AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING

P15ME562
 UNIT I
COOLING AND LUBRICATION SYSTEMS
Functions of lubrication
Mechanism of Lubrication
Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication
Journal Bearing Lubrication
Stable Lubrication
Lubrication System:
1) Mist Lubrication

1) Wet Sump Lubrication

a) The splash Lubrication
b) The splash and Pressure Lubrication
c) The pressure Feed System

3) Dry Sump Lubrication

Mist Lubrication
This system is used where crankcase lubrication is not possible.
In 2- S engine as the charge is compressed in the crankcase, it is not
possible to have the lubricating oil in the sump, hence mist
lubrication is adopted in practice
In such engines, the lubricating oil is mixed with the fuel, the usual
ratio is 3% to 6%.
The oil and the fuel mixture are inducted through the carburettor
The fuel is vaporized and the oil in the form of mist goes to via the
crankcase into the cylinder.
The oil which strikes the crankcase walls lubricates the main and
connecting rod bearings, and the rest of the oil lubricates the piston,
piston rings and the cylinder.
Advantages if this system is
1) Simplicity
2) Cost, because it does not require oil pump and oil filters
Disadvantages :
1) It causes heavy exhaust smoke
2) Process gets contaminated, results in corrosion of
bearing surfaces.
3) This system calls for a thorough mixing for effective
lubrication.
4) During closed throttle operation as in the case of the
vehicle moving in down hill, the engine suffers from
insufficient lubrication.
Wet sump Lubrication System.
Is employed in relatively small engines, such as
automobile engines.
In wet sump lubrication the bottom of the crankcase
contains oil pan or sump from which the lubricating oil is
pumped to various engine components by a pump.
After lubricating these parts the oil flows back to the
sump by gravity.
Again it is picked up by the pump and re circulated
through the engine lubricating system.
a) The splash lubricating system
This type of lubricating system is used in light weight
engines.
 The oil is drawn by a pump and delivered through a
distributing pipe extending the length of the crankcase in
to splash troughs located under the big end of all
connecting rods
These troughs were provided with overflows and the oil
in the troughs therefore kept at a constant level.
A splasher or dipper is provided under each connecting
rod cap which dips in to the oil in the trough at every
revolution of the crankshaft
The oil is splashed all over the interior of the crankcase,
into the piston and onto the exposed portion of the
cylinder walls.
The oil dripping from the cylinders is collected in to the
sump where it is cooled by the air flowing around.
The splash and pressure lubricating system
In this system the lubricating oil is supplied under
pressure to main and camshaft bearings.

The oil is also supplied under pressure to pipes which

direct a stream of oil against the dippers on the big end of
the connecting rod bearing cup and thus the crankpin
bearings are lubricated by the splash or spray of the oil
thrown up by the dipper.
Pressure feed lubrication system:
In this system oil is drawn from the sump and forced to
all the main bearings of the crankshaft through
distributing channels.
A pressure relief valve is fitted near to the delivery point
of the pump which opens when the pressure in the
system attains predominant value.
An oil hole is drilled in the crankshaft from the centre of
each crankpin to the centre of an adjacent main journal,
through which oil can pass from the main bearings to the
crankpin bearing.
From the crankpin it reaches piston pin bearing through
a hole drilled in the connecting rod.
The basic components of the wet sump lubricating systems
are
I. Pump
II. Strainer
III. Pressure regulator
IV. Filter
V. Breather
 Oil is drawn from the sump by a gear or rotor type of oil
pump through a soil strainer
The strainer is fine mesh screen which prevents foreign
particles from entering the oil circulating system.
Pressure relief valve keeps delivery pressure constant
automatically and can be set to any value.
When the oil pressure exceeds the preset value, the valve
opens and allows some of the oil to return to the sump
there by relieving the oil pressure in the system
Dry Sump Lubrication System
Is used in large stationary, marine and aircraft engines.
In this system the supply of oil is carried in an external
tank.
An oil pump draws oil from the supply tank and
circulates it under pressure to the various bearings of the
engine.
Oil dripping from the cylinders and bearings into the
sump is removed by a scavenging pump which in turn the
oil is passed through a filter, is fed back to the supply
tank.
Thus oil is prevented from accumulating in the base of
the engine.
The capacity of the scavenging pump is always greater
than the oil pump.
 In this system a filter with a bypass valve is placed in
between the scavenging pump and supply tank.
If the filter is clogged, the pressure relief valve opens
permitting oil to bypass the filter and reaches the supply
tank.
A separate oil cooler with either water or air as the
cooling medium is usually provided in the dry sump
system to remove heat from the oil.
Advantages of dry sump over wet sump
Improved engine reliability due to consistent oil pressure.
This is the reason why dry-sumps were invented.
Increased oil capacity, by using a larger external reservoir
than would be practical in a wet-sump system.
Improvements to vehicle handling and stability
Improved oil temperature control.
Improved pump efficiency to maintain oil supply to the
engine.
Having the pumps external to the engine makes them easier
to maintain or replace.
increased engine horsepower due to reduced viscous and
air friction
Disadvantages
Dry-sump systems add cost, complexity, and weight.
The extra pumps and lines in dry-sump engines require
additional oil and maintenance.
The performance-enhancing features of dry-sump
lubrication can hurt a car's day-to-day drive-ability
The large external reservoir and pumps can be tricky to
position around the engine and within the engine bay due
to their size.
Crankcase Ventilation
During the compression stroke and expansion stroke the
gas inside the cylinder gets past the piston and enters into
the the engine cylinder which is called Blowby.
It contains water vapour and sulphuric acid either oil or
the fuel contains appreciable amount of sulpher.
They might cause corrosion of steel parts in the
crankcase.
This may also promote sludge formation in the
lubricating oil.
When the amount of water vapour condensed becomes
considerable, in cold weather this may freeze and may
cause damage to the lubricating oil pump.
 Hence it is imperative to remove Blowby from the
crankcase.
This removal of the blowby can be achieved effectively
by passing a constant stream of fresh air through the
crankcase know as Crankcase Ventilation
By doing so, not only all the water vapour but also
considerable amount proportion of the fuel in the blowby
may be removed from the crankcase.
Properties of Lubricants
The lubricant is call upon to limit and control the following
I. Friction between the components and metal to metal
contact
II. Overheating of the component
III. Wear and corrosion of the component
To accomplish the above functions, the lubricant should
have
1. Suitable viscocity
2. Oiliness to ensure adherence to the bearings, and for
less friction and wear when the lubrication is in the
boundary region, and as protective covering against
corrosion
3. High strength to prevent the metal to metal contact and
seizure under heavy load.
4. Should not react with lubricating surfaces
5. A low pour point to allow flow of the lubricant at low
temperature to the oil pump.
6. No tendency to form deposits by reacting with air, water,
fuel or the products of combustion
7. Cleaning ability, nontoxic, non- inflammable, non-
foaming characteristics
8. Low cost.
Viscocity
The viscocity of the oil at the temperature and pressure of
the operation must be compatible with the load and speed
to ensure hydrodynamic lubrication.
In general large clearances and high loads requires large
clearances and high loads requires high viscocity oils
whereas high speed requires low viscocity oils.
Hence the oil supplied must be in a position to meet the
variable viscocity requirements.
Viscocity Index:
Is a measure of change in viscocity of an oil with
temperature as compared to two references oil having the
same viscocity at 100 degree centigrade.
Its an empirical number, where in typical pennsylvania
(paraffinic base) oil is assigned an index of 100
 And gulf coast (naphthenic base) oil is assigned an index
of zero.
In general high viscocity index number indicates
relatively a smaller change in viscocity with temperature.
A low viscocity index number for a given oil indicates
relatively large change of viscocity with temperature.
Thus the viscocity index of a lubricating oil is important
factor where extreme range of temperature is
encountered.
The oil must maintain sufficient viscocity at operating
temperature.
It should not be too viscous for starting of the engine
especially at low temperature.
 Normally high viscocity index is preferred for engine
lubrication, because of relatively smaller changes in
viscocity of the oil with temperature.
Flash & Fire Point:
The flash point of an oil is the minimum temperature at
which sufficient flammable vapour is driven off when
brought in to contact with a flame.
The fire point is the minimum temperature at which the
inflammable vapour will continue to form and steadily
burns once ignited.
The flash and fire point may vary with the nature of the
original crude oil, the viscocity and the method of
refilling.
Cloud and Pour point:
Petroleum oils when cooled may become plastic as a
result of either of partial separation of wax or of
congealing of the hydrocarbons.
With the some oils , the separation of wax becomes
visible at temperatures slightly above the solidification
point and this temperature is known as cloud point
With oils in which the separation is invisible, the cloud
point can not be determined.
That temperature at which the oil will not flow when the
test container is tilted under prescribed conditions in
know as the pour point.
The pour point indicates the lowest temperature at which
as oil stops flowing to the pump, bearings or cylinder
walls.
Oiliness or Film strength:
Of a lubricant is a measure of the protective film
between shaft and a bearing.
Thus two oils with identical viscocity may show
differences in their coefficient of friction in the boundary
region because of the difference in their oiliness.
Film strength refers to the ability of the lubricant to
resist welding and scuffing.
The lubricating oil used must be of enough film strength
to take care of welding and scuffing.
Corrosiveness
The oil should be noncorrosive and should protect
against corrosion.
 It is probable that the absorbed film that rises to the level
of oiliness is also related to the protection of the surface
against corrosion.
Detergency
An oil has an property of detergency if it acts to clean the
engine deposits.
A separate property is the dispersing ability which enables
the oil to carry small particles uniformly distributed
without agglomeration.
in general the term is the name for both detergent and
dispersing properties.
Stability :
The ability of an oil to resist oxidation that would acids,
lacquers and sludge is called stability.
Oil stability demands low temperature(under 90 degree
centigrade) operation and removal of all hot areas from
contact with the oil.
Foaming :
Foaming describes the condition where minute bubbles
of air are held in the oil.
This action accelerates oxidation and reduces the mass
flow of oil to the bearings thus reducing the
hydrodynamic pressure in the bearing and hence the
load bearing capacity of the bearing.
SAE Rating of Lubricant
Selection of lubricant for engine application is based on
the temperature at which the engine is to be started and
operated and the type of service to which the engine is to
be subjected to.
The SAE (society of Automotive Engineers) has been the
first organization that in June 1911 developed the SAE
J300 standard that specifies Engine Oil Viscocity
Classification.
Therefore, grade of the engine oil is defined by SAE
J300 standard.
They have specified two grades for engine
Single - grade and Multi - grade
Single grade:
A single grade engine oil can not use a polymeric
Viscocity Index Improver additive.
SAE J300 has eleven viscocity grades of which six are
considered winter grades and given a W designation
The eleven viscocity grades are 0W,5W,10W, 15W,
20W, 25W,20, 30 ,40, 50 and 60.
These numbers are often referred to as the Weight of a
motor oil
And single grade motor oils are often called straight -
weight oils.
For single winter grade oils, the dynamic viscosity is
measured at different cold temperatures in units mPa or
the older non SI units, centipoise (cP) using two
different methods like
 Viz, the cold cranking simulator (ASTMD5293) and
mini- rotary viscometer(ASTMD4684)
Based on the coldest temperature at which the oil can
flow, it is graded as 0W,5W,10W, 15W, 20W, 25W.
The lower is the viscocity grade, the lower will be the
temperature at which the oil will flow
If an oil can flow at the specifications for 10W and 5W,
but fails for 0W, then that oil must be labeled as SAE 5W
That oil can not be labeled as either 10W or 0W
For the single non- wintered grade oil, kinematic
viscocity is measured at a temperature of 100 C in units
of mm/s or the equivalent older non- SI units,
centistrokes (sSt)
Based on the range of viscocity the oil falls in at the
temperature, the oil is graded as SAE viscocity grade
 20,30,40,50 and 60.
Higher is the viscocity higher is the grade.
For applications, where the temperature ranges in use are
not very wide, single grade motor oil is satisfactory, for
example, lawn mover engines, industrial applications and
classic cars.
Multi- Grade
The temperature range the oil is exposed to in most
automobiles can be wide.
For example it can range from cold temperature in the
winter before the vehicle is started up, to the hot
operating temperatures when the vehicle is started up, to
hot operating temperatures when the vehicle is fully
warmed up in hot summer weather.
A specific single grade oil will have higher viscocity
 When cold and lower viscocity at the engines operating
temperature.
To bring the differences in viscosities closer to together,
special polymer additives called Viscocity Index
Improvers or V I Is are added to the oil.
These additives are used to make the oil a multi -grade
through it is possible to have a multi grade oil without
the use of V I Is.
The idea is to cause the multi grade oil to have the
viscocity of the base grade when cold and the viscocity
of the second grade when hot.
This enable one type of oil to be used all year.
When multi grades were initially developed, they were
frequently described as all season oil.
 Present day engine oils are multi grade (viscocity)oils
The multi grade oil is one that has low viscocity when
cold(for easier cranking) and a higher viscocity when
hot(to provide adequate lubrication).
Multi grade oils are rated at two different temperature.
The SAE designation for multi grade oils includes two
viscocity grades.
The multi grade oils are specified as SAE10W, 30, 20W
40 etc
The first of the double numbers indicates the relative flow
ability and the second number indicates the relative
resistances to film break down.
For example, a 10W 30 oil will flow easily (like a 10W
oil) when starting a cold engine.
 It will then act as a thicker oil (30 weight) when the
engine warms up to operating temperature
As such it will provide adequate film strength (thickness)
when the engine is at full operating temperature.

Additives for Lubricants

The modern lubricants for heavy duty engines are highly
refined which otherwise may produce sludge or suffer a
progressive increase in viscocity.
For these reasons the lubricants are seasoned by the
addition of certain oil soluble organic compounds
containing inorganic elements such as phosphor, sulphur,
amine derivatives.
 Metals are added to the minerals based lubricating oil to
exhibit the desired properties.
Thus oil soluble organic compounds added to the present
day lubricants to impact one or more of the following
characteristics.
I. Anti oxidant and anticorrosive agents.
II. Detergent dispersant
III. Extreme pressure additive
IV. Pout point depressors
V. Viscocity index improvers
VI. Antifoam agent
VII.Oiliness and film- strength agents.
Anti- oxidant and Anticorrosive agents:
Oxidation of the lubricating oil is slow at temperature
below 90 degree centigrade, but increases at an
exponential rate when high temperatures are
encountered.
Oxidation is undesirable, not only because of sludge and
varnish are formed but also because of the formation of
acids which may be corrosive.
Thus the additives has the dual purpose of preserving
both the lubricant and the components of the engine.
To accomplish these purposes, the additive must nullify
the action of metals in catalyzing oxidation; copper is
especially active as an oxidation catalyst of hydrocarbon.
Detergent Dispersant
This type of additives improve the detergent action of the
lubricating oil
These additives might be metallic salts or acids
The action due to the additive may arise either from
direct chemical reaction or from polar attraction.
Thus additives may chemically combine with the
compounds in the oil that would otherwise form sludge
and varnish.
On the other hand, if the additives and the deposits in the
engine are polar compounds, the detergent action may
arise from neutralization of the electric moment of the
deposit molecules with that of the additives.
Extreme pressure additives:
High loads and speeds with high surface temperatures, an
extreme pressure additives is necessary
Such additives interact with the metal surface to form a
complex inorganic film containing iron, oxygen carbon
and hydrogen
Pour point depressors:
In order to obtain fluidity or flow of oil low temperatures
pour point dispersants is added to the lubricating oils to
lower the pour point.
Viscocity Index Improver
High molecule polymers are added to the lubricating oils
to increase their viscocity index. An increase in the VI
increases the resistance of an oil to change its viscocity
with a change in temperature.
Oiliness and film strength
Oiliness and high film strength can be improved by
adding organic sulphur, chlorine and phosphorus
compounds.
Antifoam agents
Foaming to some extent is due to the violent agitation and
aeration of the oil that occurs in an operating engine.
The minute particles of air in a foaming oil increase
oxidation and reduce the mass flow of oil to the bearings.
Antifoam agents are used to reduce the foaming
tendencies of the lubricant.(silicone polymer)
Need for Cooling System
IC Engines at best can transform about 25 to 35% of
chemical energy in the fuel in to mechanical energy
About 35% of the heat generated is lost to the cooling
medium, remainder being dissipated through exhaust and
lubricating oil.
During the process of combustion, the cylinder gas
temperature often reaches quite high value
A considerable amount of heat is transferred to the walls
of the combustion chamber.
Therefore, it is necessary to provide proper cooling
especially to the walls of the combustion chamber.
Due to the high temperatures, chemical and physical
changes in the lubricating oil may also occur
 This causes wear and sticking of the piston rings, scoring
of cylinder walls or seizure of the piston
In addition to this, overheated cylinder head may lead to
overheated spark plug electrodes causing preignition.
The exhaust valve may become hot enough to cause
preignition or may fail structurally
There fore the inside surface temperature of the cylinder
walls should be kept in a range which will ensure
1. Correct clearance b/w parts
2. Promote vaporization of the fuel
3. Keep the oil at its best viscocity
4. Prevent the condensation of harmful vapours
Characteristics of an efficient cooling system:
It should be capable of removing about 30% of heat
generated in combustion chamber
It should remove heat at a faster rate when engine is hot

Types of Cooling systems:

