TRANSMISSIONS

INTRODUCTION
• The function of the vehicle transmission is to transfer engine power to
the driving wheels of the vehicle.
• Changing gears inside the transmission allows matching of the engine
speed and torque with the vehicle’s load and speed conditions. In
manual transmissions the driver must shift from gear to gear, whereas
in automatic transmission the shifting is performed by a control
system. There has been a gradual refinement in gearbox design over
recent decades and a move towards an increasing number of gear
ratios to improve overall performance and efficiency.
THE NEED FOR A GEARBOX
• Vehicles are traditionally equipped with gearboxes and differentials.
The number of gears in vehicle transmissions range from three for
older cars to five, six and even eight in newer ones. The differential
provides a constant torque amplification ratio (final drive) and acts as
a power split device for left and right wheels. The role of a gearbox is
to provide different torque amplification ratios from the engine to the
wheels when necessary at different driving conditions.
Consider a case in which the torque source is directly connected to a
driving wheel, and ignoring the effect of rotating masses, we further
assume that enough friction is available at tyre–road contact area, so
the available tractive force is:
DESIGN OF GEARBOX RATIOS
• Vehicle motion in different conditions is governed by the way power is
transmitted from its source to the wheels. Gearbox ratios must be designed
to match the vehicle motion with the torque generator’s characteristics. In
the case of an IC engine, the diverse working conditions of the engine make
it very important to have proper gear ratios for good overall performance of
the vehicle. Low gears are used at low speeds and should provide high
tractions for accelerating and hill climbing. High gears, on the other hand,
are used at higher speeds and must allow proper matching between engine
torque-speed characteristics with vehicle acceleration and speed. Since the
requirements for the lowest and highest speed gears are totally different,
each will be considered separately.
LOWEST GEAR
• The first or the lowest gear is used when the highest acceleration is needed or when the road
load is high, such as on a slope. Since the gear ratio amplifies the engine torque, a large ratio
will produce large wheel torques. However, the tractive force generated by a tyre is limited.
Hence, increasing the gear ratio is limited by the tyre–road friction characteristics, the tractive
force, including the driveline efficiency 𝜂𝑑 is:

• Assuming the limitation for the tractive force is, say, 𝐹𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 , the overall gear ratio 𝜂𝐿 for the
lowest gear can be written as:

• The maximum tractive force can be written as:

• where 𝜇𝑝 is the maximum coefficient of adhesion in tyre–road interface and 𝑊𝑎𝑥𝑙𝑒 is the load
on the driving axle.
In order to find the axle load, consider the free body diagram of a vehicle travelling on a road of slope 𝜃.
This equation can be used to calculate the largest gear ratio, however, the value of Te must be available.
In fact, the engine torque does not have a constant value and it depends on the engine speed and throttle
position. In order to find a suitable value for engine torque, let us rewrite:
GRADABILITY
• A vehicle’s gradability is its ability to climb slopes while maintaining a specific speed.
• It´s measured in degrees or as a percentage, with 45 degrees being equivalent to
100%.
• Gradability is dependent on engine power, drivetrain type, gear ratio, weight, weight
distribution, and the car’s centre of gravity and traction.
• En el transporte, “gradability” es la medida de la potencia de tracción de un camión,
expresada como la pendiente más empinada que el camión puede subir con una carga
completa.
• En el automovilismo, gradability es la capacidad de un automóvil para superar
pendientes, que se mide en grados o en porcentaje.
GRADABILITY
• The maximum grade a vehicle can negotiate depends on two factors: first, the limitation of road
adhesion and second, the limitation of the engine torque. In order to consider the limitation of
road friction, the right-hand side of the following equation with the inclusion of the slope angle,
dictates the maximum traction force:
GRADABILITY
• The limitation of the engine torque is not in general critical to gradeability as it is
always possible to increase the gear ratio to increase the tractive force. If the torque
is limited, the left-hand side of the following equation dictates the maximum traction
force. At low speeds:

• which can be solved for 𝜃. The minimum of the values obtained from previous
equations will be the vehicle's gradeability at low speeds.
EXCERSICE
HIGHEST GEAR
• The highest gear is usually used for cruising at high speeds. The maximum vehicle
speed is attained at the top gear as a result of the dynamic balance between the
tractive and resistive forces. From the kinematic point of view, the maximum speed of
a vehicle in the highest gear 𝑛𝐻 will occur at a certain engine speed 𝜔𝑒∗ so:
HIGHEST GEAR
• If the tyre slip Sx is also taken into account, the modified equation will be:

• For a target top speed of 𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥 if 𝜔𝑒∗ was known, the gear ratio 𝑛𝐻 could simply be calculated.
However, 𝜔𝑒∗ is the result of the power balance between the engine and resistive forces which is
dependent on the design parameters including the gear ratio.
• The highest gear in the gearbox (e.g. 5th) sometimes is designed by assuming 𝜔𝑒∗ to be about 10%
higher than the engine speed at the point of maximum engine power, then the final gear is
designed by arranging it to be an overdrive of up to 30%. For the design of the highest gear, it is
reasonable to consider a full throttle condition for the top speed of vehicle, therefore the WOT
curve of engine can be used to find the dynamic balance point. In general, as Figure illustrates, the
intersection of the tractive and resistive force diagrams defines the balance point at which a
steady state condition results and the vehicle speed will remain constant. The variation of tractive
force can be written as: