Design of a Reducer Gear for Small Electric Vehicles

In recent times, fuel economy enhancement and environmental regulation compliance have become the main topics of interest in the automobile industry. Electric vehicles are desirable alternatives to the existing cars that employ internal combustion engines. Specifically, electric vehicles are equipped with inverters, motors, and a gearbox instead of engines and transmission mechanisms. The gearbox is a key component, used to transmit power from the electric motor to the wheel. Therefore, the design of the gearbox is critical. However, most engineers design gears based only on their experience because no standards pertaining to the design factor exist, other than those for the gear ratios. To overcome this problem, the structural stabilities must be examined considering the design factors of the gears. In this study, we considered the module and number of teeth as the main factors. The constraints corresponded to the final gear ratio and fixed distance between each axle of the shafts. Moreover, a structural analysis was conducted, and the variation trend of the maximum equivalent stress against changes in the gear module and number of teeth was examined. By performing such an analysis, the structural stability in the design of a gear system could be effectively investigated.

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