1) Liquid or Indirect Cooling system

2) Air or Direct Cooling system

Liquid or Indirect Cooling system
In this system mainly water is used and made to circulate
through the jackets provided around the cylinder,
cylinder head, valve ports and seats where it extracts
most of the heat.
The heat is transferred from the cylinder walls and other
parts by convection and conduction
The liquid becomes heated in its passage through the
jackets and is in turn cooled by means of an air cooled
radiator system
The heat from liquid in turn is transferred to air
Hence it is called the indirect cooling system.
Water cooling can be carried out by any one of the
following five methods
Direct or non return system
Thermosyphon system
Forced circulation cooling system
Evaporative cooling system
Pressure cooling system
Direct or non return system
This system is useful for large installations where plenty
of water is available
The water from the storage tank is directly supplied
through an inlet valve to the engine cooling water jacket
The hot water is not cooled for reuse but simply
discharged
Thermosyphon System
Heat is supplied to the fluid in the tank A.
Because of the relatively lower density, the hot fluid
travels up, its place being taken up by comparatively cold
fluid from the tank B through the pipe p2
The hot fluid flows through the pipe p1 to the tank B
where if gets cooled
Thus the fluid circulates through the system in the form of
convection currents
For engine application, tank A represents the cylinder
jackets while tank B represents a radiator and water acts as
a circulating fluid
In order to ensure that coolest water is always made
available to cylinder jackets, the water jackets are cooled
 At a lower level than the radiator
The main advantage of the system are its simplicity and
automatic circulation of cooling water.
The main limitation of the system is its inability to meet
the requirement of large flow rate of water, particularly
for high output engines
Forced circulation cooling system
This system is used in a large number of automobiles like
cars, buses and even heavy trucks
Here the flow of water from radiators to water jackets is
by convection assisted by a pump
The water or coolant is circulated through jackets around
the parts of the engine to be cooled, and kept in motion
by a centrifugal pump which is driven by the engine.
The water is passed through the radiator where it is
cooled by air drawn through the radiator by a fan and by
the air draft due to the forward motion of the vehicle.
A thermostat is used to control the water temperature
required for cooling.
 This system mainly consist of four components, viz a
radiator, fan, water pump and a thermostat
Radiator
The purpose of a radiator is to provide a large amount of
cooling surface area so that the water passing downward
through it in thin stream is cooled efficiently
To accomplish there are many possible arrangements
available.
The radiator consist essential of an upper tank(header
tank) and a lower tank
The upper tank in some design may contain a removable
filter mesh to avoid dust particles going in into the
radiator while filling water in the radiator.
 Between the two tanks is the core or radiating element.
The upper tank is connected to water outlets from the
engine jacket by rubber hose, and the lower tank is
connected by another rubber hose to the jacket inlet
through the pump.
Radiator cores are classified as tubular or cellular
A tube radiator, consist of a large number of elliptical or
circular brass tubes pressed into a number of suitable
punched brass fins.
The tubes are finned to guard against corrosion
The main disadvantage is the great inconvenience to
repair any of the damaged tubes.
But the initial cost of the system is comparatively less.
 The water used for cooling should be soft
If hard water is used, it forms sediments on water jackets
and tubes, which acts as insulator and make the cooling
inefficient
If soft water is not available, 30g of sodium bichromate
should be added for every 10 litres of water.
Fan
The mounted on the impeller spindle driven by a suitable
belt pulley arrangement as shown draws air through the
spaces between the radiator tubes thus bringing down the
temperature of the water appreciably
Pump
Maintains the circulation of the water through the system
 The bottom of the radiator is connected to the suction
side of the pump
The power is transmitted to the pump spindle from a
pulley mounted on the end of the camshaft or crankshaft
A positive supply of water is achieved in all conditions
by centrifugal pump placed in this system.
This ensures good velocity of water circulation.
A pump is mounted conveniently on the engine and
driven by the crankshaft with a fan belt.
Adjustable packing glands are provided on the driving
shaft to prevent water leakage
This system is employed in most diesel and automotive
spark ignition engines
The rate of circulation is usually 3 to 4 litres per minute
per kilowatt.
Thermostat
when ever the engine is started from cold, coolant
temperature has to be brought to the desired level in
order to minimise the warm up time.
This can be achieved by the thermostat fitted in the
system, which initially prevents the circulation of water
below a certain temperature though the radiator so that
the water get heated up quickly.
When the preset temperature is reached the thermostat
allows the water to flow through the radiator.
Usually a bellow type thermostat is used.
In modern engines, a wax type thermostat is normally
employed.
 The unit consist of a closed bellows with volatile liquid
under reduces pressure.
When the bellows is heated the liquid vaporizes and
creates enough pressure to expand the bellows.
The movement of the bellows operates a linkage which
opens the valve.
When the unit is cooled, the gas condenses, the pressure
is reduced and the bellows collapses to close the valve.
Evaporative Cooling System
This system is predominantly used in stationary engines
In this system, the engine will be cooled because of the
evaporation of the water in the cylinder jackets in to
steam.
Here the advantage is taken from the latent heat of
vaporization of water by allowing it to evaporate in the
cylinder jackets.
In this system water is circulated by the pump A and
when delivered to the overhead tank B part of it is boiled
out.
The tank has a partition C
the vapour rises above partition C and because of the
condensing action of the radiator tubes D, condensate
flows into the lower tank E from which it is picked up
 And returned to the tank B by a small pump F.
The vertical pipe G is in communication with the outside
atmosphere to prevent the collapsing of the tank B and E
when the pressure inside them due to condensation falls
below atmospheric.
 In evaporative cooling with the water cooled condenser
case, condensation of the vapour formed in the overhead
tank B occurs in the heat exchanger C cooled by a
secondary water circuit and the water returns to B by
gravity.
The pump A circulates the cooling water to the engine
and the heated water from the engine is delivered to the
tank B thereby the circulation is maintained.
Pressure Cooling System
The rate of heat transfer depends upon the temperature
differences between the two mediums, the area of
exposed surface and the conductivity of the material.
In case of radiators in order to reduce the size of radiator,
it is proposed to seal the cooling system from the
atmosphere and to allow a certain amount of pressure to
build up in the system.
So that the advantage may be taken of the fact that the
temperature of the boiling point of water increase as the
temperature increase.
In pressure cooling system moderate pressures, say upto
2 bar are commonly used.
 A cap is fitted with two valves, a safety valve which is
loaded by a compression spring and a vacuum valve.
When the coolant is cooled is cold both valves are shut
but as the engine warms up the coolant temperature rises
until it reaches a certain preset value corresponding to
the desired pressure, when the safety valve opens
But if the coolant temperature falls during the engine
operation the valve will close again until the temperature
again rises to the equivalent pressure value
When the engine is switched off and the coolant cools
down vacuum begins to form in the cooling system but
when the internal pressure falls below atmospheric the
vacuum valve is opened by the higher outside pressure
and the cooling system then attains atmospheric pressure
Air Cooled System
In air cooled system current of air is made to flow out
side of the cylinder barrel, outer surface area of which
ahs been considerably increased by providing cooling
fins
This method will increase the rate of cooling
Application: this method is mainly applicable in to
engines in motor cycle, small cars, air planes and combat
tanks where motion of vehicle gives a good velocity to
cool the engine
In bigger units a circulating a fan is also used
The value of heat transfer coefficient between metal and
air is appreciably low
 As a result the of this the cylinder wall temperatures of
the air cooled cylinders are considerably higher than those
of water cooled type
In order to lower the cylinder wall temperature the area of
the outside surface which directly dissipates heat to the
atmosphere must be sufficiently high.
Cooling fins:
Cooling fins are either cast integrated with the cylinder
and cylinder head or can be fixed with the cylinder block
separately.
The heat dissipating capacity of fins depends upon their
cross section and length.
At the same time as heat is gradually dissipated from the
fin surface, the temperature of the fin decreases from its
root to its tip
 Hence, the fin surface nearer to the tip dissipates heat at a
lower rate and is less efficient
On the other hand as the quantity of heat flowing towards
tip gradually decreases, the thickness of the fin can be
decreased
The material of the fin is used most efficiently is the drop
in temperature from the root to the tip is constant per unit
length
Fins are usually given taper of 3 to 5 degrees in order to
give sufficient draft to the pattern.
The tip is made 0.5 to 1.25 mm thick and a clearance of
2.5 to 5 mm is allowed at the root
The fins are made 25 to 30 mm long
Baffles
The rate of heat transfer from the cylinder walls can be
substantially increased by using baffles which force the
air through the space between the fins
The arrangement at a has got the highest pressure drop
It is always desired to have negligible kinetic energy loss
between the entrance and the exit
Usually the normal type of baffles, b is used on petrol
engines
The arrangement c for minimizing the kinetic energy
loss is shown with a well rounded entrance to reduce the
entrance loss and an exit section that will transform the
velocity bead into pressure head and thus decrease the
pressure drop
Arrangement d is adopted for diesel engines.
Advantages of liquid cooling system
Compact design of engines with appreciably smaller
frontal area is possible
The fuel consumption of high compression liquid
cooled engines are rather lower than for air- cooled ones
Because of the even cooling of cylinder barrel and head
due to jacketing makes it possible to reduce the cylinder
head and valve seat temperature
In case of water cooled engines, installation is not
necessary at the front of the mobile vehicles, aircraft etc,
as the cooling system can be conveniently located
wherever required. This is not possible in case of air-
cooled engines
Limitations:
This is a dependent system in which water circulation in
the jackets is to be ensured by additional means
Power absorbed by the pump for water circulation is
considered and this affects the power output of the
engine
In the event of failure of the cooling system serious
damage may be caused to the engine
Cost of the system is considerably high
System requires considerable maintenance of its various
parts
Advantages of Air cooling system:
The design of the engine become simpler as no water
jackets are required. The cylinder can have identical
dimensions and be individually detachable and therefore
cheaper to renew in case of accident
Absence of cooling pipes, radiator etc, makes the
cooling system simpler thereby has minimum problems
No danger of coolant leakage etc
The engine is not subject to freezing troubles, etc usually
encountered in case of water cooled engines
The weight of the air- cooled engines is less than that of
water- cooled engine ie, power to ration is improved
Installation of air cooled engines is easier
Limitation:
Can be applied only to small and medium sized engines
In places where ambient temperature are lower
Cooling is not uniform
Higher working temperature compared to water cooling
Produce more aerodynamic noise
Specific fuel consumption is slightly higher
Lower maximum allowable compression ratios
The fan, if used absorbs as much as 5% of the power
developed by the engine.
 UNIT II

MECHANICAL & ELECTRONIC

INJECTION SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION:
The fuel injection system is the most vital component in
the working of CI engines
The engine performance like power out put and economy
is greatly dependent on the effectiveness of the fuel
injection system
The injection system has to perform the important duty
of initiating and controlling combustion process
The purpose of carburetion and injection is the same ie
preparation of the combustible charge
In case of carburetion, fuel is atomized by processes
relying on the air speed greater than fuel speed at the fuel
nozzle
In fuel injection the fuel speed at the point of delivery is
greater than the air speed to atomize the fuel.
 In the fuel injection system, the amount of fuel delivered
into the air stream going to the engine is controlled by a
pump which forces the fuel under pressure
When the fuel is injected into the combustion chamber
towards the end of compression stroke, it is atomized
into very fine droplets
These droplets vaporize due to heat transfer from the
compressed air and form a fuel- air mixture
Due to continued heat transfer from hot air to the fuel,
the temperature reaches a value higher than its self
ignition temperature
This causes the fuel to ignite spontaneously initiating the
combustion process.
Functional requirements of an Injection System
I. Accurate metering of the fuel injected per cycle
II. Timing the injection of the fuel correctly in the cycle so
that maximum power is obtained ensuring fuel
economy and clean burning
III. Proper control of rate of injection so that the desired
heat release pattern is achieved during combustion
IV. Proper atomization of fuel into very fine droplets
V. Proper spray pattern to ensure rapid mixing of fuel and
air
VI. Uniform distribution of fuel droplets in the combustion
chamber
VII.To supply equal quantities of metered fuel to all
cylinders in case of multi cylinder engines
VIII. No lag during beginning and end of injection ie, to
eliminate dribbling of fuel droplets into the cylinder.
Classification of Injection System
1] Air Injection Systems
2] Solid Injection Systems
Air Injection Systems
In this system, fuel is forced into the cylinder by means of
compressed air
This system is little used nowadays, because it requires a
bulky multi stage air compressor
This cause an increase in engine weight and reduces the
brake power output further
One advantage that is claimed for the air injection system
is good mixing of fuel with the air with resultant higher
Mean effective pressure
Another is the ability to utilize fuels of high velocity
which are less expensive than those used by the engines
with solid injection systems
These advantages are off set by the requirement of a
multistage compressor thereby making the air injection
system obsolete.
Solid Injection Systems
In this system the liquid fuel is injected directed into the
combustion chamber without the aid of compressor air.
Hence it is also called airless mechanical injection or
solid injection system
Solid injection systems are classified as
A. Individual pump and nozzle system
B. Unit injector system
C. Common rail system
D. Distributor system
All the above systems comprise mainly of the following
components
1. Fuel tank
2. Fuel feed pump to supply fuel from the main fuel tank
to the injection system
3. Injection pump to meter and pressurize the fuel for
injection
4. Governor to ensure that the amount of fuel injected is
in accordance with variation in load
 Injector to take the fuel from the pump and distribute it
in the combustion chamber by atomizing it into fine
droplets

