The most general contact in mechanical transmission is the elliptical one. In particular, a toroidal continuously variable transmission (CVT) has an elliptical shape in the contact area under the elastohydrodynamic lubrication regime, where the shearing of the fluid subjects to high contact stress and transmits the power. Many parameters affect the contact service performance of the half toroidal CVT, which include the properties of the contacting material (Young抯 modulus), operating parameters (input torque and maximum traction coefficient) and geometrical parameters (aspect cavity ratio, curvature ratio and half cone angle of the power roller). In this paper, the contacts between the input disk, the power roller and the output disk are formulated using the classical Hertzian contact theory. Based on the formulated equations, different system parameters, which affect the maximum Hertzian stresses, are compared. The comparative results will provide some observations of the relations between the maximum Hertzian stresses and transmission ratios in the form of graphs. These graphs give useful information for designer to know the maximum Hertzian stress during operation in such systems.
