AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING

Module 2
SYLLABUS
 TRANSMISSION SYSTEM
• The transmission system consists of a clutch,gear box,a propeller shaft and a differential gear
Clutch
its purpose is to enable the driver to disconnect the engine drive from the road wheels instantaneously for changing gears
and to engage drive from the engine to the road gradually while moving from rest
Gear box
the gear box provides the necessary variation between the engine and road wheels
Bevel pinion and crown wheel
they turn the drive through 90degree and also provide a permanent reduction in speed
Universal joints
they provide a relative movement between the engine and driving wheel due to flexing of road springs
Differential
while taking turns the driving wheel must turn at different speed
 FUNCTIONS OF TRANSMISSION
• To connect engine to driving wheel without shock
• To vary the torque ratio between engine and wheel
• To provide a neutral position so that engine and wheel is disconnected .
• To provide reverse direction of motion
• To turn the drive through right angle
• To reduce engine speed permanently in fixed ratio
 FUNCTIONS OF CLUTCH
• To transmit power from engine to drivetrain.
• Smooth transmission by gradual engagement.
• Silent operation by reducing vibration due to drive operation.
• Protects drivetrain from engine vibration.
• To remove the speed difference between engine and drivetrain by slip action.
• It delivers the power to wheels via gearbox without stopping during gear change.
• To dissipate heat produced during clutch engagement
• Different types of clutches:
• Single-plate clutch
• Multi-plate clutch
• Cone clutch
• Centrifugal clutch
 SINGLE PLATE CLUTCH
• Single plate clutches are one of the most commonly used types of clutches
used in most modern light vehicles. The clutch helps to transmit torque from
the engine to the transmission input shaft. As the name states it has only one
clutch plate.
• It consists of a clutch plate, friction plate, pressure plate, flywheel, bearings,
clutch spring and nut-bolts arrangement.
• The single-plate clutch has only one plate which is attached on splines of the
clutch plate. Single plate clutch is one of the main components of the clutch.
The clutch plate is simply thin metallic disc which has both side friction
surfaces.
• The flywheel is attached on the engine crankshaft and rotates with it. A
pressure plate is bolted to flywheel through clutch spring, which provides the
axial force to keep the clutch engaged position, and is free to slide on the
clutch shaft when the clutch pedal is operated.
• A friction plate which is fixed between the flywheel and pressure plate. The
friction lining is provided on both sides of the clutch plate.
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 MULTI-PLATE CLUTCH
• The multi-plate use multiple plates to make frictional
contact with a flywheel of the engine. This makes transmit
power between the engine shaft and the transmission shaft
of a vehicle. The number of clutches means more friction
surface.
• The increased number of friction surfaces also increases the
capacity of the clutch to transmit torque. The clutch plates
are fitted to the engine shaft and gearbox shaft.
• The working principle of multiple clutches is the same as the
working of the single-plate clutch. The clutch is operated by
pressing the clutch pedal. The multiple clutches are used in
heavy commercial vehicles, racing cars, and motorcycles
for transmitting high torque.
• The multiple clutches have two characters dry and wet. If
the clutch is operated in an oil bath, it is known as a wet
clutch. If the clutch is operated dry without oil, it is known as
a dry clutch. The wet clutches are commonly used in
connection with, or as a part of the automatic transmission.
 CENTRIFUGAL CLUTCH
• . To keep the clutches in the engaged position centrifugal clutch uses centrifugal force, instead of spring force. In these
types of clutches, the clutch is operated automatically depending upon the engine speed. That’s why no clutch pedal is
required to operate the clutch.
• This made so easy for the driver to stop the vehicle in any gear without stalling the engine. Similarly, you can start
the vehicle in any gear by pressing the accelerator pedal.
 DIAPHRAGM CLUTCH
• The diaphragm clutch consists of a diaphragm on conical spring which produces
pressure on the pressure plate for engaging the clutch.
• In these types of clutches, the engine power is transmitted from crankshaft to
flywheel.
• The flywheel has friction lining and it is connected to the clutch.
