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Motor Vehicle Layout

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17 views7 pages

Motor Vehicle Layout

Uploaded by

stewardmumba39
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Vehicle fundamentals 201

4
VEHICLE LAYOUT
The layout of the motor vehicle is concerned with the arrangement of the
main components. It is concerned with the position of the power and
transmission units in relation to either the front or rear road wheels. These
units are considered under the following headings:

1. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

This converts the heat produced inside the engine into mechanical
energy. This
mechanical energy being a combination of speed and torque.

2. THE CLUTCH
This provides temporary break in transmission of the torque to the gear
box.

3. THE GEARBOX

a. This varies the torque and speeds between the engine and the
propeller shaft.
b. It also provides a neutral position and a means of reversing a vehicle.

4. PROPELLER SHAFT

This transmits torque form the gear box to the final drive unit.

5. THE FINAL DRIVE UNIT

a. It increases the torque available at the gear box.

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4
b. It transmits drive at an angle of 90 degrees.
c. It divides torque evenly between wheels.

Although the conventional lay out is the most simple in design, it has one
main disadvantage that is a transmission tunnel is required to house a gear
box and propeller shaft. This greatly reduces the passenger floor space.

The problem has been over come by either having the engine at the front,
driving the wheels or at the back, driving the rear wheels.

Transmission tunnel is required to house a gear box and propeller shaft. This
greatly reduces the passenger floor space.

ALTERNATIVE LAY OUTS


Front Engine rear wheel drive

This is the probably the most popular form of vehicle arrangement and is
often referred to as the ‘conventional layout’. The engine, which is the source
of power is mounted in the front of the car and is usually supported at three
points.

The clutch is the device which engages and disengages the engine power,
and is mounted immediately behind the engine

Located directly to the clutch is the gearbox. Drive from the gearbox is
usually transmitted to the rear of the vehicle by means of a propeller shaft
which runs the length of the car, and is in turn, connected via universal joints
to the rear axle assembly.

The rear axle assembly is used to turn the drive through ninety degrees to
couple to the rear driving road wheels.

Advantages

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4
a. Allows a relatively even load to be applied to each road wheel
b. Allows the main components to be easily removed and thereby
provides for economic maintenance

Front Engine front wheel drive

In this layout, the engine, gearbox, and final drive are combined into a single
unit. The gearbox is located directly below the engine with the final drive
positioned alongside and behind the gearbox. Various arrangements are
employed to mount transverse engines and transmission, although the
majority uses a three –point mounting system. The mounting system must
be capable of dealing with driving torque which is transmitted to the front
road wheels.

Advantages

1. By transmitting drive direct to the front wheels, the engine, gearbox


and final drive are in one compartment unit which provides for
increased passenger space.
2. A low flat floor as there is no necessity to fit a propeller shaft or normal
rear axle.
3. Excellent traction on the driving wheels is obtained by combining
engine and transmission over the driving wheels in this manner.

Disadvantage

1. The arrangement is more complicated as the front wheels are for both
steering and driving.
2. Additional universal joints are normally required to transmit power to
the drive shafts.
3. The weight of the vehicle is distributed between the two axles and this
is transferred to the non-driving or rear axle during acceleration and
hill climbing.

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4
4. During braking the weight is transferred to the front driving wheels and
there is a tendency for the rear wheels to lock which in turn, produces
a degree of instability

The front engine wheel drive layout has gained in popularity and mostly used
on small cars

Rear engine rear wheel drive

This arrangement is no longer popular with vehicle designs. The engine is


mounted behind a ‘transverse’. A single mounting is used to support the rear
end of the engine and the transaxle by a pair of widely spaced mountings at
the front. Transverse is the term used to describe a combined gearbox and
axle assembly

Advantage

1. From a theoretical point of view, it is always desired to utilize


mechanical power where it is generated and thereby avoid
transmission loses.
2. Lowering overall height owing to the absence of the propeller shaft.
3. Improved adhesion of the driving wheels due to the weight of engine.
4. Reduced engine noise

Disadvantages

1. The tendency of the car to oversteer resulting in instability and unusual


road holding characteristic.
2. It makes it more difficult to arrange the gearbox and engine controls.
3. Efficient cooling is a problem resulting in very little progress in the
design of modern vehicles.

COMMERCIAL VEHICLE LAY OUT

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HEAVY GOODS COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

In general, these are referred to as Lories but may be grouped into two
categories:
a. RIGID and b. ARTICULATED

RIGID VEHICLES

a. Are designed to carry goods.


b. Are built such that all the axles are attached a single chassis frame.
A simple truck has two axles and four wheels. By increasing the number of
axles, the load can be shared between more axles. This reduces the load per
axle and protects the tyres from over loading and the road surface from
damage.
Wheel axles may be described as Dead or Live (Non drive or Dead).

CLASSIFICATION OF RIGID VEHICLES

1. Rigid vehicle 4x2 conventional cab


Four wheel location of which two are driving wheels.
2. Rigid vehicle 4x4 forward control cab
Four wheel location of which all are driving wheels.
3. Rigid vehicle 6x4
Six wheel location of which four are driving wheels
4. Rigid vehicle 8x4
Eight wheel location of which four are driving wheels

ARTICULATED VEHICLES
These consist of a tractor unit which supplies the propulsive power to the
trailer which carries the pay load.

TRACTOR UNIT

It has a short rigid chassis and may have two or three axles. The front axle
supports steering road wheels and the rear axle is a driving one. The middle
axle may be a second driving axle (live) or provide the second axle for dual
steering.

TRAILER UNIT

This has either 2, 4 or 6 running wheels. It has a long rigid chassis and may
have a single axle, Tandem axle or Tri-axle at the rear end which supports

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4
the majority of the payload. The front end of the trailer chassis is supported
on the rear of the tractor through a fifth wheel or turn table.

CLASSIFICATION OF ARTICULATED VEHICLES

a. Four-wheel and Two wheel TRL


RIGID 4X2 TRACTOR AND SINGLE AXLE ARTICULATED TRL.
b. Six-wheel Tandem Drive Tractor and Four wheel TRL
RIGID 6x4 TRACTOR AND TANDEM AXLE 4 ARTICULATED TRL
c. Six-wheel steer axle Tractor and six wheels TRL
RIGID 6x2 TRACTOR AND TRI- AXLE 6 ARTICULATED TRL

REASONS FOR USING MULTI-AXLE DESIGNS


a. Maximum weight on the axle is limited by law to protect road surface and
the general
public.
b. Maximum weight a tyre can resist is limited

ADVANTAGES OF ARTICULATED VEHICLES


a. Manageability is easy.
b. The trailer can be detached for loading and unloading, leaving the tractor
free for
other work.
c. If the tractor breaks down the load can be delivered by another.

DISADVANTAGES OF ARTICULATED VEHICLES


a. Less traction due to the load being carried on the dead axle.
b. It is unstable on the side slopes.
c. unstable for uneven ground due to joint not being able to accommodate
excessive
axle variations.

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