Gregory F. Heath
= Gregory F. Heath
{c}
<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.<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]{ref}
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.<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]{ref}
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.<Gear Fault Detection Effectiveness as Applied to Tooth Surface Pitting Fatigue Damage by David G. Lewicki and others>[NASA report title page and printed p.1, author affiliations and study objective]{ref}