• The pressure plate is provided behind the clutch plate because the pressure plate
applies the pressure on the clutch plate.
• When we press the clutch pedal the outside bearing moves towards the flywheel
pressing the diaphragm spring which pushes the pressure plate backwards and the
clutch will get disengaged
• This types of clutches have no release levers because the spring acts as a series of
levers.
• The driver does not need to apply such heavy pedal pressure to hold the clutch
disengaged as with the coil spring type in which the spring pressure increases more
when the pedal is depressed to disengage the clutch.
 FLUID COUPLING OR FLUID CLUTCH
• Used in cars employing automatic transmissions.
• It consists of two members, the driving and driven .
• Driving member is attached to engine flywheel, driven member to transmission
shaft
• Two members do not have any direct contact with each other.
• Driven member is free to slide on splines on the transmission shaft.
• Two rotors are always filled with fluid of suitable viscosity.
Advantages:
1. No wear on moving parts. 2. No adjustment to be made. 3. No maintenance
necessary except oil level. 4. Simple design. 5. No jerk on transmission when the gear
engages. 6. No skill required for operate it. 7. Car can stop in gear and move also by
pressing accelerator pedal only.
Disadvantage:
There is a drag on gear box shaft even when the percentage slip is 100. This makes the
gear changing difficult with ordinary gear box. Fluid flywheel is suitable for epicyclic
gear box.
 GEAR BOX
• A device to enable the engine crankshaft to revolve at a
relatively higher speed, while the wheels turn at a slower
speed. This is surrounded by a metal box called a gearbox.
The Gearbox is the process of transmitting energy in a
mechanical engine to increase the output torque or to change
the speed of a motor.
Parts of Gearbox:
• Clutch Shaft
• Counter Shaft
• Main Shaft
• Bearings and
• Gears

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 WORKING PRINCIPLE OF GEAR BOX
• A gearbox consists of gears of varying sizes, because of the different demands in times of the torque needed at the
wheels depending upon the road, load, for example; climbing vehicles require higher torque than driving on a straight
road.
• The first gear is larger compared to the other gears, provides maximum torque outcome while generating minimum
speed.
• The gears vary size from first to the last in decreasing ratio, thus it empowers varying combinations in pulling ability
and speed.
• A Clutch shaft is also known as a driving shaft, which utilizes the force from the engine and supplies it to the other
parts. The driving shaft is attached to them via a clutch, and when the clutch is engaged the driving shaft starts to
rotate.
• The clutch gear is provided with a single gear fixed on it and it rotates with the engine speed same as the crankshaft.
• Main Shaft is also known as output shafts. It revolves at a different speed and also gives mandatory torque to the
vehicles.
• Gear is used to transport power from one shaft to another. The quantity of torque transported via gears depends on
the number of teeth and size of the gear.
• The higher gear ratio produces higher acceleration, and the minor the speed.
• If the ratio of gear is higher than 1, the car will maintain a higher acceleration and will travel at a higher speed.
 SLIDING GEAR TRANSMISSION
• These gears are found only on older model cars. When the
transmission is neutral, the only parts that move within the
transmission process are the main gear and the cluster gear. To
empower the driving wheels, the clutch pedal should be compressed
so that the shifter handle can move
• Moving the shifter handle results in changing the position of the shift
linkage slides, and forks a gear along the main shaft quickly above the
cluster gear.
• Once these two gear combines, the clutch can be released. To
change the gears again, drivers need to unleash both the gears before
syncing two new gears.
• This type of transmission fails to have the same diameters and tooth
numbers, cause the gear to rotate at different speeds and that can
result in a gear clash. This is one of the major reasons this gear is no
longer used.
 SYNCHROMESH GEARBOX
• Synchromesh gears are mostly used by modern cars in the gearbox, which synchronizes the rotation of gears that are
messed. This type of gear eliminates the risk of gear clashing and makes the shifting process easier.
• This gearbox is someway similar to a constant mesh gearbox.
• It is provided with synchromesh equipment by which the two gears which are to be engaged are first taken into frictional
contact by adjusting their speed and making the process easy.
