Automotive drive shaft

Sophisticated stmctural analysis techniques make it possible to determine both the amount and exact orientation of reinforcement that the product wQl need to meet the critical stresses in actual service. Hybrid reinforcement systems containing different fiber compositions with different properties are being increasingly used. For example, hybrid carbon and glass fiber automotive drive shafts are in commercial use. 

Those seals work w ell within theii" designed life. Theii designed life is about 2,000 hours. An automotive drive shaft spinning at about 1,800 rpni w onld move the ear at approximately 50 miles per hour. 2,000 hours would be ee]uivalent to about 100,000 miles on a ear. 2,000 hours (at 1,800 rpm) on a pump w ould be equivalent to about 83 days at 24/7 operation. Many meehanies have questioned the logie of installing a 3-month seal to proteet a 5-year bearing. 

SELECTION OF A COMPOSITE FOR AN AUTOMOTIVE DRIVE SHAFT 837 Table 8.10 Design Specifications for a Typical Automotive Driveshaft... 

There is a modified centrifugal casting process that produces continuous filament reinforced TP pipes/tubes with precise fiber placement and smooth internal and external surfaces. TPs such as nylon and polypropylene have been reinforced with fibers such as glass and carbon. Products such as automotive drive shafts and bearings have been fabricated with fiber volumes up to 60wt%. These tubes have very low rotational unbalances and tight tolerance of wall thickness (Chapter 15). 

Other applications include bonding in missile motors and body structures, hovercraft, Automotive applications including automotive drive shafts and drum and disc brakes, skis and snowboards and furniture and laminated boards. See also Wood adhesives - phenolics... 

Products can be found in every principal market area including rocket motor and shell casings, air and gas pressure tanks, aircraft wing fuel tanks, utihty poles, automotive and tmck drive shafts, sailboat masts, vaulting poles, fishing rods, golf shafts, railroad tanks cars, and pipes and tanks for oil, gas, and chemical processing. 

Composites are being employed in a number of automotive applications. These include racing car bodies as well as regular automobiles. Most automobiles have the lower exterior panels composed of rubbery, plastic blends, and/or composite materials. Corvettes have composite bodies that allow a lightweight vehicle with decent fuel economy and they do not rust. Other parts such as drive shafts and leaf springs in private cars and heavy trucks, antennas, and bumpers are being made from composite materials. 

The chemist s role is not limited to materials and analysis of designed components. The role also extends into power train applications and processes. Power train, refers to the set of components that generate power (engine) and deliver power (transmission, differential, and drive shafts) to the road. The combustion process, lubrication of components, and cooling requirements—along with ways to improve these processes and requirements—must be understood. The automotive chemist s tools and training allow for these challenges to be met properly as we head into the future. 

Steering components, for example, knuckle joints, as well as transmission and drive Une parts, such as transmission shafts, pinions, and constant-velocity joints. Another considerable application for cold forging is various kinds of fasteners. Figure 3 shows the inner race for a constant-velocity joint, a component of an automotive drive line. 

Phenolic novolac adhesives are extensively used in Automotive applications bonding friction material to steel in the production of brakes, clutches and drive shafts. They are also used as tyre-cord adhesives and in the manufacture of furniture, laminated board and grinding wheels. See also Wood adhesives - phenolics. 

Aluminium matrix composites are attractive engineering materials for manufacturing of aircraft and automotive components involving high speed rotation or reciprocating motion, such as motor blocks, pistons, cylinder liners, connecting rods, drive shafts, brake drums and discs [1-5]. Today, 10-20 vol.% AI2O3 or SiC reinforced composites are commercially available for such applications [1,3,5]. 

Automotive applications include body panels, belts, tires, hoses, composite drive shafts. One of the authors knows local race car drivers in Denver, who will thermoform plastic door panels for their race cars with an ordinary shop vacuum. Recently, there has been a carbon fiber composite automobile frame proposed by Colorado Company. Aerospace applications are airplane wings, filament-wound rocket bodies. There are also homebuilt experimental aircraft which are rolled into the sun to cure the epoxy matrix. One of the largest composite structures in space is the composite arm made by Canada for the Space Station. 

The principal role of the automotive drivetrain is to transfer power from the engine output shaft to the drive wheels of the vehicle. Among its other ftitic-... 

Automotive industry, vehicles road, water, air, rail Chassis, exhaust components, drive systems, frames/bodywork members Cross and side members, manifolds, roof rails, spoilers, gear shaft, roof frame profile, engine cradles, inner and outer panels... 

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