Fuel filters to prevent dust and abrasive particles from

entering the pump and injector thereby minimizing the
wear and tear of the components.
Typical arrangement of various components for the solid
injection system used in a CI engine is shown
Fuel from the fuel tank first enters the coarse filter from
which is drawn into the plunger feed from where the
pressure is raised very slightly.
Then the fuel enters the fine filter where all the dust and
dirt particles are removed
 From the fine filter the fuel enters the fuel pump where it
is pressurized to about 200 bar and injected into the
engine cylinder by means of the injector.
Any spill over in the injector is returned to the fine filter
A pressure relief valve is also provided for the safety of
the system
The above functions are achieved with the components
listed above
Individual Pump and Nozzle System
In this system, each cylinder is provided with one pump
and one injector
In this arrangement a separate metering and compression
pump is provided for each cylinder
The pump may be placed close to the cylinder as in fig A
or they may be arranged in a cluster as in Fig B
The high pressure pump plunger is actuated by a cam,
and produces the fuel pressure necessary to open the
injector valve at the correct time
The amount of fuel injected depends on the effective
stroke of the plunger
Unit Injector System
The unit injector system is one in which the pump and
the injector nozzle are combined in one housing
Each cylinder is provided with one of these unit injectors
Fuel is brought up to the injector by a low pressure
pump, where at the proper time, a rocker arm actuates the
plunger and thus injects the fuel into the cylinder
The amount of fuel injected is regulated by the effective
stroke of the plunger
The pump and the injector can be integrated in one unit
as shown in fig c
Common Rail System
In the common rail system shown in fig d, a HP pump
supplies fuel, under high pressure, to a fuel header
High pressure in the header forces the fuel to each of the
nozzles located in the cylinders
At the proper time, a mechanically operated (by means of
a push rod and rocker arm) valve allows the fuel to enter
the proper cylinder through nozzle
The pressure in the fuel header must be that, for which
the fuel injector system was designed ie, it must enable to
penetrate and disperse the fuel in the combustion
chamber
The amount of fuel entering the cylinder is regulated by
varying the length of the push rod stroke
 A high pressure pump is used for supplying fuel to a
header, from where the fuel is metered by
injectors(assigned one per cylinder)
The details of the system shown in fig d
Distributor System
In this system the pump which pressurizes the fuel also
meters and times it
The fuel pump after metering the required amount of fuel
supplies it to a rotating distributor at the correct time for
supply to each cylinder
The number of injection strokes per cycle for the pump is
equal to the number of cylinders
Since there is no metering element in each pump, a
uniform distribution is automatically ensured
Not only that, the cost of the fuel injection system also
reduces to a value less than two thirds of that for
individual pump system
Fuel Feed Pump
It us of spring loaded plunger type
The plunger is actuated through a push rod from the cam
shaft.
At the minimum lift position of the cam the spring force
on the plunger creates a suction which causes fuel flow
from the main tank into the pump.
When the cam is turned to its maximum lift position, the
plunger is lifted upwards, at the same time to its
maximum lift position the plunger is lifted upwards.
At the same time the inlet valve is closed and the fuel is
forced through the outlet valve.
 When the operating pressure gets released the plunger
return spring ceases to function resulting in varying of
the pumping stroke under varying engine loads according
to the quantity of fuel required by the injection pump.
Injection Pump
The main objective of fuel-injection pump is to deliver
accurately metered quantity of fuel under high pressure
(in the range 120 to 200 bar) at the correct instant to the
injector fitted on each cylinder.
Injection pumps are of two types. Viz.
(I) Jerk type pumps
(II) Distributer type pumps
(I) Jerk type pumps
It consists of a reciprocating plunger inside a barrel.
The plunger is driven by a camshaft.
A schematic diagram of the plunger within the barrel is
shown.
Near the port A. Fuel is always available under
relatively low pressure.
While the axial movement of the plunger is through
camshaft, its rotational movement about its axis by
means of rack D Port B is the orifice through which
fuel is delivered to the injector.
At this stage it is closed by means of a spring loaded
check valve. When the plunger is below port A the fuel
will flow out through part C.
 This is because it has to overcome the spring force of the
check valve in order to flow through port B.
Hence it takes the easier way out via port C.
At this stage rack rotates the plunger and as a result pork
C also closes.
The only escape route for the fuel is past the check valve
through orifice B to the injector.
This is the beginning of injection and also the effective
stroke of the plunger
The injection continues till the helical indentation on the
plunger uncovers port C.
Now the fuel will take the easy way out through C and
the check valve will close the orifice B.
 The fuel-injection stops and the effective stroke ends.
Hence the effective stroke of the plunger is the axial
distance traversed between the time port A is closed off
and the time port A is discovered.
The plunger is rotated to the position shown. The same
sequence of events occur.
But in this case port C is uncovered sooner.
Hence the effective stroke is shortened.
It is important to remember here that through the axial
distance traversed by the plunger is same for every stroke.
The rotation of the plunger by the rack determining the
length of the effective stroke and thus the quantity of fuel
injected
Distributor Type Pump
This pump has only a single pumping element and the
fuel is distributed to each cylinder by means of a rotor.
There is a central longitudinal passage in the rotor and
also two sets of radial holes (each equal to the number of
engine cylinders) located at different heights one set is
connected to delivery lines leading to injectors of the
various cylinders.
The fuel is drawn to the central rotor passage from the
inlet port when the pump plunger move away from each
other whenever, the radial delivery passage in the rotor
coincides with the delivery port for any cylinder the fuel
is delivered to each cylinder in turn.
 Main advantages of this type of pump lies in its small
size and its light weight a schematic diagram of Roosa
Master Distributor pump in shown in figure
Injection Pump Governor
In a CI engine the fuel delivered is independent of the
injection pump characteristic and the air intake, Fuel
delivered by a pump increases with speed where as the
opposite is true about the air intake.
This results in over fueling at higher speeds, and at idling
speeds (low speeds) the engine tends to stall due to
insufficiency of the fuel.
Quantity of fuel delivered increases with load causing
excessive carbon deposits and high exhaust temperature.
Drastic reduction in load will cause over speed to
dangerous values. It is the duty of the injection pump
governor to take care of the above limitations.
Governors are generally of two types
Mechanical governor
Pneumatic governor
Mechanical Governor
The working principle of the mechanical governor is
illustrated in the figure, when the engine speed tends to
exceed the limit the weights fly apart.
This causes the bell crank levers to raise the sleeve and
operate the control lever in downward direction.
This actuates the control rack on the fuel injection pump
in a direction which reduces the amount of fuel
delivered.
Lesser fuel causes the engine speed to decrease.
The reverse happens when engine speed tends to
decrease.
Pneumatic Governor
The details of the pneumatic governor are shown in the
figure.
The amount of vacuum applied to eh diaphragm is
controlled by the accelerator pedal through the position
of the butterfly valve unit.
A diaphragm is connected to the fuel pump controlled
rack.
Therefore, position of the accelerator pedal also
determines the position of the pump control rack and
hence the amount of fuel injected
Fuel Injector
Quick and complete combustion is ensured by a well
designed fuel injector.
By atomizing the fuel into very fine droplets, it increases
the surface area of the fuel droplets resulting in better
mixing and subsequent combustion.
Atomization is done by forcing the fuel through a small
orifice under high pressure. The injector assembly
consists of,
I. A needle valve
II. A compression spring
III. A nozzle
IV. An injector body
 A cross sectional view of a typical BOSCH fuel injector is
shown in the figure
when the fuel is supplied by the injection pump it exerts a
sufficient force against the spring to lift the nozzle valve,
fuel is sprayed into the combustion chamber in a finely
atomized particles,.
After, fuel from the delivery pump gets exhausted, the
spring pressure pushes the nozzle valve back on its eat.
For proper lubrication between the nozzle valve and its
guide a small quantity of fuel is allowed to leak through
the clearance between them and then drained back to fuel
tank through leak off connection.
The spring tension and hence the valve opening pressure
is controlled by adjusting the screw provides at the top.
Nozzle
Nozzle is that part of an injector with which the liquid
fuel is sprayed into the combustion chamber. The nozzle
should fulfill the following conditions,
Atomization: This is a very important function since it is
the first phase in obtaining the proper mixing of the fuel
and air in the combustion chamber.
Distribution of the fuel: Distribution of the required
areas within the combustion chamber.
The factors affecting this are:
Injection pressure: Higher the injection pressure betters
the dispersion and penetration of the fuel into all the
desired locations in combustion chambers.
 Density of dir in the cylinder: If the density of the
compressed air in the combustion chamber is high then
the resistance to the movement of the droplets is higher
and dispersion of the fuel is better.
Physical properties of the fuel: The properties like the
self-ignition temperature, vapour pressure, viscosity, etc,
play an important role in the distribution of the fuel.
Prevention of impingement on the walls: this Is
necessary because fuel striking the walls decomposes and
produces carbon deposits. This causes smoky exhaust as
well as increases in fuel consumption.
Mixing: Mixing the fuel and air in case of non-turbulent
type of combustion chamber should be taken care of by
the nozzle.
Types of nozzles
The design of the nozzle must be in such a manner that
the liquid fuel forced through the nozzle will be broken
up into fine droplets, or atomized, as it passes into the
fuel and air in the chamber.
The nozzle must spray the fuel into the chamber in such
a manner as to minimize the quantity of the fuel
reaching the surrounding walls.
Any fuel striking the walls tends to decompose
producing carbon deposits, unpleasant odor and smoky
exhaust, as well as an increase in fuel consumption.
The design of the nozzle is closely interrelated to the
type of combustion chamber used.
 Various types of nozzles are used in CI engines. These
types are shown in Figure .
The most common types are:
(I) The Pintle nozzle
(II) The Single-hole nozzle
(III) The Multi-hole nozzle
(IV) Pintsux nozzle
The Pintle nozzle
The stem of the nozzle valve is extended to form a pin or
pintle which protrudes through the mouth of the nozzle
The size and shape of the pintle can be varied according
to the requirements.
It provides a spray operating at low injection pressure of
8-10 Mpa.
The spray cone angle is generally 60. Advantage of this
nozzle is that it avoids weak injection and dribbling.
It prevents the carbon deposition on the nozzle hole.
The Single-hole nozzle
At the centre of the nozzle body there is a single hole
which is closed by the nozzle valve.
The size of the hole is usually of the order of 0.2mm.
Injection pressure is of order of 8-10 Mpa and spray
cone angle is about 15.
Major disadvantage with such nozzle is that tend to
dribble.
Besides, their spray angle is too narrow to facilitate
good mixing unless higher velocities are used.
The Multi-hole nozzle
It consists of a number of holes bored in the tip of the
nozzle.
The number of holes varies from 4 to 18 and the size
from 35 to 200m.
The hole angle may be from 20 upwards.
These nozzles operate at high injection pressures of the
order of 18Mpa.
Their advantage lies in the ability to distribute the fuel
properly even with lower air motion available in open
combustion chambers.
Pintaux nozzle
It is a type of pintle nozzle which has an auxiliary hole
drilled in the nozzle body.
It injects a small amount of fuel through this additional
hole which is called pilot injection in the upstream
direction slightly before the main injection.
The needle valve does not lift fully at low speeds and
most of the fuel is injected through the auxiliary hole.
Main advantage of this nozzle is better cold starting
performance. (20 to 25 C lower than multi-hole
design).
A major drawback of this nozzle is that its injection
characteristics are poorer than the multi-hole nozzle
Spray Formation
The various phrases of spray formation as the fuel is
injected through the nozzle are shown in Figure.
At the start of the fuel-injection the pressure difference
across the orifice is low.
Therefore single droplets are formed as in Figure. As the
pressure difference increases the following process occur
one after other.
(I) A stream of the fuel emerges from the nozzle.
(II) The stream encounters aerodynamic resistance from the
dense air present in the combustion chamber (12 to 14
times the ambient pressure) and breaks into a spray, say at
a distance of L3. The distance of this point where this
event occurs from the orifice is called the break-up
distance.
(III) With further and further increase in the pressure
difference, the break-up distance decreases and the cone
angle increases until the apex of the cone practically
coincides with the orifice.
At the exit of the orifice the fuel jet velocity, Vf, is of the
order of 400m/s. It is given by the following equation

Where,
Cd = coefficient of discharge for the orifice
Pinj = fuel pressure at the inlet to injector, N/m2
Pcyl = Pressure of charge inside the cylinder, N/m2
Pf = fuel density, kg/m3
 Larger droplets provide a higher penetration into the
chamber but smaller droplets are required for quick
mixing and evaporation of the fuel.
The diameter of most of the droplets in the fuel spray is
lesser than 5microns.
The droplets sizes depends on various factors which are
listed below,
Mean droplet size decreases with increase in injection
pressure.
Mean droplets size decreases with increase in air density.
Mean droplets size increases with fuel viscosity.
Size of droplets increases with increase in the size of the
orifice
Quantity Of Fuel And The Size Of Nozzle Orifice
The quantity of the fuel injected per cycle depends to a
great extent upon the power output of the engine.
As already the fuel is supplied into the combustion
chamber through the nozzle holes and the velocity of the
fuel for good atomization is of the order of 400m/s.
The velocity of the fuel through nozzle orifice in terms of
h can be given by,

Where, h is the pressure difference between the injection

and cylinder pressure. Measured in m of fuel column
The volume of the fuel injected per second, Q, is given by

Where Ni for the four stroke engine is rpm/2 and for a two
stroke engine Ni is rpm itself and d is the diameter of one
of the orifice in m,
n is the number of orifices,
is the duration of injection in crank angle degrees and
Ni is the number of injections per minute.
Usually the rate of fuel-injection is expressed in
mm3/degree crank angle/liter cylinder displacement
volume to normalize the effect of engine size.
 The rate of fuel injected/degree of crankshaft rotation is a
function of injector camshaft velocity, the diameter of the
injector plunger.
And flow air of injection for a given fuel input and
subsequently introduces a change in injection timing.
A higher rate of injection may permit injection timing to
be retarded from optimum value this helps in injection
rate requires increased injection pressure and increases
the load on the push rod and the cam.
This may affect the durability of the engine
Electronic Injection Systems
In a carburetor engine, uniformity of mixture strength is
difficult to realize in each cylinder of a multi cylinder engine.
As may be noticed that the intake manifold of a multi
cylinder engine. As may be noticed that the intake valve is
open in cylinder 2.
As can also be observed the gasoline (a volatile flammable
liquid hydrocarbon mixture used as a fuel especially for
internal combustion engines and usually blended from several
products of natural gas and petroleum) moves to the end of
the manifold and accumulates there.
This enriches the mixture going to the end cylinders.
However, the central cylinders, which are very close to the
carburetor, get the leanest mixture. Thus the various cylinders
receive the air-gasoline mixture in varying qualities and
richness.
 This problem is called the mal distribution and can be
solved by the port injection system by having the same
amount of gasoline injected at each intake manifold.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop injection
systems for gasoline engines.
By adopting gasoline injection each cylinder can get the
same richness of the air-gasoline mixture and the mal
distribution can be avoided to a great extent.
.
Reasons for having gasoline injection system, instead of a
carburetion
To have uniform distribution of fuel in a multi cylinder
engine.
To improve breathing capacity i.e. volumetric efficiency
To reduce or eliminate detonation.
To prevent fuel loss during scavenging in case of two-
stroke engines
.
Fuel injection system can be classified as:
(I) Gasoline direct injection into the cylinder (GDI)
(II) Port injection
(a) Timed and (b) Continuous
(III) Manifold injection

The above fuel injection systems can be grouped under two

heads, viz. , single-point and multi-point injection.
In the single point injection systems, one or two injectors are
mounted inside the throttle body assembly. Fuel sprays are
directed at one point or at the center of the intake manifold.
Another name of the single point injection is throttle body
injection.
Multipoint injection has one injector for each engine cylinder.
In this system, fuel is injected in more than one location. This
is more common and is often called port injection system
 As already mentioned the gasoline fuel injection system
used in a spark-ignition engine can be either of
continuous injection or timed injection.
(I) Continuous injection systems:
This system usually has a rotary pump. The pump
maintains a fuel line gauge pressure of about 0.75 to
1.5 bar.
The system injects the fuel through a nozzle located in
the main fold immediately downstream of the throttle
plate.
In a supercharged engine fuel is injected at the entrance
of the supercharger.
The timing and duration of the fuel injection is
determined by Electronic Control Unit (ECU)
depending upon the load and speed
Timed fuel injection system:
This system has a fuel supply pump which sends fuel as a
low pressure of about 2 bar when the engine is running at
maximum speed
A fuel metering or injection pump and a nozzle are the
other parts of the system
The nozzle injects the fuel in the manifold the cylinder
head port at about 6.5 bar or in to the combustion
chamber at pressures that range from 16 to 35 bar.
Timed injection system injects fuel usually during early
part of the suction.
During maximum power operation injection begins after
the closure of the exhaust valve and ends usually after
BDC
Components of injection system
The main objective of the fuel injection system are to
meter, atomize and uniformly distribute the fuel
throughout the air mass in the cylinder
At the same time must maintain the required air-fuel
ratio as per the load and speed requirement of the engine
To achieve all the above a number of components are
required in the fuel injection system
1. Pumping element: moves the fuel from the fuel tank to
the injector
2. Metering element: measures & supplies the fuel at the
rate demanded by load and speed conditions of the
engine.
3. Mixing element: atomize the fuel and mixes it with air to
form a homogenous mixture
4. Metering control: adjusts the rate of metering in
accordance with load and speed of the engine
5. Mixture control: adjusts fuel air as demanded by the
load speed
6. Distributing element: divides the metered fuel equally
among the cylinders.
7. Timing control: fixes the start and stop of the fuel-air
mixing process
8. Ambient control: compensates for changes in
temperature and pressure of either air or fuel that may
affect the various elements
Electronic fuel injection system
Modern gasoline injection systems use engine sensors, a
computer and a solenoid operated fuel injectors to meter
and inject the right amount of fuel into the engine
cylinder
These systems called Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) use
electrical and electronic devices to monitor and control
engine operation
An Electronic Control Unit (ECU) or the computer
receives electrical signals in the form of current or
voltage from various sensors
It then uses the stored data to operate the injectors,
ignition system and other engine related devices
As a result less unburned fuel leaves the engine as
emissions and vehicles gives better mileage.
Typical sensors for an EFI system includes
Exhaust gas or oxygen sensors: senses the amount of
oxygen in the engine exhaust and calculates the air- fuel
ratio
Engine temperature sensors: senses the temperature
engine coolant, and from that data the computer adjusts
the mixture strength to rich side for cold starting
Air flow sensors: monitors mass or volume of air flowing
into the intake manifold for adjusting the quantity of fuel
Air inlet temperature sensors: checks the temperature of
the ambient air entering the engine for fine tuning of the
mixture strength
Throttle position sensors: senses the movement of the
throttle plate sp that mixture flow can be adjusted for
engine speed and acceleration.
 Manifold pressure sensors: monitors the vacuum in the
engine intake manifold so that the mixture strength can
be adjusted which changes in engine load
Camshaft position sensors: senses the rotation of engine
camshaft/crankshaft for speed and timing of injection
Knock sensor: microphone type sensor that detects ping
or preignition noise so that the ignition timing can be
retarded
 The EFI is nothing but a fuel valve.
When it is not energized, spring pressure makes the
injector to remain closed and no fuel will enter the
engine.
When the computer sends the signal through the injector
coil, the magnetic field attracts the injector armature.
Fuel then spurts into the intake manifold
Merits of EFI system
Improvement in the volumetric efficiency due to
comparatively less resistance in the intake manifolds
which will cause less pressure loss
Manifold wetting is eliminated due to the fuel being
injected into or close to the cylinder and need not flow
through the manifold
 Atomization of the fuel is independent of cranking speed
and therefore starting will be easier
Better atomization and vaporization will make the engine
less knock prone
Formation of ice on the throttle plate is eliminated
Distribution of the fuel being independent of
vaporization
Variation of air- fuel ratio is almost negligible even when
the vehicle takes different positions like turning, moving
on gradients, uneven roads
Position of injection unit is not so critical and thereby the
height of the engine can be less
Demerits of EFI system
High maintenance cost
Difficult in servicing
Possibility of malfunction of some sensors
Multipoint fuel injection (MPFI) system
The main purpose of the multi point fuel injection system
is to supply a proper ratio of gasoline and air to the
cylinder.
These systems function under two basic arrangements,
namely
a)Port injection b)Throttle injection
Port injection
In the port injection arrangement, the injector is placed on
the side of the intake port
The injector sprays gasoline into the air, inside the intake
manifold.
The gasoline and the air then pass through the intake
valve and enter into the cylinder.
 Every cylinder is provided with an injector in its intake
manifold.
It here are six cylinders, here will be six injectors.
Figure 9.4 shows a simplified view of a port or multi
point fuel injection system

