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Just finished reading a really interesting theoretical breakdown on gear tooth contact stress, and it got me thinking about the practical implications. The Hertzian contact stress equations are fascinating in theory, predicting elliptical contact areas and stress concentrations, but how well do they really hold up in real-world scenarios with manufacturing imperfections and dynamic loading?
I mean, surface roughness and slight misalignments can't be accounted for perfectly in the pure theoretical model, right? Does anyone have experience comparing FEA simulations (which can incorporate more of these factors) to experimental data on gear tooth stress? I'm curious how important the difference is, and what rules of thumb people use to account for these discrepancies when designing gear systems. Also, what materials seem to deviate most from the idealized Hertzian behavior? It seems like less ductile materials would be more susceptible to deviations.