M. De la Cruz

An investigation of manual transmission drive rattle

Abstract Manual transmission gear rattle is an NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness) concern in the automotive industry. It is induced by repetitive impacts on loose (unselected) gear wheel teeth by their corresponding driving pinions. This phenomenon occurs under various loading conditions and is classified accordingly, including ‘idle rattle’ when the transmission is in neutral and ‘creep and drive rattle’ when the transmission is in a gear with a widely open or a partially open throttle. The phenomenon is also present from drive to coast conditions, referred to as overrun rattle. Engine order fluctuations on the input shaft are considered to be the underlying cause for rattle of loose gears. However, the mechanism of transmission of vibration through lubricated contacts is not fundamentally understood. It is surmised that changes in lubricated contact conditions at different bulk oil temperatures may play a key role and, therefore, offer an opportunity to deal with rattle by a root-cause fundamental solution. This means that a detailed multi-physics approach (including dynamics, vibration, and tribology) is needed. This article provides detailed analytical models of lubricated conjunctions in a multi-body dynamics model of a transaxle seven-speed transmission system under creep rattle conditions. The results show the important role of the regime of lubrication in lightly loaded conjunctions, increasing the propensity to rattle at higher temperatures. It is also revealed that the effect of engine order vibration as an initiating source for rattle becomes significant with reduced hydrodynamic contact stiffness at rising temperatures.

Combined numerical and experimental investigation of the micro-hydrodynamics of chevron-based textured patterns influencing conjunctional friction of sliding contacts

Reciprocating and low-speed sliding contacts can experience increased friction because of solid boundary interactions. Use of surface texturing has been shown to mitigate undue boundary friction and improve energy efficiency. A combined numerical and experimental investigation is presented to ascertain the beneficial effect of pressure perturbation caused by micro-hydrodynamics of entrapped reservoirs of lubricant in cavities of textured forms as well as improved micro-wedge flow. The results show good agreement between numerical predictions and experimental measurements using a precision sliding rig with a floating bed-plate. Results show that the texture pattern and distribution can be optimised for given conditions, dependent on the intended application under laboratory conditions. The translation of the same into practical in-field applications must be carried out in conjunction with the cost of fabrication and perceived economic gain. This means that near optimal conditions may suffice for most application areas and in practice lesser benefits may accrue than that obtained under ideal laboratory conditions.

Lubrication of a flexible piston skirt conjunction subjected to thermo-elastic deformation: A combined numerical and experimental investigation

The piston–cylinder conjunction accounts for nearly 50% of all the parasitic frictional losses in an IC engine of which the piston skirt accounts for nearly half of these losses. Consequently, part-circumferential short skirted compliant pistons have become a development trend, particularly for high-performance engines. Another trend has been the use of light weight moving parts to reduce inertial imbalance. This has led to the use of shorter lighter pistons constructed from lower density materials, such as aluminium. These higher power density pistons typically operate at elevated temperatures and undergo significant mechanical and thermal distortions due to the relatively high thermal expansion coefficients. As a result thermo-mechanical distortion of the skirt plays an important role in controlling the clearance gap between the skirt and the liner and makes the analysis, particularly skirt deformation, a computationally intensive procedure. This paper presents a semi-automatic methodology for the prediction of piston skirt thermo-mechanical deflection, which incorporates skirt deformation as well as piston crown compliant contribution to the skirt–liner clearance. This procedure is based on the creation of a compliance matrix and its intricate manipulation, significantly reducing the simulation run times. Integration of this approach with the numerical solution of Reynolds equation leads to an accurate prediction of film thickness. In addition, an array of ultrasonic sensors is used to directly measure the conjunctional lubricant film thickness in a non-invasive manner. The predictions and measurements show good conformance, an approach not hitherto reported in literature.

Transmission drive rattle with thermo-elastohydrodynamic impacts: numerical and experimental investigations

The paper studies the effect of torsional fluctuations resident on the automotive transmission input shaft upon the rattle phenomenon due to engine orders, as well as transmitted torque variations from any engaged gear pair. Speed variations interrupt the orderly meshing of the idling gears, thus causing impulsive action emanating as rattle. This is a Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) phenomenon of significant concern to industry. The engaged (selected) gear pair teeth are subject to moderate to high loads, thus a thermo-mixed elastohydrodynamic regime of lubrication ensues. Unlike the idle gear pairs, where lightly loaded hydrodynamic conditions prevail, the elastohydrodynamic regime of lubrication ensures reduced teeth separation effects. Both types of lubricated conjunctions abound in a model of a 7-speed transmission system. The numerical predictions agree well and complement measured performance on an engine bed - transmission rig of a front wheel drive vehicle. The paper uses a non-dimensional parameter - impulsion ratio - which relates gear dynamics to the prevailing conditions in the lubricated conjunctions, showing the critical and often conflicting role that lubricant rheology plays in the promotion or palliation of rattle. Furthermore, it objectively demarcates the boundary between low intensity rattle of frequent teeth pair separations from high intensity double-sided teeth impacts with ensuing torque reversals.

Combined lubricant-surface system perspective: multi-scale numerical-experimental investigation

Frictional losses are one of the main causes of reduced energy efficiency in all machines and mechanisms. In particular, there is mounting pressure upon manufacturers of all forms of vehicle to comply with increasingly stringent legislation and directives with regard to harmful emissions. Therefore, reduction of friction has become an imperative issue. The traditional approach of dealing with surface material and lubricant formulation in isolation has been replaced by a lubricant–surface system approach. This paper presents multi-scale experimentation from nano/meso-scale lateral force microscopy of ultra-thin surface adsorbed films through to micro-scale precision sliding tribometry to investigate lubricant–surface friction optimisation within the mixed regime of lubrication, using lubricants with different organic and inorganic friction modifying species. These affect the parameters of the system, commonly used as input to models for mixed and boundary regimes of lubrication. Therefore, the precise measurement of these parameters at different physical scales is important. The study also makes use of detailed numerical predictions at micro-scale through combined solution of the average Reynolds equation as well as interaction of wetted asperities in mixed and boundary regimes of lubrication. Good agreement is found between the predictions and measurements at micro-scale tribometric interactions. Furthermore, the same trends are observed in testing across the physical scales.

The Role of Laser Surface Textured Patterns on Friction in Reciprocating Contacts

The paper presents the development of a new reciprocating friction measurement test rig. Additionally, laser surface texturing (LST) techniques are introduced and a set of typical experimental results is presented. It is shown that the introduction of textured areas can result in significant reduction in lubricated conjunctional friction of a straight ring segment-to-a flat substrate.© 2012 ASME