Publication

Abstract :

The effect of adhesive properties on performance of spur gear made of adhesive system referred to as adhesive spur gear is investigated. In addition, the repair ability and reusability of adhesive spur gear towards sustainability are also investigated. Two-part epoxy adhesive system constituting resin and hardener was used to fabricate spur gear samples. In order to modify adhesive properties, the hardener to resin ratio was varied. The repair ability and reusability of spur gear made by the adhesive system were checked by breaking a few teeth of the adhesive spur gears and repaired by adhesive. The repaired gears were tested and compared with the performance of actual spur gears made of adhesive. The gears were tested by a gear test rig developed indigenously. The performance of the gears with different hardener to resin ratios was evaluated by monitoring the number of cycles. The results show that the number of cycles increases with decrease in hardener to resin ratio. This is due to the better strength of the adhesive system with the resin-rich formulation. There is not much difference in performance between repaired gear and the corresponding actual gear. This ensures the sustainability of adhesive gears over conventional polymer gears.