TRANSMISSION CHARACTERISTICS:
The transmission requirements of a vehicle depend on the characteristics of the
power plant and the performance requirements of the vehicle. As mentioned previously, a
well-controlled electric machine such as the power plant of an electric vehicle will not need
a multi gear transmission. However, an internal combustion engine must have a multi gear
or continuously varying transmission to multiply its torque at low speed. The term
transmission here includes all those systems employed for transmitting engine power to the
drive wheels.
For automobile applications, there are usually two basic types of transmissions: manual
gear transmission and hydrodynamic transmission.
Manual Gear Transmission
Manual gear transmission consists of a clutch, gearbox, final drive, and
driveshaft. The final drive has a constant gear reduction ratio or a differential gear
ratio. The common practice of requiring direct drive (non- reducing) in the gearbox to
be in the highest gear determines this ratio. The gearbox provides a number of gear
reduction ratios ranging from three to five for passenger cars and more for heavy
commercial vehicles that are powered with gasoline or diesel engines. The maximum
speed requirement of the vehicle determines the gear ratio of the highest gear (i.e., the
smallest ratio). On the other hand, the gear ratio of the lowest gear (i.e., the
maximum ratio) is determined by the requirement of the maximum tractive effort or
the grade ability. Ratios between them should be spaced in such a way that they will
provide the tractive effort–speed characteristics as close to the ideal as possible, as
shown in Figure1.1. In the first iteration, gear ratios between the highest and the
lowest gear may be selected in such a way that the engine can operate in the same
speed range for all the gears. This approach would benefit the fuel economy and
performance of the vehicle. For instance, in normal driving, the proper gear can be
selected according to vehicle speed to operate the engine in its optimum speed range
for fuel-saving purposes. In fast acceleration, the engine can be operated in its
speed range with high power output. This approach is depicted in Figure [Link].For
a four-speed gear box, the following relationship can be established.
……….eq1
and
…………..eq2
where ig1, ig2, ig3, and ig4 are the gear ratios for the first, second, third, and fourth
gear, respectively. In a more general case, if the ratio of the highest
Figure1.1: Tractive effort characteristics of a gasoline engine-
powered vehicle
Figure1.2: Demonstration of vehicle speed range and engine speed
range for each gear
gear, ign(smaller gear ratio), and the ratio of the lowest gear, ig1 (largest gear ratio),
have been determined and the number of the gear ng is known, the factor Kg can be
determined as
…………eq3
and each gear ratio can be obtained by
…………eq4
For passenger cars, to suit changing traffic conditions, the step between the ratios of
the upper two gears is often a little closer than that based on (eq4).That is,
……..eq5
This, in turn, affects the selection of the ratios of the lower gears. For
commercial vehicles, however, the gear ratios in the gearbox are often arranged
based on (eq5).
Figure 1.3 shows the tractive effort of a gasoline engine vehicle with four gear
transmission and that of an electric vehicle with single-gear transmission. It is clear that
electric machines with favorable torque–speed characteristics can satisfy tractive effort
with simple single-gear transmission.
Figure1.3:Tractive efforts of a gasoline engine vehicle with four-gear
transmission and an electric vehicle with single-gear transmission.