Throttle Body Injection System

Figure 9.5 illustrates the simplified sketch of throttle
body injection system (single point injection).
This throttle body is similar to the carburetor throttle
body, with the throttle valve controlling the amount of air
entering the intake manifold.
 An injector is place slightly above the throat of the
throttle body.
The injector sprays gasoline into the air in the intake
manifold where the gasoline mixes with air.
This mixture then passes through the throttle valve and
enters into the intake manifold.
Fuel injection systems can be either timed or continuous.
In the timed injection system, gasoline is sprayed from
the injectors in pulses.
In the continuous injection system, gasoline is sprayed
continuously from the injectors.
The port injection system and the throttle body injection
system may either pulsed systems or continuous systems
 In both systems, the amount of gasoline injected depends
upon the engine speed and power demands
In some literature MPFU systems are classified into two
types: D-MPFI and L-MPFI.
D-MPFI System
The D-MPFI system is the manifold fuel injection
system.
In this type, the vacuum in the intake manifold is first
sense. In addition it sense the volume of air by its
density.
Figure 9.6 gives the block diagram regarding the
functioning of the D-MPFI system.
As the air enters into the intake manifold, the manifold
pressure sensor detects the intake manifold vacuum and
sends the information to the ECU.
 The speed of the sensor also sends information about the
rpm of the engine to the ECU.
The ECU in turn sends commands to the injector sprays
to regulate the mount of gasoline supply for injection.
When the injector sprays the fuel in the intake manifold
the gasoline mixes with the air and the mixture enters the
cylinder.
L-MPFI System
The L-MPFI system is a port fuel injection system.
In this type the fuel metering is regulated by the engine
speed and the amount of the air that actually enters the
engine.
This is called air mass metering or air flow metering. The
block diagram of an L-MPFI system is shown in the
figure 9.7.
 As air enters into the intake manifold, the air flow sensor
measures the amount of air and sends the information to
the ECU.
Similarly, the speed of the sensor sends information
about the speed of the engine to the ECU.
The ECU process the information received and sends
appropriate commands to the injector, in order to regulate
the mount of gasoline supply for injection.
When injection takes place the gasoline mixes with the
air and the mixture enters the cylinders.
Functional Divisions of MPFI System
The MPFI system can be functionally divided into
Electronic control system
Fuel system
Air induction system
MPFI Electronic control System
The MPFI- electronic control System is shown in the
form of block diagram in the figure 9.8.
The sensors that starter that monitor intake air
temperature, the oxygen, the water temperature, the
starter signal and the throttle position send signals to the
ECU.
 The air floe sensor sends signals the ECU regarding the
intake air volume.
The ignition sensor sends the information about the
engine speed.
The EUC processes all these signals and sends
appropriate commands to the injectors, to control the
volume of the fuel for injection.
When necessary the cold-start injector timing switch off
the ECU operates the cold start injector which is the part
of the fuel system
MPFI Fuel System
The MPFI- fuel system is shown in the form of block
diagram in figure 9.9.
In this system, the fuel is supplied by ht fuel pump.
At the time of starting, the cold start injector is operated
by the cold start injector injects the fuel into the air
intake chamber, thus enriching the air-fuel mixture.
The pressure regulated the pressure of the fuel. The
injectors receive signals from the ECU and inject the fuel
into the intake manifold.
MPFI-Air Induction System
The MPFI-air induction system is shown in the block
diagram in figure9.10.
The air cleaner, the air-flow meter, the throttle body and
the air intake chamber and intake manifold.
The quantity of air supplied is just what is necessary for
the complete combustion.
Electronic Control System
The electronic system consists of mainly the electronic
control unit (ECU) which determines the duration of
operation of the injectors.
In addition to this, there is a starter timing switch, which
controls the operation of the cold starting injector during
engine starting.
 There is a circuit opening relay to control fuel pump
operation. There is also the resistor, which stabilizes the
injector operation.
Electronic Control Unit (ECU)
The ECU in the electronic control system, receives the
signals from the sensors and determines the opening time
for the injectors land which also controls the injection
volume
Cold Start Injector
When the engine is cold, the starting of the engine is
usually not easy.
When the cold engine is started, it requires a richer
mixture.
 The cold start injector serves the purpose of supplying
more fuel at the time of starting.
In figure9.11 the cold start injector, the main injector and
the air valve are shown.
The cold start injector is a type of solenoid valve which
power is supplied from a battery for the opening and
closing of the valve inside, thus for injecting the fuel.
The fuel injected should not be excessive. Therefore the
duration of the injection time is controlled by a timing
switch.
The timing switch is composes of a bimetal and an
electric heater coil.
 When the engine is cold, the starter motor cranks the
engine.
At this time, the cold start injector injects fuel to enrich
the mixture.
The main injector also injects fuel during the same time.
The injection by both the injector is shown in the
figure9.11, when the engine is hot, the cold start injector
will stop injection and only the main injector will inject
the fuel to the cylinder.
Air Valve
The position of the air valve is as shown in the figure9.11
for the cold engine.
As the temperature is low, the air valve speeds up the
engine idle speed to fast idling.
When the engine is cold, the throttle plate will be in
close position.
As can be seen in figure9.11 the engine sucks the air
through the air valve.
When the temperature is low, the air valve opens
completely. Thus a larger volume of air passes through
the air valve to the intake manifold
 As the temperature rises, the air valve closes gradually
when the engine reaches the normal operating
temperature the valve closes completely and the air flow
is cut-off from the air valve.
A thermo wax valve operates depending on the
temperature of the engine coolant.
This valve controls the opening and closing of the air
valve.
Electronic Diesel injection control
There are various versions of electronically controlled
diesel injection systems some of the important ones are
listed below:
Electronically controlled injection pumps (inline &
Distributor type)
Electronically controlled unit injectors
Common rail fuel injection system
 Electronically controlled diesel fuel injection systems
maybe use the following as inputs:
Engine speed
Crankshaft position
Accelerator pedal position
Intake air temperature
Lubricating oil temperature
Ambient air temperature
Turbocharger boost pressure
Intake air mass flow rate.
 These are parameters, which can significantly affect the
performance of the engine.
The frequency of the injection depends on the engine
speed and number of cylinders.
The timing of the injection has to be advanced as the
speed increases.
The timing of the injection has to be advanced as the
speed increases.
The accelerator pedal position indicates the load on the
engine.
The intake air temperature and pressure indicate
atmospheric conditions based on which the injection
quantity and timing may have to be altered.
The lubricating oil and coolant temperatures indicate the
engine condition
 This input can be used to detect cold start and warm up
conditions.
Which will need the injection timing to be retarded and
the fuel quantity to be momentarily increased the
turbocharger boost pressure can be used to detect the
mass flow rate of air, which can be used to decide the
fuel injection quantity.
Alternatively a hot wire sensor can measure the mass
flow rate of air.
Various electronically controlled injection systems are
discussed below in some detail
Electronically Controlled Unit Injectors
The schematic layout of the entire system is indicated in
the figure.
Unit injectors can be a combination of high pressure
pumps and injectors in one unit.
They do not have high pressure lines and hence the
injection lag is low.
The main high pressure pump is situated above the
injector.
The fuel is fed into the high pressure pump by a supply
gear pump at low pressure.
The plunger of the high pressure pump is pushed down at
the appropriate time by a cam, and rocker mechanism.
 A simplified cross section of the unit injector and phases
of injection are shown in figure.
The fuel pushed down by the injector just bypasses the
injection nozzle till the solenoid controlled spill valve
closes the spill port.
The closure of the spill port initiates the injection
process.
The injection stops when the solenoid valve opens the
spill port.
The timing and duration of the square pulse given to the
solenoid can thus control the fuel timing and the
injection quantity
 The solenoid can also be opened and closed more than
once to have the pilot injection spray followed by the
main spray the pressure of the injection is however
controlled by the rate of displacement of the fuel and the
size of the hole in the nozzle.
The ECU generates the pulses to operate the solenoid
controlled spill valve.
Electronically controlled injection pumps (inline
and distributor type)
Diesel engines use the inline and distributor pumps.
The start of the injection in the conventional inline
element is determined by the instant when the top of the
plunger covers the bypass of the spill ports.
The start of the delivery is fixed but the end of the
delivery depends on the amount of the fuel to be
delivered.
In the case of electronically controlled system there will
be a control sleeve which can be moved up and down by
an actuator which is controlled by the ECU.
 The ECU determines the amounted the fuel to be injected
depending upon the throttle position, engine speed, and
other parameters once this is obtained the control sleeve
is positioned so that the required quantity of fuel can be
injected the timing of injection is till done mechanically.
Distributor pumps use control sleeves for metering the
injected quantity.
Thus they can be easily be made to work with an
electronically controlled solenoid actuator.
The principle of operation is similar to the one explained
above.
 Inline pump governors in mechanical systems are quite
complex.
These basically alter the injected fuel quantity of the
pump so that the engine speed can be maintained.
A mechanical governor is used, which senses the engine
speed through the use of flyweights.
In addition to the speed the governor also puts limits on
the maximum fuel delivery depending on engine
operating and ambient conditions.
It also has to supply excess fuel just for starting. The
fuel delivery has to supply excess fuel just for starting.
The fuel delivery has to be controlled based on the
turbocharger outlet conditions. The governor has to also
limit the maximum speed and ensure the stable idling
operation
 The various inputs are as shown in the figure. The ECU
determines the correct quantity of the fuel to be injected
based on the rack position and thus the ECU controls the
rack position using solenoid.
The position of the rack is measured and used for
feedback. The accelerator pedal position is the input
from the driver and the potentiometer is used to sense it.
The system can maintain the vehicle speed at any set
values.
The ECU can also regulate the fuel quantity depending
on the other conditions like braking.
The ECU also protects the engine against the maximum
quantity of fuel delivered
Common Rail Direct Injection System.
The common rail direct injection system is finding
increasing use in diesel engines as it has the potential to
drastically cut emissions and fuel consumption.
This system provides control of the many important
parameters linked to the injection system.
It has a wide range of the application, from small to
heavy duty engines, some of the important features are
Very high injection pressures of the order of 1500 bar
Complete control over start, and end of injection
Injection pressure is independent of engine speed
Ability to have pilot, main and post injection
Variable injection pressure.
 The common rail injection system has a high pressure
pump which operates continuously and charges a high
pressure rail or reservoir or accumulator.
Fuel is led from this rail to the injector mounted on the
cylinder head through lines the injectors is solenoid
operated.
It received pulse form the ECU to open the same.
The engine directly drives the pump of the common rail
system.
It is generally of the multi cylinder radial piston type.
The generated pressure is independent of the injection
process unlike conventional injection systems.
The rail pressure pump is generally much smaller than
conventional pumps and also is subjected to lesser
pressure pulsations
 The injection occurs when the solenoid is energized.
The quantity of fuel injected is directly dependant on the
duration of the pulse when the injection pressure is
constant.
Sensors on the crankshafts indicated its positions and
speed and so the timing of injection and its frequency can
be controlled.
Fuel from the tank is lifted by a low pressure pump and
passed through a filter.
The pump is generally run by an electric motor
independent of the engine speed.
The main pumping element can be a conventional gear
pump or the roller cell type.
The roller cell pump has a rotor with radial slots.
 These slots house rollers which are always in contact
with the inner surface of the housing due to the fuel
pressure and the centrifugal forces.
The space between the rotor and the housing varies as
the rotor turns and this responsible for the suction and
delivery.
Lucas diesel systems are of high pressure pump which is
seen in figure.
This pump has a cam which is stationary and a rotating
hydraulic head which houses two plungers.
These plungers touch the cam and are pushed in four
times a rotation.
Thus fuel is pumped four times per rotation. A no return
valve is used to send the fuel to the rail
 The inlet of the pump is controlled to maintain the needed
delivery.
It may be noted that any excess delivery id ultimately
returned back from the rail pressure regulator after it is
throttled down to tank pressure.
This amounts to fuel heating and also loss of work takes
place to pump the fuel.
Hence, controlling the delivery at the pump is good idea.
a high pressure regulator is also used both these valves
are solenoid operated and they are controlled by the ECU.
In the rail-pressure regulator the spring force and the
electromagnetic force generated by the coil regulate the
pressure
 The pressure is controlled by the ECU.
The electromagnetic receives a pulse at a frequency of 1
kHz whose width is modulated to change the effective
current through the electromagnet.
The common rail system also has a pressure sensor and
a pressure limiter attached to the rail.
There is also a flow limiter to prevent continuous
injection if one of the injectors mal functions.
Thus, it is seen that engine management is gradually
turning into electronic control thereby better combustion
and economy as well as low emissions can be achieved.
 UNIT III
IGNITION SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION
In spark-ignition engines, as compression ratio is lower,
and the self-ignition temperature of gasoline is higher,
for igniting the mixture for the initiation of combustion
an ignition system is a must.
The electrical discharge produced between the two
electrodes of a spark plug by the ignition system starts
the combustion process in a spark-ignition engine.
This takes place close to the end of the compression
stroke. The high temperature plasma kernel created by
the spark, develops into a self-sustaining and propagating
flame front.
In this thin reaction sheet certain exothermic chemical
reactions occur.
 The function of the ignition system is to initiate this
flame propagation process.
It must be noted that the spark is to be produced in a
repeatable manner viz., cycle-by-cycle, over the full
range of load and speed of the engine at the appropriate
moment in the engine cycle.
By implication ignition is merely a prerequisite for
combustion.
Therefore, the steady of ignition is a must to understand
the phenomenon of combustion so that a criterion may be
established to decide whether ignition has occurred.
Although the ignition process is intimately connected
with the initiation of combustion, it is not associated with
the gross behavior of combustion
 In-stead it is a local small-scale phenomenon that, takes
place with a small zone in the combustion chamber
In terms of its simplest definition, ignition has no
degree, intensively or extensively.
Either the combustion of the medium is initiated or it is
not.
Therefore, it is reasonable to consider ignition from the
standpoint of the beginning Of the combustion process
that it initiates.
ENERGY REQUIREMENTS FOR-IGNITION
The total enthalpy required to cause the flame to be self-
sustaining and promote ignition, is given by the product
of the surface area of the spherical flame and the
enthalpy per unit area.
It is reasonable to assume that the basic requirement of
the ignition system is that it should supply this energy
within a small volume.
Further, ignition should occur in a time interval
sufficiently short to ensure that only a negligible amount
of energy is lost other than to establish the flame.
In view of this last mentioned condition, it is apparent
that the rate of supply of energy is as important a factor
as the total energy supplied.
 A small electric spark of short duration would appear to
meet most of the requirements for ignition.
A spark can be caused by applying a sufficiently high
voltage between two electrodes separated by a gap, and
there is a critical voltage below, which no sparking occurs
This critical voltage is a function of the dimension of the
gap between the electrodes, the fuel-air ratio and the
pressure of the gas.
Additionally, the manner in which the voltage is raised to
the critical value and the configuration and the condition
of the electrode are important in respect of the energy
required.
An ignition process obeys the law of conservation of
energy
 Hence, it can be treated as a balance of energy between:
That provide by an external source
That released by chemical reaction and
That dissipated to the surroundings by means of thermal
conduction convection and radiation
IGNITION SYSTEM
In principle a conventional ignition system should
provide sufficiently large voltage across the spark plug
electrodes to affect the spark discharge.
Further, it should supply the required energy for the spark
to ignite the combustible mixture adjacent to the plug
electrodes under all operating conditions.
It may be noted that for a given engine design, the
optimum spark timing varies with engine speed, inlet
manifold pressure and mixture composition
 The design of a conventional ignition system should take
these factors into account to provide the spark of proper
energy and duration at the appropriate time.
As air is a poor conductor of electricity an air gap in an
electric circuit acts as a high resistance.
But when a high voltage is applied across the electrodes
of a spark plug it produces a spark across the gap.
When such a spark is produced to ignite a homogeneous
air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber of an engine
it is called the spark ignition system
 The ignition systems are classified depending upon how
the primary energy for operating the circuit is made
available as:
Battery ignition systems
Magneto ignition systems
REQUIREMENTS OF AN IGNITION SYSTEM
A smooth and reliable functioning of an ignition system is
essential for reliable working of an engine. The
requirements of such an ignition system are:
It should provide a good spark between the electrodes of
the plugs at the correct timing.
It should function efficiently over the entire range engine
speed.
It should be light. Effective and reliable in service.
It should be compact and easy to maintain.
It should be cheap and convenient to handle.
The interference from the high voltage source should not
affect the functioning of the radio and television receivers
inside an automobile.
BATTERY IGNITION SYSTEM
Most of the modern spark-ignition engines use battery
ignition system.
In this system, the energy required for producing spark is
obtained from a 6 or 12 volt battery.
The construction of a battery ignition system is extremely
varied.
It depends on the type of ignition energy storage as well
as on the ignition performance which is required by the
particular engine.
The reason for this is that an ignition system is not an
autonomous machine, that is, it does not, operate
completely by itself, but instead it is but one part of the
internal combustion engine, the heart of the engine.
 It is therefore extremely important that the ignition
system be matched sufficiently well to its engine
Passenger cars, light trucks, some motorcycles and large
stationary engines are fitted with battery ignition
systems.
The-essential components of the system are:
1] Battery 2] Capacitor

