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Procedia Materials Science 6 (2014) 1588 – 1592

3rd International Conference on Materials Processing and Characterisation (ICMPC 2014)

Free Vibration Analysis of Truck Transmission Housing Based on

FEA
Ashwani Kumara,Himanshu Jaiswala,Avichal Pandeya, Pravin P Patilb
a,b
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Graphic Era University,Dehradun, India 248002

Abstract

The Transmission housing protect the components of gearbox. It provides the fluid tight casing to hold the lubricants and
provides support to moving components. Transmission housing or gearbox casing failure is the main problem for the vehicle
manufacturer. Noise and vibration are the main reason for failure. So it is required to reduce the level of noise and vibration. In
order to prevent failure the natural frequency and natural mode shapes should be known. In this paper ,the vibration analysis of
transmission housing were performed by finite element simulation using ANSYS 14.5 software. The vibration pattern for first
twenty mode were studied. The analysis show that the natural frequency of vibration varies from 1306.3 Hz to 3879 Hz. The
External excitation on transmission housing must be eliminated to prevent the fracture of housing. The reason for the fracture is
matching of external excitation frequency to natural frequency of transmission housing. Transmission housing design is a
complex procedure. Design of transmission housing was done using Solid Edge software and the model is imported in ANSYS
14.5 (FEM based software) for vibration analysis.
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering and Technology (GRIET).
Selection and peer review under responsibility of the Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering and Technology (GRIET)
Keywords- Vibration Analysis; FEA; Transmission Housing; ANSYS; Modes.

1. Introduction

A gearbox is a combination of gears that is used to transmit energy through different parts of vehicle. It function
like to increase torque while reducing speed.
___________
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: E-mail: [email protected]

2211-8128 © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Selection and peer review under responsibility of the Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering and Technology (GRIET)
doi:10.1016/j.mspro.2014.07.141
 Ashwani Kumar et al. / Procedia Materials Science 6 (2014) 1588 – 1592 1589

Gearbox casing is often used interchangeably with transmission Casing or housing. Housing is a complex system
to design and analysis. It consist of various types of fixturing and inaccurate fixturing cause excessive vibration
and noise production. Automobile transmissions consist of multiple gears to increase torque while slowing down
the speed. Automatic, manual and continuously variable are three types of transmission used in automobiles. A
manual transmission is a simple gearbox assembly. Manual transmission is of two types: sliding mesh and
constant mesh. In manual transmission all the requirement is handled by the driver and the engine speed according
to road is vary by driver. If the shifting of gears is not timed correctly, clashing may happen. Clashing is a loud
noise produced during collision of gear tooth and this collision leads the transmission failure. In automatic and
continuously variable transmissions there is less driver interaction.

In transmission the power is transmitted in this order - engine, clutch, gearbox, prop shaft, differential, half shafts,
hubs and tyres. During power transmission if there is a slack in drive train it may cause high vibration known as
transmission Shock. It is the main reason for gearbox assembly and housing failure.

2. The Cad Model

The transmission housing model was constructed using software Solid Edge (2006). The CAD software SOLID
EDGE have good modeling features so it is selected for solid model of the transmission housing. The CAD model
is shown as figure 1. For free vibration analysis the IGES file of solid model is imported to ANSYS 14.5 (2013)
software. Figure 2 shows the meshed model of transmission housing. ANSYS 14.5 provide high quality meshing
facility. The meshed model consists of 2,52,786 nodes and 1,56,307 elements. Linear tetrahedral elements are used
for meshing.

Fig.1. Cad Solid model of Transmission Casing.

Fig.2. Meshed Model of Transmission Casing in ANSYS 14.5

3. Material Properties

The complex geometry of transmission housing is analysed using fixed-fixed boundary condition. Transmission
housing is connected on truck frames by bolts. Fixed-fixed condition is applied by limiting nodal displacement. Gray
Cast iron have damping property and since many years it has been used as prime material for housing. Housing is
cast in two parts known as upper and lower half symmetrical about shaft axes. Mechanical properties (Elastic
1590 Ashwani Kumar et al. / Procedia Materials Science 6 (2014) 1588 – 1592

modulus, Poisson ratio and density) are required for free vibration analysis. The Gray Cast Iron, Grade FG 260
material properties selected for the study of the transmission housing are Elastic modulus-1.28x 1011 Pa , Poisson
ratio- 0.26, density-7200 kg/m3. The Metals Databook (2008).

4. Results and Discussion

FE code-ANSYS 14.5 is used to find the natural frequency and mode shape of transmission housing. Simulation is
performed for fixed - fixed motion supported boundary conditions. The load freedom is selected by ANSYS itself.
The FEM based software Ansys.14.5 provides the first 20 natural frequency and mode shapes (Table 1) . ANSYS
software has good analysis capability. It is used for the structural, thermal, magnetic, vibration analysis. The
result consist of stresses, strain, modes and so on are provided by ANSYS. The first 20 order vibration mode of
transmission i s s h o w n i n Figure 3. From the figure 3. 1, 3 and 5 modes is torsional vibration. This torsional
vibration is performed at single right side on transmission housing. The 8,10 and 12 modes is axial bending
vibration. In axial bending vibration the transmission body try to bend from the centre line figure 3. The 14 and
17 modes is torsional vibration. The 18 and 20 modes is axial bending vibration with torsional vibration. Both
axial bending and torsional vibration happen in upper and lower side. In case the bolt is loose or failed the
transmission housing will vibrate heavily and the transmission system will break down.

Mode 1 f1 = 1002.5 Hz Mode 3 f3 = 1332.7 Hz

Mode 5 f5 = 1692.4 Hz Mode 8 f8 = 2117.3 Hz

Mode 10 f10 = 2282 Hz Mode 12 f12 = 2473.5 Hz

 Ashwani Kumar et al. / Procedia Materials Science 6 (2014) 1588 – 1592 1591

Mode 14 f14 = 2675.8 Hz Mode 17 f17 = 2826.1 Hz

Mode 18 f18 = 2878.6 Hz Mode 20 f20 = 2954.8 Hz

Fig. 3. Ten different mode shape of the Transmission Casing.

Table. 1 Mode number and corresponding natural frequency.

Mode Frequency [Hz]

1 1002.5
2 1119.5
3 1332.7
4 1666.5
5 1692.4
6 1805.2
7 1916.1
8 2117.3
9 2151.7
10 2282.0
11 2301.3
12 2473.5
13 2488.6
14 2675.8
15 2747.1
16 2766.1
17 2826.1
18 2878.6
19 2885.5
20 2954.8
1592 Ashwani Kumar et al. / Procedia Materials Science 6 (2014) 1588 – 1592

5. Conclusion

It is observed that heavy vibration excitation is the main reason for transmission housing failure. The analysis
results shows that transmission housing is subjected to Axial bending vibration , torsional vibration and Axial
bending with torsional vibration. The transmission housing motion is constrained by constraining the
displacement of bolt holes. ANSYS14.5 software has powerful analysis capabilities and SOLIDEDGE software
has a powerful function of solid modeling. They are suited for Finite Element Analysis of complex shapes. The3D
solid model is prepared by applying SOLIDEDGE software and is transferred to ANSYS 14.0. In this research
work we have considered the vibration problem of the transmission housing using FEA method. Finite Element
Analysis offers satisfactory results. First 20 Vibration mode shape has been calculated. The experimental and
analytical analysis is not available in literature for the transmission housing. So it is a new simulation analysis for
transmission housing.

Acknowledgement

The authors are thankful to DST, New Delhi and Management of Graphic Era University, Dehradun for its
necessary funding towards publication of this work.

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