Contact-induced Wear Mechanism and Surface Stress Regulation of Electric Vehicle Differential

LI Xianping; ZHOU Hui; ZHANG Benzhu; JIANG Yanjun; GAN Chun; ZHANG Mengqi; MO Jiliang

doi:10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.19.007

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Surface Technology ›› 2025, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (19) : 73-84. DOI: 10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.19.007

Friction, Wear and Lubrication

Contact-induced Wear Mechanism and Surface Stress Regulation of Electric Vehicle Differential

LI Xianping¹, ZHOU Hui², ZHANG Benzhu¹, JIANG Yanjun¹, GAN Chun¹, ZHANG Mengqi², MO Jiliang^2,*

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Abstract

During the process of starting, rapid acceleration, and energy recovery (forward and reverse rotation), the reducer and differential of electric vehicles are subject to large instantaneous torque. So the probability of wear and failure of their components is significantly higher than that of fuel vehicles. However, the contact characteristics of components under high load and the specific mechanism of surface wear caused by them are not yet fully understood, and there are rare surface structure design for this problem. Exploring the wear and failure phenomenon and mechanism of differential under high load conditions is an important content to further improve the safety and stability of electric vehicles. Based on the differential experimental platform, a durability test of the differential is carried out to obtain the wear morphology of the key components of the differential. Combined with finite element numerical simulation, the deformation of the planetary gear shaft and its influence on the contact interaction between parts are innovatively used as the key entry point to analyze the load distribution of the parts surface, and then reveal the formation mechanism of wear. The test results show that under the long-term heavy-load operation experimental conditions, the differential planetary gear shaft and the inner hole of the planetary gear have wear failures such as plowing, bonding, and plastic deformation. Contact analysis shows that the planetary gear shaft is in contact with multiple components at the same time, and there is an obvious local stress concentration phenomenon. For the main reasons, on the one hand, the axes of the planetary gear shaft and the inner hole of the planetary gear are not parallel after being stressed, and the inner hole edge of the planetary gear squeezes the surface of the shaft to form a local contact stress concentration; on the other hand, the locating pin constrains the axial movement of the planetary gear shaft, and the deformation of the shaft near the pin end is small, and the contact between the shaft and the hole surface cannot be effectively coordinated through elastic deformation. Therefore, the contact pressure peak of the shaft surface near the pin end is higher. The contact pressure concentration caused by the two factors is superimposed, and surface wear is formed under the joint action. Therefore, alleviating the local contact pressure concentration on the surface of electric vehicle differential parts under high load is a key entry point to solve the current wear problem. Arc modification of the inner hole of the planetary gear can effectively alleviate the stress concentration caused by edge contact. After modification, the contact area moves from the edge of the shaft hole overlap area to the middle, the contact area is significantly expanded, the theoretical maximum value of the contact pressure can be reduced by about 50%, and the shear stress of the shaft body does not change much (increased 3.6%). In conclusion, the local pressure concentration on the contact surface between the planetary gear shaft and the inner hole of the planetary gear is an important factor causing surface wear of the parts. Modification design of the inner hole of the planetary gear is an effective way to alleviate the stress concentration. The research results of this paper can provide a certain scientific basis for the surface structure design of differential components from the perspective of anti-wear failure.

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electric vehicle / differential / contact / wear / modification

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LI Xianping, ZHOU Hui, ZHANG Benzhu, JIANG Yanjun, GAN Chun, ZHANG Mengqi, MO Jiliang. Contact-induced Wear Mechanism and Surface Stress Regulation of Electric Vehicle Differential[J]. Surface Technology. 2025, 54(19): 73-84 https://doi.org/10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.19.007

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