Reliability Evaluation of Transmission Planetary Gears “bottom-up” approach

The reliability study is the most important part of the engineering design process, as it is the basis of analysis and assessment of future product performance in exploitation. Since performance cannot be predicted with absolute certainty, the application of reliability theory includes probability theory and unreliability modeling. The proposed approach has been applied to assess the reliability of gear planetary power transmissions. The assessment of system reliability was determined on the basis of the block diagram method, as a function of the reliability of individual components, calculated by statistical analysis. Using the Weibull model, the reliability of the planetary gear was defined on the basis of the probability of failure of the gear teeth and the results were interpreted to assess the reliability of the component and the entire planetary train. For a more precise assessment of reliability and to avoid modeling every failure and mode of occurrence, a competitive risk model was developed. The reliability assessment study was conducted with a “bottom-up” approach. Reliability has been assessed, for instantaneous, estimated and assigned failures rate of planetary train and component.