On the Influence of Force Distribution and Boundary Condition on Helical Gear Stiffness

The gear stiffness has a direct influence on the dynamic response of transmission systems that include a gear box, the stiffness also controls the load distribution among the teeth in mesh. The stiffness of a gear tooth varies non-linearly as the contact line with the meshing gear tooth moves along the surface of the tooth and the resulting meshing stiffness also includes discontinuities. The stiffness estimation for helical gears can only be done using full 3D analysis contrary to spur gears where 2D often suffice. Besides the usual gear geometry defined by standards two factors are found to have a large influence on the stiffness. These two factors are the rim thickness included in the stiffness calculation and the contact zone size. In the contact zone the distribution of the load is also shown to be important. Simple possible simplifications in relation to the contact load distribution are presented. The gear stiffness is found using the elastic energy of the loaded tooth. In the finite element calculation the true gear tooth root profile is applied

Topography of the complete corticopontine projection: From experiments to principal Maps

The mammalian brain is characterized by orderly spatial distribution of its cellular components, commonly referred to as topographical organization. The topography of cortical and subcortical maps is thought to represent functional or computational properties. In the present investigation, we have studied map transformations and organizing principles in the projections from the cerebral cortex to the pontine nuclei, with emphasis on the mapping of the cortex as a whole onto the pontine nuclei. Following single or multiple axonal tracer injections into different cortical regions, three-dimensional (3-D) distributions of anterogradely labeled axons in the pontine nuclei were mapped. All 3-D reconstructed data sets were normalized to a standardized local coordinate system for the pontine nuclei and uploaded in a database application (FACCS, Functional Anatomy of the Cerebro-Cerebellar System, available via The Rodent Brain Workbench, http://www.rbwb.org). The database application allowed flexible use of the data in novel combinations, and use of a previously published data sets. Visualization of different combinations of data was used to explore alternative principles of organization. As a result of these analyses, a principal map of the topography of corticopontine projections was developed. This map followed the organization of early spatiotemporal gradients present in the cerebral cortex and the pontine nuclei. With the principal map for corticopontine projections, a fairly accurate prediction of pontine target area can be made for any site of origin in the cerebral cortex. The map and the underlying shared data sets represent a basis for modeling of topographical organization and structure–function relationships in this system