3] Ignition switch 4] Spark plug

5] Ballast resistor 6] Distributor

7] Ignition coil 8] Contact breaker

Battery
To provide electrical energy for ignition, a storage battery
is used
It is charged by a dynamo driven by the engine
Owing to the electro chemical reactions, it is able to
convert the chemical energy in to electrical energy
The battery must be mechanically strong to withstand the
strains to which it is constantly subjected to.
A lead acid battery consists of a number of cells
connected together in series and each having a nominal
potential of 2 volts when fully charged.
A six volt battery has three such cells and a 12 volt
battery has six
 figure illustrates how six cells are coupled together to
form a 12 volt battery and shows that for this coupling in
series the positive of one cell is connected to the negative
of the next.
Two types of batteries are used for spark ignition engines,
the lead acid battery and the alkaline battery
The former is used in light duty commercial vehicles and
the later on heavy duty commercial vehicles.
Ignition switch
Battery is connected to the primary winding of the
ignition coil through as ignition switch and ballast
resistor
With the help of the ignition switch the ignition system
can be turned on or off.
Ballast resistor
Is provided in series with the primary winding to regulate
the primary current
The objective of this is to prevent injury to the spark coil
by over heating is the engine should be operated for a
long time at low speed
This is coil is made of iron wire and has the property that
its electrical resistance increases very rapidly if a certain
temperature exceeded.
The coil is therefore made of wire of such size that if the
primary current flows nearly continuously, the ballast
coil reaches a temperature above that where this rapid
increase in resistance occurs.
Ignition coil
Ignition coil is the source of ignition energy in the
conventional ignition system.
This coil stores the energy in its magnetic field and
delivers it at the appropriate time in the form of a ignition
pulse through the high tension ignition cables to the
respective spark plug
The purpose of the ignition coil is to step up the 6 or 12
volts of the battery to a high voltage, sufficient to induce
an electric spark across the electrodes of the spark plug
The ignition coil consist of a magnetic core of soft iron
wire of sheet and two insulated conducting coil, called
primary and secondary windings
Contact breaker
This is a mechanical device for making and breaking the
primary circuit of the ignition coil.
It consists essentially of a fixed metal point against which,
another metal point bears which is being on a spring loaded
pivot arm
The metal used is invariably one of the hardest metals,
usually tungsten and each point has a circular flat face of
about 3 mm diameter
The fixed contact point is earthed by mounting it on the base
of the contact breaker assembly whereas the arm to which the
movable contact point is attached, is electrically insulated
When the points are closed the current flows and when they
are open, the circuit is broken and flow of current stops
 An eight cylinder engine running at 3000 rpm requires
12000 sparks per minute ie 200 sparks per second
If the breaker is to operate satisfactorily at this speed, the
travel of the breaker arm must be held down to the
minimum to ensure a positive spark and the breaker arm
must be made very light
Capacitor
The principle of construction of the ignition capacitor is
the same as that of every electrical capacitor
Which is very simple, two metal plates separated by an
insulating material are placed face to face
The insulation is often is air (in case of air capacitor), but
in most cases is consist of some high quality insulating
material suitable for particular technical requirement.
Distributor
The function of the distributor is to distribute surges tot
he individual spark plugs in the correct sequence and at
the correct instants in time.
Depending on whether a particular engine 4, 6, 8
cylinders, there 4, 6 or 8 ignition pulses( surges)
generated for every rotation of the distributor shaft
There are two types of distributor one is brush type and
the gap type
Additionally distributor has in lower part of the housing
there is a speed sensitive device or governor, whose
function is to advance the spark with increase in engine
speed
Spark plug
The spark plug provide the two electrodes with a proper
gap across which the high potential discharges to
generate a spark and ignite the combustible mixture
within the combustible chamber
It essentially consist of steel shell, an insulator and two
electrodes
The central electrode to which the high tension supply
from the ignition coil is connected, is well insulated with
porcelain or other ceramic material.
The other electrode is welded with steel shell of the plug
and thereby is automatically grounded when the plug is
installed on the cylinder head of the engine.
The tip of the central electrode and the insulator are
exposed to the combustion chamber.
 Spark plugs are usually classified as hot plugs depending
upon relatively operating temperature range of the tip of
the high tension electrode
The operating temperature is governed by the amount of
heat transferred which in turn depends on the length of
the heat transfer path from the tip to the cylinder head and
on the amount of surface area exposed to the combustion
gases
A cold plug has short heat transfer path and a small area
exposed to the combustion gases as compared to a hot
plug
The type of spark used in the engine depends on the
particular engine requirements.
Every manufacturer determines the type of plug hot or
cold, that is best suited to his engine.
 The carbon deposits from incomplete combustion will
burn off at temperatures above 340 degree centigrade
while the excess oil carbon deposits from lubricating oil
require a temperature above 500 degree to burn.
If a spark plug runs hot enough at idling speeds to
prevent carbon deposits.
It may run too hot at high speeds and cause preignition
usually results
A compromise must be made in order to obtain a proper
spark plug which would operate satisfactorily though out
the entire engine operating range
An improper sparkplug is always a major source of
engine trouble such as misfiring and preignition
Operation of a Battery Ignition System
The source of the ignition energy in the battery ignition
system is the ignition coil
This coil stores the energy in its magnetic field and
delivers it at the instant of ignition (firing point) in the
form of a surge of high voltage current (ignition pulse)
through the high tension ignition cables to the correct
spark plug
Storage of energy in the magnetic field is based on as
inductive process
As a result of which we also designate the ignition coil as
an inductive storage device.
 The ignition coil consist of two coils of wire, one wound
around the other, insulated from each other
The primary winding L1 with few turns of heavy copper
wire and the secondary winding L2 with many turns of
fine copper wire
The primary and secondary winding are wound around a
laminated iron core which has the effect of increasing the
strength of the magnetic field and thus of the amount of
energy stored
One end of the primary winding is connected through the
ignition switch to the positive terminal post of the
storage battery, and other end is grounded through the
contact breaker
The ignition capacitor is connected in parallel with the
contact breaker.
 One end of the secondary winding is also grounded
through the contact breaker, and the other end is
connected through the distributor and the high tension
ignition cables to the center electrode of the spark plug.
When the ignition switch is closed, the primary winding
of the coil is connected to the positive terminal post of the
storage battery
If the primary circuit is closed through the breaker
contacts, a current flows, the so called primary current
This current flowing through the primary coil which is
wound on a soft iron core, produces a magnetic field in
the core
A cam driven by the engine shaft is arranged to open the
breaker points whenever an ignition discharge is required.
 When the breaker points open, the current which had
been flowing through the points now flows in to the
condenser, which is connected across the points
As the condenser becomes charged, the primary current
falls and the magnetic field collapses
The collapse field induces a voltage in the primary
winding, which charges the condenser to a voltage much
higher than battery voltage
The condenser then discharges in to the battery, reversing
the direction of the both primary current and magnetic
field
The rapid collapse and reversal of the magnetic field in
the core induce a very high voltage in the secondary
winding of the ignition coil
 The high secondary voltage is led to the proper spark
plug by means of a rotating switch called the distributor,
which is located in the secondary or high tension circuit
of the ignition system
The spark timing is controlled by the crank angle at
which the breaker points open, while the distributor
merely determines the firing sequence of the spark plugs
Changes in ignition timing may be affected by rotating
the plate which holds the breaker point, relative to the
cam
Because of this ignition will be delayed of the plate is
displaced in the direction in which the camshaft rotates.
Limitations
The primary voltage decreases as the engine speed
engine speed increases in the current switching capability
of the breaker system
Time available for build- up of the current in the primary
coil and the stored energy decrease as the engine
increases due to the dwell period becoming shorter
Because of the high source impendence the system is
sensitive to side tracking across the spark plug insulator
The breaker points are continuously subjected to
electrical as well mechanical wear which results in short
maintenance intervals
Dwell Angle
The period, measured in degree of cam rotation, during
which the contact points remain closed is called the
Dwell angle or the cam angle
The dwell angle must be sufficiently large to allow
magnetic saturation of the primary coil.
Too small a dwell angle will result in lower secondary
voltage and hence poor sparks or even misfiring
Too large a dwell angle will lead to burning of condenser
and the contact points due to over saturation of windings
The magnitude of the angle depends upon the gap
between the points and also angle between the cam lobes
Gap b/w the points of the order of 0.35 to 0.55mm
Advantages of a 12 volt ignition system
With the relatively low compression ratios those days the
6 Volt system gave satisfactory results
As the CR and the engine speeds increased, the voltage
required to break down the spark gap rose
Hence the 12 V system came to be preferred as
considerably higher
For transmitting equal power without excessive voltage
drop, the cables in a 6 v system need theoretically to be
twice thickness of 12 V cables
Twice the power is available for ignition coil during the
starting surge
The 12 V system has adequate electric power to supply
the increasing number of electrical accessories used
Magneto Ignition System
Magneto is special type of ignition system which its own
electric generator to provide the necessary energy for the
system
It is mounted on the engine and replaces all the
components of the coil ignition except the spark plug
A magneto when rotated by the engine is capable of
producing a very high voltage and does not need a
battery as a source of external energy
The high tension magneto incorporates the windings to
generate the primary voltage as well as to step up the
voltage and thus does not require a separate coil to boost
up the voltage required to operate the spark plug
Magneto can be either rotating armature type or rotating
magnet type.
 In first type the armature consisting of primary and
secondary windings all rotate between the poles of a
stationary magnet
In second type the magnet revolves and the windings are
kept stationary
A third type of magneto called the polar inductor type is
also in use
In polar inductor type magneto both the magnet and the
winding remains stationary but the voltage is generated
by reversing the flux with the help of soft iron polar
projections, called inductors
The working principle of the magneto ignition system is
exactly the same as that of the coil ignition system
Cam helps the primary circuit flux to change and high
voltage is produced in the secondary coil
 The variation of the breaker current with speed for the
coil ignition system and magneto ignition is shown in
graph
It can be seen that since the cranking speed at start is low
the current generated by the magneto is quite small
As the engine speed increases the flow of current also
increases
Thus with magneto there is always a starting difficulty
and sometimes a separate battery in needed for starting
The magneto is best for high speed and therefore widely
used for sports and racing cars, aircraft engines
In comparison the battery ignition is system is more
expensive but highly reliable
Battery ignition system is preferred in automobile
engines.
 In two wheelers magneto ignition system is favoured due
to light weight and less maintenance

Modern ignition systems

In modern automobiles the following two types are in
common use
1] Transistorizes coil ignition system (TCI)
2] Capacitive discharge ignition system (CDI)
Spark advance mechanism (Centrifugal advance and
vacuum advance)
In the cycle where the spark occurs must be regulated to
ensure maximum power and economy at different speeds
and loads and this must be done automatically
The purpose of spark advance mechanism is to assure that
under every condition of engine operation, ignition takes
place at the most favourable instant in time i.e, most
favourable from a standpoint of engine power, feul
economy, and minimum exhaust dilution
By means of these mechanisms the advance angle is
accurately set so that ignition occurs before top dead
centre point of the piston
The engine speed & load are control quantities required
for the automatic adjustment of the ignition timing
 Most of the engines are fitted with mechanisms which are
integral with the distributor and automatically regulate
the optimum spark advance to account for change of
speed and load
The two mechanisms are used
1] Centrifugal advance mechanisms
2] Vacuum advance mechanism
Centrifugal advance mechanisms
Centrifugal advance mechanism controls the ignition
timing for full load operation
The adjustment mechanism is designed so that its
operation results in the desired advance of the spark
The cam is mounted, movably, on the distributor shaft so
that as the speed increases, the flywheels which are
swung farther and farther outward, shift the cam
 In the direction of the shaft rotation
As a result, the cam lobes makes contact with the breaker
lever rubbing block some what earlier, thus shifting the
ignition point in the early or advance direction
Depending on the speed of the engine, and there fore of the
shaft, the weights are swung outward a greater or a lesser
distance from the centre
They are then held in the extended position, in a state of
equilibrium corresponding to the shifted timing angle, by a
retaining spring which exactly balances the centrifugal force
The weights shift the cam either on a rolling contact or
sliding contact basis
For this reason we distinguish b/w the rolling contact & the
sliding contact type of centrifugal advance mechanism
Vacuum Advance Mechanism
Vacuum advance mechanism shifts the ignition point
under part load operation
The adjustment system is designed so that its operation
results in the prescribed part load advance curve
In this mechanism the adjustment control quality is the
static vacuum prevailing in the carburettor, a pressure
which depends on the position of the throttle valve at any
given time and which is at a maximum when this valve is
about half open
This explains the vacuum maximum
The diaphragm of vacuum is until is moved by changes in
gas pressure
The position of this diaphragm is determined by the
pressure differential at any given movement between the
 Prevailing vacuum and atmospheric pressure
The beginning of the adjustment is set by the pre-
established tension on a compression spring
The diaphragm area, the spring force, and the spring
rigidly are all selected in accordance with the part load
advance curve which is to be followed and are all
balanced with respect to each other
The diaphragm movement is transmitted through a
vacuum advance arm connected to the movable breaker
plate, and this movement shift the breaker plate as
additional amount under part load conditions in a
direction of rotation of the distributor shaft
The vacuum advance mechanism operates independent
of the centrifugal advance mechanism
 The mechanical interplay between the two advance
mechanisms however, permits the total adjustment angle
at any given time to be the result of the addition of the
shafts provided by the two individual mechanisms
In other words vacuum advance mechanism operates in
conjunction with the centrifugal advance mechanism to
provide the total adjustment required when the engine is
operating under part load
 UNIT III

EMISSION MEASURMENT AND

CONTROL
EMISSION MEASUREMENT
Gas component Measurement Principle
CO - NDIR (Non-dispersive infrared)
HC - FID (Flame Ionization detector)
NO x - CLD (Chemiluminescence detector)
CO and CO2 NDIR Analyzers
Beer-Lambert's Law is used for operation of NDIR
analyzers by measuring the degree of absorption of
infrared (IR) radiations when they pass through a column
of gas.
The fraction of incident radiations absorbed is given by,
I/I0 = (1 e- k.c.d)
where
I = Radiation energy absorbed
I0 = Incident radiation energy
k = characteristic absorption constant for the gas, m2
/gmol
c = concentration of the gas, gmol/m 3
d = length of the gas column, m
Schematic of an NDIR analyzer for
measurement of CO and CO2 concentration
 As the absorption of IR radiations is measured only in a
narrow range of wavelengths (not the entire range of
wavelength of IR radiations) which has specifically a
high absorbance for the particular gas, the technique is
called as Non-dispersive infra-red'.
For example carbon monoxide has a strong absorbance
in the wavelength band of 4.5-5 m
The analyzer measures differential in absorption of
energy from two columns of gas;
(i) the gas to be analyzed in the sample cell' and
(ii) a gas of fixed composition like N2 contained in the
reference cell which is free of the gas of interest and
relatively non-absorbing in the infrared region.
 The infrared beam from a single source is usually split
into two beams of the same intensity, one each for the
sample and reference cells.
The detector is divided in two compartments separated
by a flexible diaphragm; one section receives transmitted
IR energy from the sample cell and the other from the
reference cell.
The detector is filled with the gas of interest, so that the
energy transmitted to the detector is fully absorbed
The flexible diaphragm of the detector senses the
differential pressure between the two sections of the
detector caused by the difference in the amount of
transmitted IR energy absorbed..
 The deflection in the diaphragm is used to generate an
electrical signal that determines the concentration of the
gaseous species of interest.
A rotating interrupter in the path of IR beam is put to
generate AC signal output that can be amplified.
NDIR instruments are seldom used for measurement of
hydrocarbons except in the garage type analyzers as the
IR absorbance to different hydrocarbons varies
substantially.
The unsaturated hydrocarbons are primarily responsible
for photochemical smog but they do not have an
adequate absorption in the IR wavelength range that is
specific to the saturated hydrocarbons and vice versa
 Sensitivity and response of NDIR to the exhaust HC is
typically only half of the probable true value.
NO absorbs only weekly in the infrared region.
Moreover, CO, CO2and water vapours interfere
seriously;
Hence NDIR analyzers are also not used for NO
measurement
Flame Ionization Detector (FID)
Pure hydrogen-air flames are practically ion-free but on
introduction of even little amount of hydrocarbons the
flame causes considerable ionization and becomes
electrically conducting.
The ionization current is proportional to the number of
carbon atoms present in the hydrocarbon molecules
 Thus, FID is effectively a carbon atom counter e.g., one
molecule of propane generates three times the response
generated by one molecule of methane.
The measurement of HC by FID is expressed as parts
per million of methane i.e. as ppmC 1 i.e., ppm of
hydrocarbon containing equivalent of one carbon atom.
The HC concentration is commonly written as ppmC.
HC concentration measured as ppm propane (C3 ) is to
be multiplied by a factor of 3 to convert it to ppmC.
All classes of hydrocarbons i.e., paraffin, olefins,
aromatics, etc. show practically the same response to
FID.
Oxygenates, e.g. aldehydes and alcohols however, have
a somewhat lower response.
 FID essentially consists of a hydrogen-air burner and an
ion collector assembly as shown in Fig. 4.11.
Sample gas is introduced with hydrogen in the burner
assembly and the mixture is burned in a diffusion flame.
An electric potential is applied between the collector
plates that makes the ionization current to flow and
generate signal proportional to HC concentration in the
sample gas.
This current is amplified and the output signal is
measured.
A well-designed burner will generate ionization current
that is linearly proportion to hydrocarbon content over a
dynamic range of almost 1 to 10 6 .
 The commercial FID analyzers have the most sensitive
range set at about 0-50 ppmC and the maximum range
reaching 0-100,000 ppmC
Hydrogen is mixed with helium in ratio of 40:60 to
decrease flame temperature that increases flame
stability.
The FID analyzer is calibrated with propane or methane
mixtures in nitrogen.
For the measurement of hydrocarbons in diesel exhaust,
sampling line and FID are heated to a temperature of
191 11C to minimize condensation of heavy
hydrocarbons present in the diesel exhaust in the
sampling system.
 Presently, the emission standards are specified in terms
of non-methane hydrocarbons.
Methane content of HC emissions is determined by one
of the following methods:
Gas chromatographic (GC) method or
Non-methane cutter (NMC) method

In the GC method, sample is injected into GC column

which separates the sample into two parts:
(i) CH 4 -air-CO, and
(ii) NMHCCO2 H2O.
Unit IV

Clutch
DEFINITION
Clutch is a mechanism which enables the rotary motion
of one shaft to be transmitted, when desired, a second
shaft the axis of which is coincident with that of the first.

REQUIREMENT OF CLUTCH
1) Torque transmission: The clutch should be able to
transmit the maximum torque of the engine under all
conditions.
It is usually designed to transmit 125 to 150 percent of
the maximum engine torque.
The clutch slips during engagement, the clutch facing is
heated.
 Clutch temperature is the major factor limiting the clutch
capacity
This requires that the clutch facing must maintain
A reasonable coefficient of friction with the mating
surfaces under all working conditions.
Moreover the friction material should not such at high
temperatures and clamping loads.
2. Gradual engagement: The clutch should positively take
the drive gradually without the occurrence sudden jerks.
3. Heat dissipation: During clutch application, large
amounts of heat are generated.
The rubbing faces should have sufficient area and mass to
absorb the heat generated.
The proper design of the clutch should ensure proper
ventilation or cooling for adequate dissipation of the heat.
4. Dynamic balancing: This is necessary
particularly in the high speed clutches.

5. Vibration damping: Suitable mechanism should

he incorporated within the clutch, to eliminate risk
produced in the transmission.