• When the lever is shifted, the synchromesh cone comes together to meet with a similar cone on the pinion. Due to the result
of friction, the rotating pinion is prepared to rotate at the same speed as the synchromesh unit.
• Advantages:
• Smooth and Noise free shifting of gears which is most suitable for cars.
• No loss of torque transmission from the engine to the driving wheels during gear shifts.
• Double clutching is not required.
• Less vibration.
• Quick shifting of gears without the risk of damaging the gears.
• Disadvantages:
• high manufacturing cost and high number of moving parts.
• When teeth make contact with the gear, the teeth will fail to engage as they are spinning at different speeds which causes a
loud grinding sound as they clatter together.
• Improper handling of gear may easily prone to damage.
• Cannot handle higher loads.
 CONSTANT MESH GEARBOX
• In this gearbox, all the gears of the main shaft get in constant mesh with the connected gears of the layshaft.
• The sliding dog clutch is placed in the middle of the clutch gear, and the second gear, the others are positioned in
between the first and the reverse gear. All the gears are independent of the splined main shaft.
• Dog clutch skids on the main shaft to rotate with it. All the gear on the layshaft is fixed with it. When the left-hand dog
clutch is brought to skid to the left through the gearshift lever, it messes with the clutch gear, and the upper-speed
gear is achieved.
• When the left-hand log clutch gets in contact with the second, the second speed gear is achieved. Just like that, by
shifting the right-hand dog clutch to the left and right, the first and reverse gear is attained.
• In this process, the gears are in constant mesh. They are safer from damage, prevents gear clashing problems, and also
don’t produce any unpleasant sound while engaging and disengaging them.
 CONTINUOUS VARIABLE TRANSMISSION
• The Continuous Variable Transmission doesn’t consist of or offers any gears. Rather, it operates cone-shaped with a
band around with an axle. The band shifts up and down to vary its length and the gear ratio.
• It offers infinite and variable ratios between the upper and lower limit, as a result, it be can be faultlessly optimized for
fuel efficiency and performance needs at a given time.
• This is more beneficial for hybrid cars, which may use CVT to balance out the work weight between both the petrol
engine and electric motor.
• The downfall is the driving experience which sometimes may feel bizarre and unpleasant. When it comes to
accelerating, it feels the car is jerking against a rubber band.
• ADVANTAGES
• Constant stepless accelaration from start to high speed giving smooth ride
• Keeps optimum power at all condition,giving better fuel economy
• Less emissions
• DISADVANTAGES https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEq5_b4LWNY
• Torque handling capacity is limited
• More space reqiured
• Much lesser life compared to conventional drives
 EPICYCLIC GEAR BOX
• Epicyclic gearing also called as planetary gearing. It is a gear
system that consists of one or more outer gear (planet gear)
rotating about a central (sun gear). The planet gear are mounted
on a moveable arm (carrier) which itself may rotate relative to
the sun gear.
• It is used to increase output speed. The planet gear carrier is
driven by an input torque. The sun gear provides the output
torque, while the ring gear is fixed.
• Advantages
• High reduction ratios
• Compact and lightweight with high torque transmission
• High radial loads on the output shaft
• It is quieter in operation
• Uniform distribution of load over all gears having greater tooth
contact.
• All gears are constantly in mesh, so a change of one gear to
another is possible without any loss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_y1S8C0Hmc
Application-automatic transmission of a car, back gear of lathe, differential gears of the automobiles, hoists, pulley blocks,
wrist watches, etc.
 TORQUE CONVERTER
• Cars with automatic transmissions have no clutch that disconnects the
transmission from the engine. Instead, they use a device called a torque
converter.the torque converter is similar to that of fluid flywheel ,the only
difference is that it has additional stationary member called stator.
• The operation of fluid flywheel and torque converter is not similar.fluid
flywheel transmits the same torque given by engine shaft,the torque
converter increases torque ratio of about 2:1,3:1.
• In gearbox the torque variation is only in finite number of steps,in torque
converter output variation is continous .
• However efficiency of a torque converter is high only within narrow limits of
speed.

