Gregory F. Heath is a mechanical engineer whose documented research includes rotorcraft transmissions and face gear technology. His2010 author biography describes him as an associate technical fellow at Boeing Rotorcraft-Mesa and a technical integrator for an advanced rotorcraft-drive program.[ref]
Gear Fault Detection Effectiveness as Applied to Tooth Surface Pitting Fatigue Damage by David G. Lewicki and others. Gear Technology version, November/December2010, author biography, printed p.59
Heath coauthored Development of Face Gear Technology for Industrial and Aerospace Power Transmission by Gregory F. Heath and others with Robert R. Filler and Jie Tan. Their2002 report documents a250-horsepower proof-of-concept split-torque transmission using concentric face gears. The tests examined whether floating input pinions could divide the load nearly evenly between parallel transmission paths.[ref]
Development of Face Gear Technology for Industrial and Aerospace Power Transmission by Gregory F. Heath and others. Title page; Introduction, printed pp.1–2; Conclusions, printed pp.84–85; NTRS abstract
The mechanical question is more demanding than obtaining the desired gear ratio. If two parallel paths have unequal geometry or effective stiffness, one can carry more torque than intended. In an ideal equal-speed example, dividing a100N·m input into50N·m in each path also divides input power equally. A60/40N·m split preserves the total transmitted torque but raises the larger path's load20% above the intended50N·m share. A floating pinion supplies freedom intended to improve load balance; the report's apparatus and measurements tested how that mechanism behaved in a manufactured transmission.
Heath also coauthored the later gear-pitting detection study with Paula J. Dempsey, David G. Lewicki and Perumal Shanthakumaran, linking transmission development with experimental assessment of damage indicators.[ref]
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