6. Size: The size of the clutch must be smallest

possible so that it should occupy minimum
amount of space
7. Inertia:
The clutch rotating pans should have minimum inertia.
Otherwise, when the clutch is released for gear changing,
the clutch plate will keep on spinning, causing hard
shifting and gear clashing spite of synchronizer.
8. Clutch free pedal play:
To. reduce effective clamping load on the carbon thrust
bearing and wear sufficient clutch free pedal must be
provided in the clutch.
9. Ease of operation:
For higher torque transmissions the operation of
disengaging the clutch must not be tiresome driver.
Types of clutches
1 Friction clutches
2 fluid flywheel
The friction clutches work on the fact that friction is
caused when two rotating when two rotating discs come
into contact with each other.
On the other hand, the fluid flywheel works on the
transfer of energy from one motor to the other by means
of some fluid.
Friction clutches may be dry or wet type
Majority of the vehicles uses dry type of clutch because
of lower coefficient of friction in wet type.
Because of some advantages over dry type in modern
vehicles wet type of clutches are also in use
Principle of friction clutches
Let shaft A and disc C be revolving at some speed, say N
rpm
Shaft B and the disc D keyed to it are stationary, initially
when the clutch is not engaged as in fig A
Now apply axial force W to the disc S so that it come in
contact with disc C
As soon as the contact is made, the force of friction
between C and D will come into play and consequently
the disc D will start revolving
The speed of D depends upon friction force present,
which in turn is proportional to the force W applied
If W is increased gradually, the speed D will increased
correspondingly till the stage comes when the sped of D
becomes equal to the speed of C
 Then the clutch is said to be fully engaged
Let, W = axial load applied
= co-efficient of friction
T = torque transmitted
R = effective mean radius of friction surface
1] co-efficient of friction
This depends upon the materials comprising friction
surfaces
The co efficient friction for a given material also varies
with operating conditions such as temperature, pressure
and rubbing velocity
2] Axial load applied, W
The maximum value of W is limited to that which a
driver can exert with out undue strain
Dry friction clutches
The following are the types of dry friction clutches
1. Cone clutch 2. single plate clutch
3. Multiplate clutch 4. semi centrifugal clutch
5. Centrifugal clutch

1. Cone clutch
In this type the contact surfaces are in the form of
cones.
In the engaged position the male cone is fully inside the
female cone so that the friction surface are in complete
contact.
This is done by means of springs which keeps the male
cone pressed all the time.
 When the clutch is engaged, the torque is transmitted
from the engine via fly wheel and the male cone to the
splined gear box shaft
For disengaging the clutch the male cone is pulled out by
means of the lever system operated through the clutch
pedal thereby separating the contact surfaces
Advantage
The only advantage is the cone clutch is that the normal
force acting on the contact surfaces in this case is larger
than the axial force, as compared to the simple single
plate clutch in which the normal force acting on the
contact surfaces is equal to axial force.
Disadvantages
This type of clutch is practically obsolete
If the angle of cone is made smaller than about 20 degree
the male cone tends to bend or join the female cone and it
becomes difficult to disengage the clutch.
A small amount of wear on the cone surface results in a
considerable amount of the axial movement of the male
cone for which it will be difficult to allow.
 Single plate clutch
Friction plate is held between the flywheel and pressure
plate.
There are springs arranged circumferentially, which are
provided axial force to keep clutch in engaged position.
The friction plate is mounted on the hub which is splined
from inside and is thus free over the gear box shaft.
Friction facing is attached on the friction plate on both sides
to provide two annular friction surfaces for the transmission
of power.
It is the most common type of clutch used in motor vehicles.
The clutch essentially consists of two members, one
mounted on the driving shaft and the other on the driven
shaft.
 These two shafts are parallel and concentric with each other.
One shaft is fixed to its housing while the other is splined so
that it can be moved axially.
The driving torque can be increased by increasing the
effective radius of contact.
In actual practice the construction of the clutch differs.
The pressure plate, the springs. the release levers and the
cover.
Single Plate Clutch
Advantage
With the single plate clutch gear changing is easier than
with the cone clutch because the pedal movement is less in
this case.
It does not form disadvantages of cone clutch.

Disadvantages
As compared to cone clutch the spring have to be more stiff
and this means greater force required to be applied by driver
while disengaging.
The single plate clutch is used in various vehicle is
manufactured in India as shown in fig.
 Diaphragm spring type single plate clutch

The construction of this type clutch is similar to that of

single plate type clutch described expect that here
diaphragm springs are used instead of ordinary coil springs.
In the free condition the diaphragm springs is of conical
form but when assembled it is constrained to an
approximately flat condition because of which it exerts a
load upon the pressure plate.
It is seen from the above figures that the diaphragm spring
is supported on a fulcrum retaining ring. so that any section
through the spring can be regarded as a simpler lever.
 Advantages of the diaphragm spring type clutch

It is more compact means of storing energy. Thus

compact design results in smaller clutch housing.
As the diaphragm spring is comparatively less affected by
centrifugal forces, it can withstand higher rotational
speeds.
On the other hand, coil springs have tendency to distort in
the transverse direction at higher speeds.
 Single plate clutch with dual mass flywheel

It is seen that to isolate the transmission effectively from

engine vibrations, the mass moment inertia of the
transmission should be increased without increasing the
mass to be shifted.
This has to be done by using dual mass flywheel. Luke of
Germany was the manufacture to develop clutch. In this the
mass of the flywheel is split into two.
 Multiplate clutch

The multiplate clutch is an extension of single plate type

where the number of frictional and the metal plates is
increased.
The increase in the number of friction surfaces obviously
increases the capacity of clutch to transmit torque, the size
remaining fixed.
A clutch having more than three disc is called a multi plate
clutch .
This multi plate clutch is used where the space is limited,
consist of a number of clutch plates, instead of only one
clutch plate, as in the case of single plate clutch.
 The increased number of the clutch plates obviously
increases the capacity of the clutch to transmit more torque.
Due to this, these clutch plates are used in heavy duty
commercial vehicles, racing cars, special purpose military
vehicles etc.
These may be dry or wet.
When the clutch of this type is operated in a oil bath , is
called a wet clutch.
The oil acts as a cushion to provide a smooth engagement.
The energy released as heat is also carried away by the oil .
This reduces the operating temperature and prolongs life.
 The dry clutch is used without oil having driving plates
lined on each side with a frictional material.
The function of dry clutch is similar to wet clutch.
In multi plate clutch as inner drum which is coupled to the
gearbox shaft has a number of plates splined as its outer
periphery.
Another drum is bolted to the flywheel and carries a number
of plates splined at its inner circumference.
The plates revolve with the drum but can slide axially.
A spring keeps the outer and inner plates pressed together so
that the driving number transmits the power to driven
number.
The clutch is disengaged by pulling the inner drum against
the pressure spring.
 Semi centrifugal clutch
For small torque transmission the clutch springs may be
designed so that they have sufficient strength for applying
the desired amount of force.
At the same time clutch springs are not so stiff as to cause
any strain to the driver while disengaging.
However for high power engines the clutch spring pressures
desired may be considerable and thus the action of
disengaging the clutch becomes fatiguing to the driver.
These clutches are similar to the centrifugal clutches.
The only difference is that these clutches uses centrifugal
force as well as spring force for keeping it in engaged
position.
 The springs are designed to transmit the torque at normal
speeds, while the centrifugal force assist the torque
transmitting at higher speed.
It consists of three lines and weighted levers and three
clutch springs alternatively arranged at equal spaces on the
pressure plate.
At normal speeds when the power transmission is low the
springs keeps the clutch engaged on the pressure plate.
At high speed, when the power transmission is high, the
weights fly off and the levers also extend pressure on the
plate, thus keeping the clutch firmly engaged.
 Centrifugal clutch
In the fully centrifugal of clutches, the springs are
eliminated altogether and only the centrifugal force is used
to apply the required pressure for keeping the clutch in
engaged position.
Several systems have been designed to make clutch
operation automatic and this avoids the incorporation of a
clutch pedal.
A centrifugal clutch which automatically disengages itself
when the speed falls below and again engages when the
speed rises above a pre-set value is one such device.
This clutch uses the centrifugal force instead of spring force
for keeping it in engaged position.
 The centrifugal clutch operates with the engine speed. As
the speed increases the centrifugal weights fly off.
These centrifugal weights pressurizes the pressure plate and
moves towards the flywheel.
In between the pressure plate and fly wheel, the clutch plate
is positioned .
When the pressure pate pressed towards flywheel, the clutch
plate is sandwiched between fly wheel and pressure plate,
and the power flows towards the gear box.
The main disadvantage of this clutch is that it will not
engage at speeds.
FLUID FLYWHEEL
CONSTRUCTION
The fluid flywheel or the hydraulic coupling as it is
frequently called has been used in cars employing automatic
transmissions.
It consist of two members, the driving and the driven as
shown in fig
The driving member is attached to the engine flywheel and
the driven member to the transmission shaft.
The two members do not have any direct contact with each
other. The driven member is free to slide on splines on the
transmission shaft.
The two rotors are always filled with fluid of suitable
viscosity. These are provided with radial ribs to form a
number of passages, which avoid formation of eddies and
also guide the fluid to flow in the desired direction.
TORQUE TRANSMISSION
A simplified diagram representing the fluid fly wheel
makes it easier to understand the process of transmission
of torque
At the start tube x is rotating say, at N1 rpm and tube Y is
stationary
With the movement of fluid in X and Y, Y also starts
rotating though at lower speed
This speed goes on increasing till it becomes equal to the
speed of X
Then the coupling is fully engaged
 To understand how all this happens consider a particle A,
which after small interval of times takes successively the
position B, C and D
If m is the mass of the particle, the K.E values at A,B,C
and D respectively will be
m/2(2rN1)2, m/2(2RN1)2, m/2(2RN2)2,
m/2(2rN2)2
Thus we see that particle A gains K.E as it moves from A
to B in tube X and then when it passes to tube Y, it gives
the same to it, thereby increasing its speed
Characteristics
Fig shows the variation of percentage slip with speed.
The percentage of slip is defined as N1-N2/N1 *100
where N1 and N2 are the speeds of driving and driven
members respectively
It is seen that for engine speeds below 500 RPM(fixed by
the designer) percentage slip is 100 which means clutch
is fully disengaged
As the engine speed increase further to about 1000 RPM,
the percentage slip falls rapidly to about 10, beyond
which the slip decreases gradually to as small value
about 2 percent at about 3000 RPM
As percentage slip represents definite loss of energy and
consequently increased fuel consumption, the engine is
not allowed to run at a speed b/w appr 500 t 1000rpm
ADVANTAGES
No wear on moving parts
No adjustment to be made
No maintenance necessary except oil level
Simple design
No jerk on transmission when gear engages
No skill required for operating it
Car can stop in gear and move off also by
pressing accelerator pedal only
 DISADVANTAGE
The only disadvantage of the fluid fly wheel is that there
is a drag on the gear box shaft even when the percentage
slip is 100 .
This makes the gear changing difficult with the ordinary
crash type gear box hence fluid fly wheel is generally
used with epicyclic gear box which avoid difficulty
Fluid fly wheel trouble shooting
Large slip
As it clear from the characteristics of fluid fly wheel some
slip always exists but sometimes it may become excessive
due to either the shortage of fluid or the fluid in the
flywheel not being of proper viscosity

Drag
If appreciable drag is experienced in the fly wheel when
the engine is idling it may be only due to wrong grade of
fluid

Vibration
The vibration in the fluid flywheel may be caused due to
upsetting of the balance of the rotor the un-balancing may
be due to reasons such as nut being changed on the
 UNIT IV

GEAR BOX

TRANSMISSION - I
INTRODUCTION
The word transmission' means as the whole of the
mechanism that transmits the power from the engine
crankshaft to the rear wheels.
However the transmission is also being used very
commonly in the literature for a mechanism which
provides us with suitable variation of the engine torque at
the road wheels whenever required.
This may be a gear box (also called manual transmission)
or an automatic transmission.
It is in this sense that the word transmission is used in this
chapter.
FUNCTIONS OF TRANSMISSION
1. At low speed, the torque produced by an I.C. engine is
very small, which increases with increase of speed, peaks
at some optimum speed and starts decreasing beyond that.
This would mean that:
(i) If engine is directly connected to road wheels, it may not
have enough tractive effort to start the vehicle from rest.
(ii) The practical considerations for the running of
automobile under different conditions demands a large
variation of torque at the road wheels, which would mean
that it would not to be possible to always run the engine
at the optimum speed. Besides, the bigger engine would
be required to cater to the torque requirement under most
difficult conditions.
 Thus the main purpose of the transmission is to provide a
means to vary the leverage or torque ratio between the
engine and the road wheels as required. This has been
made clear in the following article.
2. The transmission also provides a neutral position so that
the engine and the road wheels are disconnected even
with the clutch to the engaged position.
3. A means to back the car by reversing the direction of
rotation of the drive is also provided by the transmission.
NECESSITY OF TRANSMTSSION
The question as to how far is the transmission necessary in
a vehicle may be answered by considering:
(a) Variation of resistance to the vehicle motion at various
speeds.
(b) Variation of tractive effort of the vehicle available at
various speeds
1. Total Resistance to the vehicle motion
It consists of:
(i) Resistance due to wind-This is taken to be proportional
to the square of the vehicle speed.
(ii) Resistance due to gradient-This remains constant at all
speeds. This is the component of the vehicle weight
parallel to the plane of the road.
(iii) Miscellaneous-Apart from the above two types, various
other factors also contribute towards the vehicles
resistance. These are type of the road, tyre friction etc.
This may also be taken approximately to remain constant
with the speed.

