Analysis of the effects of operating point of tractor engine on fatigue life of PTO gear using simulation

Agricultural tractors are designed using the empirical method due to the difficulty of measuring precise load cycles under various working conditions and soil types. Especially, directly drives various tractor implements, the power take off (PTO) gear. Therefore, alternative design methods using gear design software are needed for the optimal design of tractors. The objective of this study is to simulate fatigue life of the PTO gear according to the operating point of the tractor engine. The PTO gear was made with SCr415 alloy steel with carburizing and quenching treatments. The fatigue life of the PTO gear was simulated by using bending and contact stress according to the torque of the load levels. The PTO gear simulation was conducted by the KISSsoft commercial software for gear analysis. Bending and contact stress were calculated by the ISO 6336:2006 Method A and B. The simulation of fatigue life was calculated by the Miner’s cumulative damage law. The total fatigue life of tractors can be estimated to 3,420 hours; thus, 3,420 hours of fatigue life were used in the simulation of the PTO gear of tractors. The main simulation results showed that the maximum fatigue life of the PTO gear was infinite fatigue life at maximum engine power. Minimum fatigue life of the PTO gear was 19.61 hours at 70% of the maximum engine power. Fatigue life of the PTO gear changed according to load of tractor. Therefore, tractor work data is needed for optimal design of the PTO gear.