Performance comparison of epitrochoidal, hypotrochoidal, and cycloidal gerotor gear profiles.

• Summary of common gerotor gear profiles (epitrochoidal, hypotrochoidal, cycloidal). • Optimization presented to identify the optimal design space for each profile type. • Optimal design space of each profile type is compared. • No profile type is universally superior to the others. Gerotors are positive displacement machines known for being cost-effective, durable, compact, and quiet and are used in many low-pressure applications. Nearly any smooth curve can define a gerotor gearset, yet three conventional profile types that are based on either epitrochoids, hypotrochoids, or cycloids are used almost exclusively in industry. Although each of the profile types has been known since the early 20th century, no extensive comparison has been made between them. In the present work a multi-objective optimization strategy using a genetic algorithm is used to find the Pareto front for each profile type when considering seven performance goals. The optimal designs of each profile type were combined, and a new set of Pareto designs was identified. The results showed that no single profile type can be considered universally better than the others. However, some observations about the general trade-offs for each profile type are presented, and the work serves as a baseline for development of novel gerotor profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]