The total resistance for a particular type of road,

therefore, may be represented as shown in Fig.4.1

The total resistance for same type of road with different

gradients may then be represented by curves shown in
Fig,4.2. The higher curve represents steeper gradients.
2 Tractive Effort
The curves 1,2 and 3 respectively in Fig. 4.3 represent the
tractive effort in first, Second and top gears respectively.
3. Transmission Necessity
By now we understand the variation of total resistance
to the vehicle motion and the tractive effort of the vehicle
with speed. It is obvious that whenever the tractive effort
exceeds the total resistance, the vehicle will accelerate to
a speed where tractive effort becomes equal to the total
resistance.
Consider Fig. 4 4. This is obtained by superimposing Fig
4.2 on Fig 4.3. Let the vehicle be in the top gear and
suppose the vehicle is travelling on a gradient which
gives total resistance curve I
 then from Fig.4.4, it is see that OA is stabilizing speed. If the
speed at any instant less, say, OB, the excess of tractive
effort will accelerate it to speed OA.
Similarly if the speed at any instant is OC, the excess of
resistance l decelerate it to OA.
Now let the vehicle go on next gradient of curve II
In this case it is noticed that the stabilizing speed has
decreased.
Next consider the curve III. At this gradient we see nowhere
does the curve 3 cross curve III.
Therefore the vehicle will not be able to go at gradient in the
top gear. However, if we to second gear we get a stabilizing
speed OD.
Similarly in second gear also the will not be running on
gradient IV for then we shall have to shift to first gear.
 Again at start more acceleration is needed to gain speed
quickly.
This can be done in first gear because in this gear the
maximum tractive effort available for acceleration.
However, when the necessary speed has been obtained,
we may shift into further gear, because then the vehicle
speed has to be simply maintained and no acceleration is
required.
TYPES OF TRANSMISSIONTYPES OF
TRANSMISSION
The transmissions may be classified into the manual and
the automatic types.
The manual transmissions are conventionally called gear
boxes.
Their mechanical efficiency in direct drive is about 98%,
whereas in reduction gears, it is slightly greater than 90%.
As most of the time the driving is done in direct drive,
friction losses in manual transmissions are very small.
That coupled with simplicity, lower initial cost and
requiring little maintenance is the reason these are still
popular particularly in fuel-efficient automobiles
 On the other hand the operation of engaging and
disengaging the clutch along with changing of gears
while driving over a crowded highway means a lot of
fatigue to the driver.
Moreover, there is interruption of torque caused when the
driver declutches causing discomfort to passengers and
in extreme cases, instability of the vehicle.
It is also difficult for the drive to know when to change
gear to optimize fuel economy.
Therefore, in luxury vehicles automatic transmissions
are employed which simplify the driving operation
considerably.
 The modem planetary automatic transmissions shift gears
smoothly and since these are regulated by the
transmission control unit the best gear is always selected
for the operating conditions, depending on whether the
driver desires performance or economy.
However, there are disadvantages also. They incur
parasitic losses due to the hydraulic pump required to
operate the clutches and slip in the torque converter
generating heat Most modern transmissions having lock
up clutches to bypass torque converter during low-
efficiency operation have up to 85 percent efficiency over
the drive cycle.
The latest types are the Continuously Variable
Transmissions (CVTs) and the Automated Manual
Transmissions (AMTs), which have been described in
detail in the next chapter
MANUAL TRANSMISSION
Sliding mesh type of gear box is the oldest type of
manual transmission used in automobiles.
However, this type the mechanical efficiency was very
low and the noise level was quite high.
Moreover the driver red considerable skill in changing
the gears.
An improvement was achieved in the form of a constant
mesh gear box, which resulted in higher mechanical
efficiencies and lower noise level due to the use of
gears instead of straight spur gears in case of sliding
mesh type.
Still the driver had to adopt double clutching to change
gears.
 A further improvement with the help of synchromesh
device solved this problem also and these days a
synchromesh type of gear box is the universally used
type of automotive transmission.
Five speed synchromesh gear box (GL 68/20-5)
employed in l991 model Mercedes 19OD2.5 vehicle is
shown in Fig. 4.5.
All the above types of manual transmissions will be
discussed in the following articles.
SLIDING MESH TYPE OF GEAR BOX
This is the simplest type of gear box.
The power comes from the engine to the clutch shaft
and thence to the clutch gear which is always in mesh
with a gear on the layshaft.
All the gears on the lay shaft are fixed to it and as such
they are all the time rotating when the engine is running
and the clutch engaged.
Three direct and one reverse speeds are attained on
suitably moving the gear on the main shaft by means of
selector mechanism.
CONSTSNT MESH GEAR BOX
In this type of gear box, all the gears are in constant mesh
while the corresponding gears on the layshaft.
The gears on the main shaft which is splined, are free.
The dog clutches are provided which are free to slide on
the main shaft. The gears on the layshaft are however,
fixed.
When the left dog clutch is slid to the left by means of the
selector mechanism, its teeth are engaged with those on
the clutch gear and we get the direct gear.
The same dog clutch, however, when slid to right makes
contact with the second gear and second gear is obtained.
Similarly movement of the right dog clutch to the left
results in low gear and towards right in reverse gear.
Double Declutching
In the constant mesh box for the smooth engagement of
the dog clutches it is necessary that the speed of main
shaft gear and the sliding god must be equal.
Therefore to obtain lower gear, the speed of the clutch
shaft, layshaft and main shaft gear must be increased.
This is done by double declutching.
The procedure for double declutching is as given below:
The clutch is disengaged and the gear is brought to
neutral. Then the clutch is engaged and accelerator pedal
pressed to increase the speed of the main shaft gears.
After this the clutch is again disengaged and the gear
moved to the required lower gear and the clutch is again
engaged
 As the clutch is disengaged twice in this process, it is
called double declutching.
For changing to higher gear, however, reverse effect is
desire, the driver has to wait with the gear in neutral till
the main shaft speed is decreased sufficiently for a
smooth engagement of the gear.
Advantages: compared to sliding mesh gear
1. As the gears have to remain always in mesh, it is no
longer necessary to use straight spur gears. Instead,
helical gears are used which are quieter running.
2. Wear of dog teeth on account of engaging and
disengaging is reduced because here all the teeth of the
dog clutches are involved compared to only two or three
teeth in the case of sliding gears
SYNCHROMESH GEAR BOX
This type of gear box is similar to the constant mesh type
in that all the gears on the main shaft are in mesh with
the corresponding gears on the layshaft.
The gear on the layshaft are fixed to it while the main
shaft are free to rotate on the same.
Its working is also similar to the constant mesh type, the
former there is one definite improvement over the latter.
This is the provision of synchromesh which avoids the
necessity of double declutching.
The parts which ultimately are to be engaged are brought
into frictional contact which equalizes their speed, after
which these may be engaged.
 They were only on the high gears and on the low and
reverse gears ordinary dog clutches are only provided.
This one to reduce the cost.
A is the engine shaft. Gears B, C, D, E are free on the
main shaft and are always in mesh corresponding gears
on the layshaft.
Thus all the gears on main shaft as well as on layshaft
continue to so long as shaft A is rotating. Members F1
and F2 are free to slide on splines on the main shaft G1
and G2 are ring shaped members having internal teeth fit
onto the external teeth members F1 and F2 respectively.
K1 and K2 are dog teeth on B and D respectively and
these also fit onto the teeth of G1 and G2. S1 and S2 are
the forks
 T1and T2 are the balls supported by springs.
These tend to prevent the sliding of members G1(G2) on
F1(F2).
However, when the force applied on G1(G2) through fork
S1(S2) exceeds a certain value, the balls are overcame
and member G1(G2) slides over F1(F2).
There am usually six of these balls symmetrically placed
circumferentially in one synchromesh device M1, M2,
N1, N2, P1, P2, R1, R2 are frictional surfaces.
To understand the working of this gear box consider Fig
4.11 to 4.13 which show in steps how the gears are
engaged.
 For direct gear, member G1 and hence member F1
(through spring loaded balls) is slid towards left till
cones M1 and M2 rub and friction makes their speed
equal [Fig. 4 13 (a).
Further pushing the member G1 to left causes it to
override the balls and get engaged with dogs K1 [Fig
4.13 (b).
Now the drive to the main shaft is direct from B via F1
and the splines.
However, if member G1 is pushed too quickly so that
there is not sufficient time for synchronization of speeds,
a clash may result.
Likewise defect will arise in case springs supporting the
balls TF have become weak.
 Similarly for second gear the members F1 and G1 are slid
to the right so that finally the internal teeth on G1 are
engaged with L1.
Then the drive to main shaft will be from B viz U1, U2,
C, F1 and splines.
For reverse, G2 and F2 are slid towards right. In this case
the drive will be from B viz, U1, U4, U5, E, F2 and
splines to the main shaft
In this type of gear box it is very necessary for the
smooth operation that sufficient time is allowed for the
equalisation of the speeds before the gears are finally
brought into mesh.
To help in this special modifications have been employed
in many gear boxes. One such modified synchromesh
device is shown in Fig4.14.
 A synchroniser ring is provided between the dog teeth K1 and
member F1.
To push this synchroniser ring in the desired direction three
guide bars equally spaced along the circumference are
provided.
These are retained in place by means of circlips.
The synchroniser ring has dog teeth at its outer circumference
and is cut at three places to provide space for the guide bars.
The width of each cut is equal to the width of the guide bar
plus half the pitch of the teeth on the synchroniser ring.
When the gear is to be engaged fork S1 slides F1 to left,
pushing synchroniser ring also along till the inclined friction
surface on the inside of the ring comes into contact with the
corresponding friction surface of the gear
 Till the speeds of the two mating surfaces have not
equalised, the guide bars would be contacting one side of
the corresponding cuts in the synchroniser ring as shown
in Fig.4. 14 (a).
In this position G1 cannot move further. However, as the
speeds are equalised, the guides bars become central in
the cuts and the member G1 can be pushed further,
overriding the spring-loaded balls as explained earlier so
as to engage the gear. This position has been shown in
Fig 4.14(b).
Major disassembly of the synchromesh gear box used in
Swaraj Mazda vehicles
EPICYCLIC GEAR BOX
As epicyclic gear box consists of two, three or even four
epicyclic or planetary gear sets.
A simple gear set has a sun gear, about which planets
turn round.
These planet gears are carried by a carrier and a shaft and
are also in mesh internally with a ring gear, which is also
called annulus or internal gear sometimes.
Different torque ratios i.e. speed ratios are obtained by
making any one of the parts, viz, the sun gear, the planets
and the annulus stationary.
Similarly by locking two parts with each other, a solid
drive i.e. direct drive is obtained
Determination of speed ratio of epicyclic gear trains
As described above an epicyclic gear train is one in
which some of the wheels have a bodily motion also i.e.,
their axes rotate about some other axis, in addition to any
rotation which they posses about their own axis.
The most simple method to determine speed ratio (also
called velocity ratio) is the algebraic method. The
principle on which this method is based may be stated as:
The gear ratio of a pair of mating gear wheels w.r.t the
link carrying the axes of the gears is always the same
whether the link carrying the axes is fixed or moving.
Consider (fig 5.2) gears B and C mating with each other
and connected by means of arm A.
The according to the principle stated above
Speed of gear B w.r.t arm A = Tc
Speed of gear C w.r.t arm A = Tb
Whether the arm is fixed or moving (Tb and Tc are the
number of teeth on gears B and C respectively).
2 - Speed Epicyclic Gear box
A simple epicyclic gear box with single set is shown m
Fig 5.5. This is a two-forward-speeds gear box.
Direct gear is obtained by releasing the brake and
engaging the clutch.
This Locks the sun wheel and the planet carrier
 Lower gear is obtained when brake is applied
which locks sun gear S. If, for example number of
teeth of the ring gear and sun wheel are
respectively, TR=40 and Ts= 20 then
Nr - Np = -Ts
Ns - Np = Tr
where Nr, Ns and Np are the rotational speeds of
ring gear, sun wheel and planet carrier
respectively. Ns=0 when the brake is applied.
Wilson Gear Box
This type of gear box consists of a number of simple
epicyclic gear seta compounded together.
A four forward and one reverse speed epicyclic gearing
used in Wilson gear box is shown in fig 5.6.
A is the input connected directly to the engine crankshaft,
while R is the output shaft coupled with the propeller
through universal joints.
C is the multiplate clutch.
There are four epicyclic gear trains l, 2, 3 and 4
connected as shown.
Various gear ratios are obtained as follows
 Direct gear - This is obtained by locking S1 to A by
applying the clutch C. In this position we get a drive
and direct gear is obtained.
Third gear - For third gear, S1 is held stationary by
means of brake B1. In this position arm A1 is to ring
R2 and arm A2 is coupled to ring R1.
Second gear - To obtain second gear, brake B2 is applied
to keep the ring R2 stationary. The sun gear is already
fixed to the engine shaft. A Arm A2 is also coupled to the
ring R1.
First gear - Brake B3 is applied to obtain the low gear
Reverse gear - For reverse gear the brake B4 is applied
which holds the ring R4 stationary
 This gear box may be of the preselector type i.e. fitted
with a special mechanism which enables the to select the
suitable gear beforehand.
A separate lever is there on steering column, which
moves in sector in a plane parallel to the plane of the
wheel.
On the wheel are marked the corresponding positions
various gears.
Whenever we have to shift into the next higher or next
lower gear we can preselect it.
This can be done bringing the lever to the desired
position.
After that when we actually want to engage the desired
gear, only thing to do is to press the gear change pedal
and the desired gear will be engaged
Controls in the epicyclic gear box
There are two controls i.e., brake and the clutch.
The brake Is in the form of a band that surrounds a drum
attached to the gear (in case Of sun gear) or the outer
surface of the gear itself (In case of ring gear).
The clutch used Is of multiplate type. Both the brake and
the clutch are applied by fluid pressure.
These are selected by hydraulic shift valves which are
usually located In the bottom oi the gear box.
Advantage of epicyclic gear box
The advantage of epicyclic gearing is thus obvious.
All the gears are in constant mesh and to engage any
desired gear on simply has to apply the particular brake
or the clutch.
For this, the drive from the engine need not be
disconnected as in case at ordinary crash type gear box.
The gear changing operation thus becomes very easy
with an epicyclic gear box, which makes it suitable for
use in automatic transmissions
FREEWHEEL UNIT
In some vehicles a freewheel unit (also called freewheel
clutch) is provided just after the gear box.
It is very much similar in action to the bicycle free wheel.
The inner driving members is connected to the gear box
shaft and the outer one to the propeller shaft.
The driving member has three steps as shown in figure.
In each step there are three spring mounted rollers of
different sizes.
When the driving member Is rotating in the direction
shown in the figure the driven member will also be
rotating in the same direction.
 But when the driven member becomes the driving
member e.g. when the car is going downhill with the
engine stopped or clutch disengaged, the inner member
will not rotate along with the outer one.
Thus in this case the transmission and the engine will be
isolated from the wheels This results in fuel economy .
ln some instances, the freewheel has to be locked e.g in
reverse drive. In such cases the provision of looking the
freewheel drive is there.
There is a dog clutch provided whose teeth can engage
with the teeth on the inside of the outer free-wheel
member.
The dog clutch is automatically engaged by a connection
from the reverse gear selector. There is also a provision
for the manual locking of the freewheel
The advantages of using a freewheel unit are:
1. The engine can idle simply by closing the throttle
without bringing the gears in neutral. Thus gear
changing at low speeds is much simplified as the clutch
need not be disengaged for this purpose.
2. Less wear on the transmission because whenever the
car free wheels the engine and the gear box are
disconnected from the propeller shaft.
3. On long downward slopes, an appreciable amount of
fuel is saved. The saving may be up to 20 percent.
The main disadvantage is that as there is no resistance
due to engine and gear box friction while
freewheeling, the brakes must be used more
effectively to stop the vehicle on a downward slope
TORQUE CONVERTER
The construction of the torque converter is similar to that
of the fluid fly wheel, the only difference being that it
has an additional stationary member called the stator or
the reaction -member and all the members have blades or
vanes of specific shape.
The operation of the two, however is not similar.
Whereas the fluid fly wheel transmits the same torque as
given to it by the engine shaft the torque converter
increases the torque in a ratio of about 2:1 to 3:1.
Thus it serves the same purpose as that of a gear box and
that too in a better way.
Whereas in the gear box the torque variation is only in
finite number of steps, in the case of torque converter
output variation is continuous.
 However, the efficiency of a torque converter is high
only within narrow limits of speed.
A single stage torque converter is shown in Fig. 5.8.
It consists of 3 main parts, viz, (i) the impeller or the
driving member which is connected to the engine, (ii) the
turbine or the driven member which is connected to the
road wheels rough the transmission gears and the drive
line and (iii) the stator fixed to the frame through a free
wheel.
In addition, there is a transmission oil pump which
keeps the converter full of oil under pressure.
Pressure is necessary to keep the converter full of oil
when rotating.
 Due to rotation the centrifugal force pushes oil in the
outward direction and this tends to form air pockets near
the centre of the converter.
This phenomenon of forming air pocket due to low
pressure is called Cavitation, to avoid which the
converter pressure is kept between 200 to 1200 kPa.
When the engine is started, the impeller starts rotating.
Initially the oil from the impeller is pushed into the
turbine because of the higher centrifugal force at the
impeller, due to it being driven by the engine and the
turbine being stationary.
Thus the oil, having taken-high kinetic energy from the
engine through the impeller hits, the outer edge of the
turbine.
 This flow of the high energy oil provides the force that
tends to rotate the turbine. This force increases with the
increase of engine speed.
When it is great enough, the turbine starts rotating and
the vehicle moves.
The turbine blade angle is such that it changes the
direction of the oil flow so that when it comes out of the
turbine at the centre, its direction is effectively backward.
If there were no stator and it to enter the impeller
directly, it will push the impeller in the opposite direction
and will thus cause a of power.
To avoid this dragging action on the impeller the fluid
from the turbine is made to strike a stationary member
 i.e., stator which changes its direction suitably, so that the oil
leaving the stator strikes the impeller in the favourable
direction i.e., in the same direction in which the impeller is
turning [Fig 5.9(a)].
The stator takes the reaction while doing so and is therefore
called, a reactor also.
Then the impeller throws the oil back into the turbine at the
outer edge.
This goes on continuously. Thus repeated pushing of the
turbine blades causes the torque on the turbine to increase,
the phenomenon being called torque multiplication.
It must be remembered, however that the helping action of
the stator in deflecting the fluid in the favourable direction
and subsequent torque multiplication occurs when the turbine
speed
 Thus the maximum torque multiplication occurs when the
turbine is stationary and impeller is running fast at the
engine speed.
This is called stall. The maximum torque multiplication
at stall is about 2.1 to 2.6.
When the vehicle beings to move, the turbine speed
starts to increase and the torque multiplication gradually
reduces as the difference in the impeller and turbine
speeds decreases.
Torque multiplication will become unity as the turbine
speed becomes equal to the impeller speed.
This is equivalent to direct gear
 When the turbine speed has increased and is nearly 85%
to 90% of the impeller speed, the coupling point is
reached and the oil leaves the turbine in the forward
direction, hitting the back of the stator blade.
The stator blades thus cause a hindrance to the flow of
fluid from the turbine to impeller.
To avoid this stator is mounted on a free-wheel clutch
(also called one way clutch), which allows it to rotate in
the direction of the turbine or impeller.
It cannot, however, rotate in the opposite direction. With
this arrangement, the stator rotates in the desired direction
and does not cause hindrance to the fluid motion
[Fig.5.9(b)].
 Fig 5.10 shows the variation of the ratio output
torque\input torque and efficiency with the speed of the
driven member.
It is observed that efficiency of the torque converter is
maximum within a very narrow speed range.
Because of this the use of torque converter will involve
heavy losses.
Two methods of avoiding this which have been
employed are
(i) By so arranging that the torque converter behaves as a
fluid flywheel at higher speeds.
This is achieved by mounting stator on a free-wheel as
described earlier.
 (ii) By disconnecting the torque converter at high speeds
and instead employing a direct drive.
At low speeds the torque converter is kept operative
because the car is run at low speeds only for very small
time.
This may be done in to a number of ways, some of
which are described below:
(a) Referring to Fig. 5.11 the double clutch connected to
input shaft contains two friction plates A and B.
Plate C can be moved either to the left or to the right as
required by means of hydraulic pressure from the
transmission hydraulic system.
Friction plate A is connected directly to the output shaft,
whereas plate is connected with the impeller of the
torque converter
 The turbine (driven member) of the torque converter is
further connected to the output shaft through a freewheel.
At higher speeds the plate C is pressed to the left.
The drive from the input shaft is then transmitted directly
to the output shaft through shaft D and will override the
rollers of the freewheel.
When however, at lower speeds the plate C is pressed to
the right, the drive from the input shaft passes to the
impeller of torque converter.
The torque converter increases the torque as required and
transmits it further to the output shaft through the
freewheel
(b) Instead of a two way clutch a centrifugal clutch may be
used along with the conventional three-member torque
converter (Fig.5.13)
The centrifugal clutch consists of a number of sliding
friction shoes arranged around the circumference of the
damper assembly which consists of damper springs and a
free wheel.
With increase of the turbine speed, the friction shoes
slide outward due to centrifugal force till these come into
contact with the cover.
When this happens, power form the converter cover
flows directly through the damper assembly (which
dampens the torsional shocks) to the turbine shaft.
 The centrifugal clutch is so designed that there is some
slip at higher loads.
As a result of this, when the vehicle is under load, there
is a split between the direct mechanical drive and the
hydraulic drive through the torque converter.
(c) Another alternative is to incorporate a simple epicyclic.
Gear set into the torque converter so as to provide
varying degrees of direct mechanical drive under
different operating conditions.
Such a planetary gear set is sometimes called a splitter
gear because it splits or divides the engine torque
between mechanical and hydraulic transmission in lower
gears
 In case of a typical splitter gear in the second gear the
turbine supplies 40% of the torque hydraulically and 60%
mechanically; Whereas in third gear only 7% is
transmitted hydraulically the rest 93% torque being
transmitted mechanically.
 Fig 5.14 shows a Borg and Beck torque converter,
having following specifications.
Size : 12 inch (305m) fluid channel
diameter
Torque ratio : 2.1 stall
Rating : 275 lb ft. (375Nm) net input
torque, passenger car service
 UNIT V

