Surface contact fatigue is the most common cause of gear failure. It results in damage to contacting surfaces which can significantly reduce the load-carrying capacity of components, and may ultimately lead to complete failure of a gear. Three types of contact fatigue damage are discussed, and a number of actual examples are presented to illustrate this failure mode in practice.
Reference:
Fernandes, PJL and McDuling, C. 1997. Surface contact fatigue failures in gears. Engineering Failure Analysis, vol, 4(2), pp 99-107
Fernandes, P., & McDuling, G. (1997). Surface contact fatigue failures in gears. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1415
Fernandes, PJL, and GA McDuling "Surface contact fatigue failures in gears." (1997) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1415
Fernandes P, McDuling G. Surface contact fatigue failures in gears. 1997; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1415.