Torque Converter
Unit III
S.THULASIRAM AP/MECH
Torque Converters
Torque converters are fluid-coupling devices
that also act as a torque multiplier during
initial acceleration.
Concept behind Torque converters:
• Imagine you have two
fans facing each other.
Turn one fan on, and it
will blow air over the
blades of the second
fan, causing it to spin.
But if you hold the
second fan still, the first
fan will keep right on
spinning.
Concept behind Torque converters:
• That's exactly how a torque converter works.
One "fan," called the impeller, is connected to
the engine (together with the front cover, it
forms the outer shell of the converter).
• The other fan, the turbine, is connected to
the transmission input shaft. Unless the
transmission is in neutral or park, any motion
of the turbine will move the vehicle.
Typical torque converter:
• Instead of using air, the torque converter uses
a liquid medium, which cannot be compressed
– oil, otherwise known as transmission fluid.
Automatic transmission cars use a torque
converter.
• The torque converter in an automatic
transmission serves the same purpose as the
clutch in a manual transmission.
Major parts:
1) Impeller Pump
2) Stator
3) Turbine
4) Cover
1) Impeller Pump
• The impeller pump is the outside half of the converter on the
transmission side of the weld line.
• Inside the impeller pump is a series of longitudinal fins that drive
the fluid around the outside diameter into the turbine because
this component is welded to the cover, which is bolted to the
flexplate.
• The size of the torque converter (and pump) and the number and
shape of the fins all affect the characteristics of the converter.
• If long torque converter life is an objective, it is extremely
important that the fins of the impeller pump are adequately
reinforced against fatigue and the outside housing does not distort
under stress.
2) Stator
The stator can be described as the “brain” of the
torque converter, although it is not the sole
determiner of converter function and characteristics.
The stator, which changes fluid flow between the
turbine and pump, is what makes a torque converter
a torque converter (multiplier) and not strictly a fluid
coupler.
With the stator removed a converter will retain none
of its torque multiplying effect.
Torque converter
Torque converter working
3) Turbine
• The turbine rides within the cover and is attached to
the drivetrain via a spline fit to the input shaft of the
transmission.
• When the turbine moves, the car moves.
4) Cover
• The cover (also referred to as the front) is the outside
half of the housing toward the engine side from the
weld line. The cover serves to attach the converter to
the flexplate (engine) and contains the fluid.
• While the cover is not actively involved in the
characteristics of performance, it is important that
the cover remain rigid under stress (torsional and
thrust stress as well as the tremendous hydraulic
pressure generated by the torque converter
internally).
End