Automobile Engineering

ME 308

Transmission System
Introduction

• Transmission system is the mechanism which is used to transfer the power developed by engine to the
wheels of an automobile.
• The transmission system of an automobile includes clutch, gear box, propeller shaft axle and wheels, etc.
• The term ‘transmission’ is used for a device which is located between clutch and propeller shaft. It may be a
gear box, an over drive or a torque converter, etc.

Wheel

Differential
Gear Box
Clutch
Engine Propeller shaft

Components in transmission system

Wheel
• Clutch
• Gearbox
• Propeller Shaft
• Differential
• Rear axle
Gearbox: Functions
An automobile is able to provide varying speed and torque through its gear box. Various functions of a gear box are
listed below:

(a) To provide high torque at the time of starting, vehicle acceleration, climbing up a hill.

(b) To provide more than forward speeds by providing more than one gear ratios. In modern cars, five forward
gears and reverse gear is provided. For given engine speed, higher speed can be obtained by running in higher
(4th and 5th) gears.

(c) Gear box provides a reverse gear for driving the vehicle in reverse direction.

Gearbox: Types
(a) Selective gear transmission (manual transmission)
(i) Sliding mesh gear box
(ii) Constant mesh gear box
(iii) Synchromesh gear box
(b) Planetary gear transmission (Automatic transmission)
(i) Fluid type
(ii) Electric type
Sliding mesh gear box
• It is simplest type of gear box out of the available gear boxes.
• In this type of gear box, gears are changed by sliding one gear on the
other. This gear box consists of three shafts; main shaft, clutch shaft and a
counter shaft.
• In a four speed gear box (which includes one reverse gear), the counter
shaft has four gears which are rigidly connected to it. Clutch shaft has one
gear and main shaft has two gears.
• The two gears on the main shaft can slide in the horizontal direction along
the splines of the main shaft. However, the gears on the counter shaft
cannot slide.
• The clutch gear is rigidly fixed to the clutch shaft. It is always connected to
the countershaft drive gear. The two gears on the main shaft can be slide
by the shifter yoke by operating the shift lever (not shown in Figures).
• These two gears are second gear and low/reverse gear respectively.
These gears can be meshed with corresponding gears on the countershaft
with the help of shifter yoke and shift lever.
• Shift lever is operated by hand in four wheelers for changing the gears. A
reverse idler gear is mounted on another (third) shaft and is always in
mesh with reverse gear on countershaft.
Constant mesh gear box

• A simplified diagram of constant mesh box has been shown in the diagram.
• In this gear box, all gears on the main transmission shaft are constantly connected to corresponding gears on countershaft or
lay shaft.
• In addition, two dog clutches are provided on the main shaft.
• One dog clutch is between the second gear and cutch gear and another is between the first gear and reverse gear.
• Splines are out on main shaft so that all the gears are feed on it.
Synchromesh gear box
A synchromesh gear box as shown in the figure operates on the principle of
synchronising the rotation of gears that are about to be meshed that avoids
occurrence of gear clash.
The salient features of synchromesh gear box are as follows:
 The arrangement consists of three parallel shafts namely, the clutch (input)
shaft, main output) shaft and the layshaft (countershaft). The clutch shaft and
the main shaft are in-line while the layshaft is parallel to them and lies below or
on one side of them.
 The main shaft gears are free to rotate, while layshaft gears are fixed to it.
Further, due to constant meshing the gears on the clutch shaft, main shaft and
countershaft are always rotating with the running condition of the engine, i.e.,
when the clutch gear is rotating.
 The power flow from the engine enters the transmission through the clutch
(input) shaft and leaves through the main (output) shaft.
 The system incorporates a synchronizing mechanism which allows the
members (to be meshed) first brought into friction contact. When their speeds
are equalized, the positive contact, proper engagement becomes smoother and
quicker. The synchronizers are, however, fitted only on high speed gears. Dog
clutches are used for operation on low speed and reverse gears.
Automatic transmission system: Fluid coupling and torque converter
• An automatic transmission is a type of motor vehicle transmission that provides automatically different gear ratios between
the engine crank shaft and the transmission output shaft.
• The operation of automatic gear change frees the driver from having to shift gears manually and occurs with change in
vehicle speed and load on the engine.
• Due to the convenience and comfort afforded by the labour saving automatically controlled power transfer devices, the
automatic transmission are being installed in more and more vehicles.

