Three-Dimensional Conjugate Tooth Surface Design and Contact Analysis of Harmonic Drive with Double-Circular-Arc Tooth Profle

A three-dimensional conjugate tooth surface design method for Harmonic Drive with a double-circular-arc tooth profle is proposed. The radial deformation function of the fexspline (FS), obtained through Finite Element (FE) analysis, is incorporated into the kinematics model. By analyzing the FS tooth enveloping process, the optimization of the overlapping conjugate tooth profle is achieved. By utilizing the hobbing process, the three-dimensional machinable tooth surface of FS can be acquired. Utilizing the coning deformation of the FS, simulations are conducted to analyze the multi-section assembly and meshing motion of the machinable tooth surface. The FE method is utilized to analyze and compare the loaded contact characteristics. Results demonstrate that the proposed design method can achieve an internal gear pair consisting of a circular spline with a spur gear tooth surface and the FS with a machinable tooth surface. With the rated torque, approximately 24% of the FS teeth are engaged in meshing, and more than 4/5 of the tooth surface in the axial direction carries the load. The contact patterns, maximum contact pressure, and transmission error of the machinable tooth surface are 227.2%, 40.67%, and 71.24% of those on the spur gear tooth surface, respectively. It clearly demonstrates exceptional transmission performance.

Three-dimensional physical simulation and optimization of water injection of a multi-well fractured-vuggy unit

With complex fractured-vuggy heterogeneous structures, water has to be injected to facilitate oil pro- duction. However, the effect of different water injection modes on oil recovery varies. The limitation of existing numerical simulation methods in representing fractured- vuggy carbonate reservoirs makes numerical simulation difficult to characterize the fluid flow in these reservoirs. In this paper, based on a geological example unit in the Tahe Oilfield, a three-dimensional physical model was designed and constructed to simulate fluid flow in a fractured-vuggy reservoir according to similarity criteria. The model was validated by simulating a bottom water drive reservoir, and then subsequent water injection modes were optimized. These were continuous （constant rate）, intermittent, and pulsed injection of water. Experimental results reveal that due to the unbalanced formation pressure caused by pulsed water injection, the swept volume was expanded and consequently the highest oil recovery increment was achieved. Similar to continuous water injection, intermit- tent injection was influenced by factors including the connectivity of the fractured-vuggy reservoir, well depth, and the injection-production relationship, which led to a relative low oil recovery. This study may provide a constructive guide to field production and for the devel- opment of the commercial numerical models specialized for fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs.