Experimental investigation of high carbon steel MMC for crown pinion gear

The implementation of high carbon steel composite is growing continuously in the field of automotive and manufacturing industries because of their superior physical, mechanical and tribological properties as compared to normal steel. In automobiles, the differential plays major role to power transmission from engine to wheel. However, failure of crown pinion observed that the gear teeth have been sheared off by heat failure and edge of pinion gear is worn down caused by lubricant failure. So, this high carbon steel composite (high carbon steel + silicon carbide) could be proposed for crown pinion gear to control material wear and fracture. In this paper, the various proportions of high carbon steel composites were investigated and evaluated the characteristics of material hardness, compressive strength and material wear. The material proportions were 100–0 %, 99–1 % and 97.5–2.5 % of high carbon steel with silicon carbide. By observing experimental results, the high carbon steel with 2 % of silicon carbide have better material characteristics than other proportions and this also suggested to crown pinion gear production.