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 PROPELLER SHAFT
• The component which is used to transfer torque from the gearbox to the rear axle or differential is called a propeller
shaft. It is not only used in cars but is also used in boats and aeroplanes. It is also known as the Cardan shaft or drive
shaft.
• The propeller shaft is a hollow tube-like structure with a combination of universal and slip spline joints. In most cars
except the modern-day cars, the engine is situated at the front end and it is used to drive the rear wheels.
• Hence, The shaft is used to transmit the power from one end of the automobile to the other end. In automobiles
where the front wheel is given power, a short shaft is used.
• Characteristics of the Propeller Shaft:
• The propeller shaft transmits power from the gearbox’s output shaft to the differential.
• There are no or very few power losses, this means there is no change in the RPM when the power is transmitted.
• It can transmit power at a different elevation like if the gearbox output shaft is at 1 meter from the ground and
differential is at 0.5 meters from the ground.
• The shaft can adjust itself while the vehicle runs through obstacles such as a speed breaker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8QaD8NJLxM&t=2s
• Parts of Propeller Shaft:
• A propeller shaft consists of three main components:
• Universal joints,Split spline joints and Tubular shafts
• Universal joint:
• A universal joint is the most important component of a propeller shaft there are two universal joints in a single-piece
propeller shaft. The number of universal joints can be up to three or four depending on the type of propeller shaft.
• A universal joint is that component that allows rotation of the propeller shaft on various axis. It is a flexible joint that
compensates for the elevation difference between the gearbox output shaft and the differential.
• Slip spline joint:
• A slip spline joint is generally used at the output side of the propeller shaft. It helps in torque transmission at various
lengths of the propeller shaft. It comes in action during the obstacles faced by the automobile.
• To transmit power during sudden brake conditions a slip spline joint is used. It also protects the shaft from
compressive and tensile stresses.
• Tubular shaft:
• The tubular shafts are used to compensate for the distance factor between the gearbox and the rear axle.
 UNIVERSAL JOINT
• A universal joint takes care of rising and falling motion of the rear end of the propeller shaft which is connected to
differential.
• Concept of Universal joint :
• Universal joint is used to connect two shafts at an angle for transmitting torque.
• In the transmission shaft of an automobile, two universal joints are used – one between main transmission shaft and
propeller shaft and another between other end of propeller shaft and the differential.
• Therefore, the universal joints make the joints flexible so that power can be transmitted at an angle.
• Types Of Universal Joint :
• Three types of universal joints are commonly used. These are listed below:
• (a) Cross or spider joint (variable velocity joint).
• (b) Ball and trunnion joint (variable velocity joint).
• (c) Constant velocity joints.
 FINAL DRIVE
• The Final Drive is the last gearing used while transmitting the engine power to the wheels. It has two purposes. Firstly,
it turns the power flow from the propeller shaft to the rear axle at the right angle. Secondly, it also provides a
permanent speed reduction from the propeller shaft to the rear axle.
• The Final drive contains a pair of spiral-bevel gears comprising a pinion that connects to the propeller shaft and a ring
gear that connects to a flange on the differential case.
• The pinion gets the drive from the engine while the crown wheel is attached to the wheels and rotates them. Usually,
there are 3 to 4 times more teeth on the ring gear than the pinion. Thus, it provides the final speed reduction between
3:1 to 4:1 in cars 10:1 in heavy vehicles.
 DIFFERENTIAL
• The is a system of gears that allows different drive wheels (the wheels to which power is delivered from the engine) on
the same axle to rotate at different speeds, such as when the car is turning.
• The differential mechanism uses multiple gears to transmit power and control RPMs in both wheels connected to each
side of an axle. While changing a vehicle's direction, it determines and sends the required rotational power and speed
onto each axle shaft.
• The mechanism involves seamless and inter-connected functioning of different gears, including ring gear, drive shaft
bevel gear and differential bevel gear.
• A differential is a gear train, which consists of three gears, that transfers engine torque to the wheels. It takes power
from the engine and delivers it, allowing each wheel to rotate at a different speed on turns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC6fsNXdcMQ