The automatic transmission generally refers to

(a) Fully automatic transmission that uses a torque converter instead of clutch to manage the connection between the engine
and the transmission gearing.
(b) Semi automatic transmission that retains a clutch like manual transmission, but controls the clutch through electro hydraulic
means.
(c) Continuously variable transmission (CVT) which uses belt of some other torque transmission system which allows an infinite
number of gear ratios instead of a fixed number of gear ratios.
Fluid or hydraulic coupling
• To transmit power from one shaft to another, magnitude of the input and output torques are equal.
• Fluid coupling is a hydraulic unit that replaces a clutch used in semi or fully automatic transmission system.
• It acts as an automatic clutch and transmits the engine torque to the transmission system. It is often called fluid flywheel or
fluid drive.
• The fluid coupling has no mechanical connection or face to face contact. The coupling essentially consists of two rotating
elements:
a) pump impeller coupled to the driving (input) shaft of the prime mover which may be an IC engine or an electric motor
b) turbine runner coupled to the driven (output) shaft.
• These two units are enclosed in a single housing without any rigid or mechanical connection between them; the contact is
only through working fluid contained in the casting.
• The choice of the particular oil as the working fluid depends upon its lubricating power, stability and availability. This oil serves
to transmit torque from the pump impeller to the turbine runner.
Torque converter

• The torque converter is a hydraulic device used to transmit increased or decreased power from one shaft to another. A
variable torque is impressed on the driven member without the use of gear train or clutch.
• A torque converter essentially consist of
a) pump impeller coupled to the driving shaft
b) turbine runner coupled to the driven shaft
c) reaction member or fixed guide vane arranged between the pump impeller and the turbine runner
Propeller shaft
• The propeller shaft is a unit of the automobile transmission system that connects the gear box output shaft to the input shaft
of the differential at the rear (wheel) axle.
• Apparently the propeller shaft transmits the power from the engine, clutch and gear box to the driving wheels of the vehicle
through final drive and differential unit.
• The propeller shaft has to perform the following two functions also:
a) to transmit motion at an angle which is varying frequently
b) accommodate changes in length between the gear box and rear axle.
• The propeller shaft is also called the driving shaft or the drive shaft.
• The propeller shaft has two universal joints (one at each end) and a slip (sliding) joint at one end.
• The slip joint is formed by internal splines on the sleeve attached to the left universal joint and external splines on the
propeller shaft.
Universal and slip joint
• The transmission (gear box) and the rear axle are generally not at the same centre
line and as such it is not possible to transmit rotations by using a single shaft to have
rigid connection between these two units. Further, the transmission is rigidly
attached to the front while the rear axle is normally mounted on springs. The springs
compress or expand due to road irregularities. Obviously when the vehicle is
running, there occurs a constant change in the positional relations between the
transmission and rear axle.
a) The angle of drive between the output transmission shaft and the propeller
shaft changes. This variation is taken care of by the universal joint
b) The length to be accommodated by the propeller shaft is the distance
between the transmission shaft and the pinion shaft of the differential
changes. This variation in length occurs because the propeller shaft and the
rear axle rotate on arcs having different points. The length occupied by the
propeller shaft reduces with an increase in the drive between the gear box
and propeller shaft. The slip joint or the sliding joint serves the effective length
of the propeller shaft when demanded by the rear axle movements.
• The location of slip joint varies with the type of drive provided with the vehicle and
may be between the propeller shaft and the universal joint connecting the propeller
shaft the transmission main shaft (Hotchkiss drive) between the transmission main
shaft and universal joint
• The slip joint is not always necessary with the cars provided with torque tube drive.
Overdrive
• The speed of the automotive vehicle greatly depends on the gear ratio derived
from the gear box by maintaining the speed of the transmission shaft i.e., the
engine crank shaft.
• The delivery of power is controlled by proper selection of gear ration with
proper vehicle speed in order to reduce the load on the engine.
• The term overdrive refer to the transmission gear that causes the output shaft
to turn faster than the input shaft.
• In context of automotive vehicles, overdrives in a speed increasing device that
allows the faster rotation of the propeller shaft thank the transmission main
shaft without bringing any additional load on the engine.
• The term is coined as overdrive as it allows to achieve a speed ratio over that
of high speed ratio.
• In normal condition the gear ration is maintained at 1:1 in top gear, however, in
the case with overdrive, the gear ration possible to achieve is 1:K, where, K<1.
• The system becomes useful in the case when an vehicle is moving at a
constant speed and there is not much of resistance offered to the vehicle
motion, the vehicle in this condition requires no special acceleration for
sustaining the motion and the power derived from the engine becomes surplus.
Final drive
• The final drive is the part of the transmission system between the drive (propeller shaft) and the differential gear assembly.
• Basically, it consist of a combination of large sized crown wheel and a pinion, and is employed to serve the functions such as
turn the drive from the propeller shaft through 90° and transmits its to the wheels, enable the driving wheels to rotate at
different speeds, and reduce the speed of the engine to that of the drive wheels.
• The final drive also provides the mechanical advantage or leverage from the propeller shaft to the rear axle.
• The final drive offers permanent speed reduction in the automobile apart from the variable reduction offered by the gear box.
• Usually, in a passenger vehicle the gear ration maintained at the final drive is 3 to 4:1.
Rear Axle

