Experimental Investigations to Use Splash Lubrication for High-Speed Gears

In order to use electric motors which run up to 40,000 rpm in future automotive applications, this study aims to experimentally investigate if splash lubrication technique is worth considering for high-speed gears, i.e., for tangential gear speed up to 60 m/s. To this end, a specific test rig has been used to operate a single spur or helical gear in various operating conditions (lubricant, oil sump volume, temperature, etc.). Churning loss is measured and, as the fraction of air in the lubricant (namely, oil aeration) can be influential on this source of dissipation, a specific sensor is also employed for online monitoring of oil sump aeration. By inserting some moveable walls in the gearbox, it is demonstrated that churning losses and oil aeration can be significantly reduced by mounting these flanges at an appropriate distance to the gear lateral faces. Based on dimensional analysis, an engineering criterion is proposed to properly choose the clearance between the tested gear and the flanges.