31df0462e352025-08-20T03:08:01ZengMDPI AGMachines2075-17022025-07-0113760610.3390/machines13070606A Study on the Influence Mechanism of the Oil Injection Distance on the Oil Film Distribution Characteristics of the Gear Meshing ZoneWentao Zhao0Lin Li1Gaoan Zheng2School of Intelligent Transportation, Zhejiang Polytechnic University of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Hangzhou 310053, ChinaCollege of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Hangzhou 310018, ChinaUnder the trend of lightweight and high-efficiency development in industrial equipment, precise regulation of lubrication in gear reducers is a key breakthrough for enhancing transmission system efficiency and reliability. This study establishes a three-dimensional numerical model for high-speed gear jet lubrication using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and dynamic mesh technology. By implementing the volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase flow model and the standard k-ω turbulence model, the study simulates the dynamic distribution of lubricant in gear meshing zones and analyzes critical parameters such as the oil volume fraction, eddy viscosity, and turbulent kinetic energy. The results show that reducing the oil injection distance significantly enhances lubricant coverage and continuity: as the injection distance increases from 4.8 mm to 24 mm, the lubricant shifts from discrete droplets to a dense wedge-shaped film, mitigating lubrication failure risks from secondary atomization and energy loss. The optimized injection distance also improves the spatial stability of eddy viscosity and suppresses excessive dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy, enhancing both the shear-load capacity and thermal management. Dynamic data from monitoring point P show that reducing the injection distance stabilizes lubricant velocity and promotes more consistent oil film formation and heat transfer. Through multiphysics simulations and parametric analysis, this study elucidates the interaction between geometric parameters and hydrodynamic behaviors in jet lubrication systems. The findings provide quantitative evaluation methods for structural optimization and energy control in gear lubrication systems, offering theoretical insights for thermal management and reliability enhancement in high-speed transmission. These results contribute to the lightweight design and sustainable development of industrial equipment.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/13/7/606gear reducerCFD methodoil injection distanceoil film lubrication characteristics
spellingShingle Wentao Zhao
Lin Li
Gaoan Zheng
A Study on the Influence Mechanism of the Oil Injection Distance on the Oil Film Distribution Characteristics of the Gear Meshing Zone
Machines
gear reducer
CFD method
oil injection distance
oil film lubrication characteristics
title A Study on the Influence Mechanism of the Oil Injection Distance on the Oil Film Distribution Characteristics of the Gear Meshing Zone
title_full A Study on the Influence Mechanism of the Oil Injection Distance on the Oil Film Distribution Characteristics of the Gear Meshing Zone
title_fullStr A Study on the Influence Mechanism of the Oil Injection Distance on the Oil Film Distribution Characteristics of the Gear Meshing Zone
title_full_unstemmed A Study on the Influence Mechanism of the Oil Injection Distance on the Oil Film Distribution Characteristics of the Gear Meshing Zone
title_short A Study on the Influence Mechanism of the Oil Injection Distance on the Oil Film Distribution Characteristics of the Gear Meshing Zone
title_sort study on the influence mechanism of the oil injection distance on the oil film distribution characteristics of the gear meshing zone
topic gear reducer
CFD method
oil injection distance
oil film lubrication characteristics
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/13/7/606
work_keys_str_mv AT wentaozhao astudyontheinfluencemechanismoftheoilinjectiondistanceontheoilfilmdistributioncharacteristicsofthegearmeshingzone
AT linli astudyontheinfluencemechanismoftheoilinjectiondistanceontheoilfilmdistributioncharacteristicsofthegearmeshingzone
AT gaoanzheng astudyontheinfluencemechanismoftheoilinjectiondistanceontheoilfilmdistributioncharacteristicsofthegearmeshingzone
AT wentaozhao studyontheinfluencemechanismoftheoilinjectiondistanceontheoilfilmdistributioncharacteristicsofthegearmeshingzone
AT linli studyontheinfluencemechanismoftheoilinjectiondistanceontheoilfilmdistributioncharacteristicsofthegearmeshingzone
AT gaoanzheng studyontheinfluencemechanismoftheoilinjectiondistanceontheoilfilmdistributioncharacteristicsofthegearmeshingzone