• The axles are the integral part of an automobile and the rear axle is an important component in automobile as most of the rear
axle houses the final drive and the differential for the transmission of the torque received from the propeller shaft.
• In general the rear axle contains the casing, axle shaft, differential gears and the wheels. The rear axle has a few notable
functions in automobile as mentioned below.
a) It carries the weight of the rear portion of the vehicle
b) It allows the change of the rotation of the propeller shaft through 90° to rotate the axle shaft
c) It allows the reduction of speeds between propeller shaft and the axle shafts
d) It provides an differential action to the outer wheels during turning of the vehicle, so that it can rotate faster than the
inner wheel to maintain the vehicle stability
e) It allows the axle shaft and half shaft to rotate the wheels
f) It also acts as the thrust carrying member during the sudden acceleration or braking of the vehicle.
• There are three types of rear axle usually seen in most of the automobile namely live axle or drive axle, dead axle or non-
drive axle, split axle, independent rear suspension, tandem axle, transaxle.
Rear Axle
• Live axle or drive axle: The role of the rear axle is to hold and align the wheels apart from the supporting the weight of the
vehicle. The term “drive” is added to the axle due to the fact that this axle is responsible for transmitting the torque to the
wheels. Drive axle usually contains the drive pinion, crown wheel, differential axle shaft, axle bearings and casing of the
differential.

• Dead axle or non-drive axle: The role of the dead axle is to only support the wheels and the weight of the vehicle. The term
“dead” is added to the axle due to the fact that this axle does not transmits any motion to the wheel.

• Split axle: In split axle design, the wheel on the each side is attached to a separate shaft known as the half axle. The split
axles permit the use of the differential that allows the right and left wheels to be driven at different speeds as the vehicle takes
a turn. This improves the traction of the vehicle and increase road safety of the vehicle.

• Tandem axle: A tandem axle is a group of two or more axles situated close to each other. This configuration provides a
greater weight capacity and used for truck designs.

• Transaxle: This combination of the axle system includes single unit of transmission system and the axle system.
Rear axle drives
• The rear axle drives mainly responsible to handle the changes in drive line and angle and sustain the forces to
which the rear axle has been subjected.
• The two known drive systems for rear axle are Hotchkiss drive and the torque tube drive. Out of these, the
Hotchkiss drive is popular in light and less expensive vehicles.
Hotchkiss drive
• The Hotchkiss drive is most simple and widely used system. In this arrangement, the springs besides taking
weight of the body, also take the torque reaction, driving thrust and side forces.
• The drive consists of an open propeller shaft secured to the transmission output shaft and differential pinion
gear shaft (Bevel pinion shaft).
• The propeller shaft is provided with two universal joints and a sliding joint.
• The springs are bolted to the axle. Casing. The front end of the spring is rigidly fixed to the frame, while the
rear end is connected to the frame by swinging (links or shackle).
• The front half of the spring will transmit the driving thrust to the frame.
Torque tube drive

• In this type, the springs takes body weight and side thrust only.
• The torque reaction and driving thrust are taken by another
member called Torque tube.
• These torque tubes are made tubular and usually surrounded the
propeller shaft. One end of torque tube is attached to the axle
casing while the other end which is spherical in shape fits in the
cup fixed to the frame as in figure.
• As torque tube takes torque reaction, the axis of bevel pinion shaft
will not change and always pass through the centre of spherical
cup, if the universal joint connecting propeller shaft and
transmission shaft is located exactly at the centre of spherical cup.
• Only one universal joint is used at the front end and no universal
joint is needed at the rear end of the propeller shaft, so also pinion
shaft propeller shaft will move about the same centre i.e. about the
centre of spherical cup.
• No sliding joint is required in this case. A schematic representation
of the drive is shown in Fig. 15 for reference.
Mounting of rear axle
• In accordance with the placement of the axle bearing in relation to the axle and housing, there are three ways of
supporting the axles namely semi (or half) floating, full floating and three quarter floating.
• The characteristics of these systems are highlighted below for reference.
Semi (or half) floating axle
• The arrangement has single ball bearing on the axle shaft and
inside the axle casing. At its inner end, the axle shaft is splined to
the differential side gear (sun gear). The outer end is flanged for
fitting the wheels by means of key, nut and bolts. The schematic
cross section of the part of the axle. A few notable aspects of this
arrangement are listed below.
• The axle casing supports the vehicle weight and relieves the inner
end of the axle shaft from this duty. The outer end too supports the
vehicle weight and takes the end thrust.
• Each of the half shaft receives the vehicle load through casing and
bearing.
• The system is simpler in construction and less costly as compared
to other systems. However this system is not preferred in heavy
load carrying vehicles like trucks.
Full floating axle

• The full floating axle arrangement has two deep groove ball or taper
roller bearings which are located between the axle casing and the
wheel hub.
• The wheel hub is either suitably splined or bolted for engagement with
axle shaft. This coupling transmits the rotary motion of the axle shaft to
the hub and wheel.
• The vehicle load is completely shared by wheels and the axle casing.
The axle system transmits only torque and free from any strain due to
vehicle load.
• This arrangement is suitable for the replacement without the removal
of the wheel and disturbing the differential.
• The full floating axle is heavier than the semi floating axle and also
costlier. It is preferred for heavy load carrying vehicles. The schematic
representation of a full floating axle is shown.
Three quarter floating axle

• The three quarter floating system has a bearing located between

the hub and the axle casing (instead of between the axle casing
and the shaft as in case of semi floating axle system).
• The axle is keyed rigidly onto the hub and that provides the driving
connection and ensures proper alignment of wheel.
• The vertical load due to the weight of the vehicle transmitted to the
hub and wheel. Accordingly the axle is not subjected to any
bending or shear actions due the weight of the vehicle.
• Only the thrust and driving torque has to be handles by the axle. A
schematic representation of the three quarter floating axle is
shown.
 Comparison of axle systems

Parameter Semi floating Three quarter floating Full floating

Cost Low Medium High
Sustaining Yes, the vertical load is Yes, the vertical load is Vehicle load not carried by
vertical load of taken by half shaft taken by a single bearing the axle; carried by the
the weight of bearings placed over the axle axle casing
the vehicle casing
Existence of Present Present Absent
side load
Driving torque Yes, delivered to the Yes, delivered to the Yes, delivered to the
to the wheels wheels wheels wheels
Placement of Placed within the axle Placed over the axle Placed within the axle
the bearing casing casing casing
Application Medium load carrying Passenger vehicle Heavy load carrying
vehicle vehicle
Differential

• When an Automobile negotiates a turn, the distance travelled by outside wheels is greater than that travelled by
inside wheels in the same time. If the wheels are mounted on dead axles, so that the turn independent to each
other (like front wheels of an ordinary passenger vehicle), the wheels will turn at different speeds to com pen ate
for the difference in travel.

• But if the engine drives the wheels, some device is necessary which will allow the wheels to revolve at different
speeds. To do this a device called differential is provided in the rear axle. This will increase the speed of outside
wheels and reduce the speed of inside wheels, when the vehicle travels around a corner, in the meantime keep
the speed of all the wheels same when the vehicle is going straight head. This avoids skidding when the vehicle
is taking turn.