DRIVE TO WHEELS
DRIVE LINE
It is the group of parts connecting the transmission with
the driving wheels
It consist of the drive shaft (also called propeller shaft),
universal joint, constant velocity joint and the half shaft.
Propeller Shaft
This is the shaft which transmits the drive from the
transmission to the bevel pinion or worm of final drive in
front engine, rear drive vehicles and from the transfer
box to the front and rear axles in all wheel drive vehicle.
It is called drive shaft and consist of mainly three parts
1. Shaft: this has to withstand torsional load, made of
tubular c/s. It has to be well balanced to avoid whirling at
high speeds. Are made of aluminium, steel or composite
materials
2. One or two universal joints, depending upon the type of
rear axle drive used. The universal joints account for up
and down movements of the rear axle when the vehicle is
running
3. Slip joint, depending upon one slip joint may be there in
the shaft. This serves the length of the propeller shaft
when demanded by the rear axle movement.
Figure shows a propeller shaft with two universal joints
at the ends and a slip or sliding joint
Slip joint is formed by the internal splines on the sleeve
attached to the left universal joint and external splines on
the propeller shaft.
In vehicles with large wheel base, the long propeller shaft
would be tend to sag and whirl.
 Whirl is like the action of a rope that is in an arc while
held at both ends.
At certain speed whirl becomes critical and shaft vibrates
violently.
This also sets up symphathic resonant vibration in the
vehicle body.
Critical whirling speed of a shaft can be increased by
increasing its diameter, but that would increase its inertia
which would decrease its acceleration and deceleration.
Critical whirling speed is also found to decrease as the
square of its length.
Thus decreasing the length to half would increase the
critical speed four times.
 Another method to decrease the shaft length is to use
divided propeller shaft, supported by intermediate
bearings.
Other advantages of such arrangement are the lower floor
height and possibility of achieving large offsets between
transmission centre line and the final drive pinion centre
line in commercial vehicles in two or more stages.
HALF SHAFT
Either one of the two shafts connecting the differential
(front or rear) to the road wheels through which power is
transmitted in a live axle, is called half shaft.
It normally transmits half of the available power from the
differential to the wheel to which it is connected.
Each half shaft user a CV (constant velocity) joint at both
the inboard (differential) and outboard (wheel) end.
The inboard joint is a plugging (sliding) joint which
accommodates movement of the engine and suspension.
The outboard joint is typically a fixed joint with higher
angle capability to match wheel running angles.
Universal Joint
A universal joint is a particular type of connection
between two shafts, whose axis are inclined to each other
The most simple type of universal joint is Hooks joint
which is most widely used because of the fact that it is
simple and compact in construction and reasonably
efficient at small angles of propeller shaft movement up
and down, say 18 degree
The axis of the shaft A and B are intersecting
Each of these shaft contains a yoke
The cross C has four arms.
The two opposite arms of the cross are supported in
bushes in the yoke of a shaft A, while the other two arms
of the cross are supported in the yoke of shaft B
 Thus shaft A can have angular rotation about axis XX
and the shaft B, about the axis YY
It is thus seen that it will be possible with the Hooks
joint for the shaft A and B to have positive drive while
allowing angular movement between them.
An improvement form of the Hooks joint uses needle
roller bearing to support the cross in the yoke
This results in increase of joint efficiency
 A perfect circle U joint which has a special feature in
that bearing races on the inside arc crowned, which
minimises galling and flaking by disturbing load evenly.
In Flexible ring universal joint each shaft carries a three
arm spider on splines
There are six hole in the flexible ring which is made of
reinforced rubberised fabric
Each of the spiders is fixed to each side of the ring by
means of bolts and nuts.
This type of joint is thus very simple in construction and
hence cheap
There is also no need for lubrication of the joint
It also provides small axial movement
The only disadvantage is that it cant operate at large
angular deflections.
 The universal joints have one common defect
In all these joints, the speed of the driven shaft does not
remain uniform.
Depending upon the angle of inclination of the shaft, the
driven shaft speed undergoes cyclic variation as shown.
This variation is zero for zero angle of inclination, but its
magnitude becomes considerable when the angle is large.
One method to achieve a uniform driven shaft speed is by
using two such joints as shown.
The intermediate shaft is so arranged that it makes equal
angles theta with the first and third shafts.
The variation caused by one joint is then cancelled out by
the second joint
This will be valid only when the angles on both joints are
exactly equal. Which is not always the case in practice.
 In the front wheel, the engine torque has to be transmitted
through members that rise and fall due to road shocks and
also turn from side to side while steering the vehicle.
More over the shafts must be able to slide in and out as
large operating angles are involved, the shaft being
smaller length
Basically there are two types of constant velocity joints
The fixed type and the plunging type.
The fixed type or the outboard type joint is employed on
the wheel end of the drive shaft while the plunging type
or the inboard type is used on the different end of the
drive shaft.
The first rear constant velocity joint, still use is the
Rzeppa joint, another one developed in France was tripod
joint.
Rear Axle Drives
In all the drives employed for the rear axle the springs
take the weight of the body.
Many drives are used, out of which are the two important
ones are the Hotchkiss drive and Torque-tube drive.
Hotchkiss Drive
This is the simplest and most widely used type of rear
axle drive.
In this case the springs besides taking weight of the
body, also take the torque reaction, driving thrust and the
side thrust. Fig. 6.47 shows such a drive.
The propeller shaft is provided with two universal joints
and a sliding joint.
 The spring is fixed rigidly in the middle, to the rear axle.
The front end of the spring is rigidly fixed on the frame,
while the rear end is supported in a shackle.
The driving thrust is transmitted to the frame by the front
half of the springs.
Due to the torque reaction, the spring deflects as shown
in the Fig. 6.48.
Thus torque reaction is taken up by the springs.
Similarly, to take up the braking torque the springs
would deflect in the opposite direction.
When the springs deflect in the manner as shown, the
bevel pinion shaft also changes its position.
Therefore, if there is only one universal joint at the front
end of the propeller shaft will bend under this condition
 Again when the rear axle moves up and down, it has to
move in a circle with the front spring support at the frame
as centre.
But the propeller shaft motion, the centre is at the front
universal joint.
This means that during this movement of the rear axle,
the length of the propeller shaft has to vary.
This is provided for by means of a sliding joint in the
propeller shaft.
Torque Tube Drive
In this type of drive, the spring takes only the side thrust
besides supporting the body weight.
The torque reaction, braking torque and the driving
thrust are taken by another member which is called the
torque tube.
One end of the torque tube is attached to the axle casing,
while the other end which is spherical in shape fits in the
cup fixed to the frame as shown in the Fig. 6.49.
As is seen the torque tube encloses the propeller shaft.
Since in this case the torque tube takes the torque
reaction, the centre line of the bevel pinion shaft will not
shift further,
 it will always pass through the centre of the spherical cup
if the propeller is connected to the gear box shaft by
means of universal joint situated exactly at the centre of
the spherical cup.
In such situation, no universal joint is needed at the rear
end of the propeller shaft.
And no sliding joint is provided because both the pinion
shaft and the propeller shaft in this case will move about
the same centre i.e, about the centre of the spherical cup.
Clearly torque reaction and the driving thrust are taken
by torque tube
 Note In both the types of the drives, the side thrust is
taken by the leaf springs.
If, however, coil springs are used, they are not able to
take side loads and therefore, a separate member is
employed in that case.
Such a member is usually in the form of a transverse
radius rod fixed approximately parallel to wheel axis,
with one end pivoted to the axle casing and the other to
the chassis frame.
Such rods are usually called Panhand rods (Fig 6.46)
 BRAKES

PRINCIPLE

It goes without saying that brakes are one of the most

important control components of vehicle.

They are required to stop the vehicle within the smallest

possible distance and this is done by converting the
kinetic energy of the vehicle into the heat energy which is
dissipated into the atmosphere
BREAKING REQUIREMENTS
The brakes must be strong enough to stop the
vehicle within the minimum distance in an
emergency. But this should also be consistent
with safety. The driver must have proper control
over the vehicle during emergency braking and
the vehicle must not skid.
The brakes must have good antifade
characteristics i.e. their effectiveness should not
decrease with constant prolonged application e.g.,
while descending hills. This requirement demands
that the cooling of the brakes should be very
efficient
DRUM BRAKES
Construction and types
In this type of brakes, a brake drum is attached
concentric to the axel hub whereas on the axle casing is
mounted a back plate.
In case of front axle, the brake plate is bolted to the
steering knuckle.
The back plate is made of pressed steel sheet and is
ribbed to increase rigidity and to provide support for the
expander, anchor and brake shoes.
It also protects the drum and shoe assembly from mud
and dust.
Moreover, it absorbs the complete torque reaction of the
shoes due to which reason it is sometimes also called
torque plate.
 Two brake shoes are anchored on the back plates as
shown in Fig. 10.3.
Friction linings are mounted on the brake shoes. One or
two retractor springs are used which serve to keep the
brake shoe away from the drum when the brakes are not
applied.
The brake shoes are anchored at one end, whereas on the
other ends force F is applied by means of some brake
actuating mechanism, which forces the brake shoes
against the revolving drum, thereby applying the brakes.
An adjuster is also provided to compensate for wear of
friction lining with use.
 The relative braking torque obtained at the shoes for the
same force applied at the pedal varies depending upon
whether the expander is fixed to the back plate or it is
floating; whether the anchor is fixed or floating and
whether the shoes are leading or trailing.
All these types are explained below
Fixed expander type
To understand the action of this type it is necessary to
understand the terms leading and trailing shoes.
It is seen that a leading shoe tip is dragged along the
drum even when there is no braking force, while the tip
of the trailing shoe is thrown off the brake drum.
Thus when the brakes are applied, the net force exerted
on the leading shoe becomes more than the net force
exerted on the trailing shoe and as such unequal braking
effect is produced at the two shoe.
Moreover, with increased braking effect and consequently
higher temperatures, the coefficient of friction gets
reduced more with prolonged application in case of
leading shoe, due to which reason, leading shoe fades
quicker than the trailing shoe
Floating expander type
In this type the expander is not fixed on the back
plate, but is kept floating.
In this way the unequal braking effects at the two
shoes are automatically balanced and made equal.
Evan if the lining on one shoe is worn more than
on the other, the floating expander will move to
one side so that the shoes still share equally the
actuating force.
However, the lining wear on two shoes is still
unequal.
Floating anchor type
Fig. 10.5 shows this type of shoe operating
mechanism.
The two shoe are linked together at the floating
anchor as shown.
For the direction of rotation as shown in the
figure, it is seen that both the shoes become
leading, the details including merits and demerits
of which are given below under separate heads,
since the shoes can be made leading by other
means also.
Two leading shoe type
We have already seen that the leading shoe experiences
an added braking force or self energization.
Thus if both the shoes are made leading, it definitely
increases the braking torque.
The lining wear also becomes uniform on both the shoes.
However, the disadvantages are that firstly when the
vehicle is moving in reverse, both the shoes will become
trailing shoes and braking effect is considerably
decreased.
This may not matter much because generally the vehicle
in reverse are driven at comparatively slow speeds where
the braking torque required is also less.
 Secondly, this type is sensitive to coefficient of friction
changes and thus will not be best suited for brakes meant
for prolonged application.
Two trailing shoe type
In this type both the shoe are trailing shoe, as a result of
which the braking effort at the wheels is decreased, for
the same force applied at the brake pedal as in case of
two leading shoe type or even the more common, one
leading and one trailing shoe type.
That is why this type of brake is generally with servo
brakes or power brakes, so hat the driver is not fatigued
Apart from the above disadvantage of decreased braking
effort, this type has got defined advantage.
It has better anti fade properties than the two leading
shoe type and thus provides more consistent braking
Factors influencing braking effect
The following are the factors mainly responsible for
affecting the ability of the brakes proper:
a) Radius of the brake drum (Rb) and of the wheel (Rw).

Retarding force produced on ground,

Where FB = retarding force produced on the drum = B Fn

B = coefficient of friction between the brake lining and
the drum
Fn = normal force applied on the brake shoes
It shows that a higher brake drum radius increase the
retarding force produced at the ground, while a bigger
wheel would decrease it
b) The area of the brake lining and the amount of
pressure applied at the brake lining increase the
braking effect directly.
c) The higher coefficient of friction between
braking surfaces and between tyre and road are
also useful in increasing the braking effect, but
too high coefficients may cause locking of
wheels, which must be avoided.
Theoretical analysis
Let
WL and WT = actuating force for leading and trailing shoe
respectively
R = radius of brake drum
Rf = effective radius of the friction force PT or PL
= angle between the line of action of the friction force
and the line joining the centre of the brake drum to the
anchor
B = coefficient of friction between the brake lining
and the drum.
PL and PT = normal forces between shoe and the
drum.
 The magnitudes of PL and PT may be calculated by taking
moments about the fulcrum. Considering separately the
equilibrium of the leading and the trailing shoes:

For leading shoe,

WL L - PL M sin + B PL (Rf - M cos) = 0

Braking torque,

TL = B PL Rf

For trailing shoe,

WL L PT M sin - B PT (Rf - M cos)

Braking torque,
TL = B PT Rf

If the forces on two shoes are equal,

W L = WT = W
Further if = 90, the equations can be simplified as,
MECHANICAL BRAKES
Mechanical brakes are obsolete now as service brakes.
However, there are still used on rear wheels in man cars, as
parking or emergency brakes.
Brake shoe operation
The brake shoe are operated by means of a cam or toggle
lever which itself is actuated through various mechanical
linkages.
Earlier the drum brakes were mostly mechanically operated.
These days their use is limited to parking brakes.
However, some large trucks and articulated trailers also
employ such type of brakes.
Fig. 10.19 shows one method of making both shoes leading
by mechanical means. This is known as the girling type
mechanism
 When the brakes are applied, the forces at the expander
pushes the arm of upper bell crank lever.
This transmits its motion through the vertical start to the
lower bell crank and thus the lower arm of the bell crank
tends to move towards the left.
But as the adjuster mechanism is there, it cannot actually
move to the left; it gets a reaction and thereby the whole
of the brake shoe at the lower end moves towards the
right, acting as a leading shoes.
The other shoe is already leading. This type has got one
obvious disadvantage.
On reverse, both the shoes will become trailing, thus
reducing the braking effect considerably.
 As explained already this is not objectionable ordinarily,
but if desired the defect can be remedied by using the
arrangement on both shoes as shown in Fig. 10.20.
When the vehicle is in reverse, the shoes bear against the
expanding mechanism and consequently become leading,
thus obviating the disadvantage of the one trut
arrangement in reverse.
Alternatively, the two leading shoes are employed on
front brakes, where more braking effort is required on
account of transfer of weight
Linkage
Fig. 10.21 shows a simple outline for the linkage of
mechanical brakes.
When the pedal is pressed, the brakes at the wheels are
applied.
This simple linkage system, however, has the
disadvantages that it is very difficult to obtain equal
braking effect at all the wheels.
Further it contains no suitable means to take up the
effects of wear during use.
HYDRAULICS BRAKES
Layout and components
Most of the cars today use hydraulically operated foot
brakes on all the four wheels with an additional hand
brake mechanically operated on the rear wheels.
An outline of the hydraulics braking system is shown in
fig. 10.26.
the main components in this is the master cylinder, which
contains reservoir for brake fluid.
Master cylinder is operated by the brake pedal and is
further connected to the wheel cylinders in each wheel
through steel pipe lines, unions and flexible hoses.
In case of Hindustan Ambassador car, on front wheels
each brake shoe is operated by separate wheel cylinder
(thus making the bake two shoe-leading)
 whereas in case of rear wheels there is only one cylinder
on each wheel which operates both the shoes (thus giving
one leading and one trailing shoe brakes).
As the rear wheel cylinders are also operated
mechanically with the hand brake, they are made floating.
Further all the shoes in the Ambassador car are of floating
anchor type
The system is so designed that even when the brake are in
the released position, a small pressure of about 50kpa is
maintained in the pipe lines to ensure that the cups of the
wheel cylinder are kept expanded.
This prevents the air from entering the wheel cylinders
when the brakes are released.
Besides, this pressure also serves the following purposes
It keeps the free travel of the pedal minimum by
operating the brake shoe retraction springs.
During bleeding, it does not allow the fluid pumped into
the line to return, thus quickly purging air from the
system.
The main components of the hydraulics braking system
are discussed below in details.
Master Cylinder:
This can be rightly named as heart of the hydraulics
braking system.
These are two main chambers viz, the fluid reservoir and
compression chamber in which the piston operates (fig.
10.27).
 the fluid in the reservoir compensates for any change in
the fluid volume in the pipelines due to temperature and
to some extent due to leakage.
To prevent leakage there are rubber seals on both ends of
the piston in the compression chamber.
The reduced diameter region of the piston is always
surrounded by the fluid.
A rubber boot covers the push rod end of the master
cylinder to prevent the dirt from entering inside.
Towards the brake lines side of the compression
chamber, there is a fluid check valve with a rubber cup
inside.
It serves to retain the residual pressure in the brake lines
even when brakes are released.
 There are a number of holes in the piston head on the
primary (high pressure seal side.
Two holes connect the fluid reservoir to the compression
chamber.
The smaller one out of these is about 0.7 mm diameter
and is called the bypass or compression port.
The second hole is called the intake or the recuperation
port.
The push rod is operated with the foot brake pedal
through linkage (fig. 10.28).
As the pedal is pressed, push rod moves the piston to left
(fig. 10.27) against the force of the spring, till it covers
the by-pass port.
 Further movement of the push rod causes building up of
pressure in the compression chamber.
Finally, when sufficient pressure has built up, the inner
rubber cup of the fluid check valve is deflected, forcing
the fluid under pressure in the lines.
This fluid enters the wheel cylinder or the caliper and
moves the pistons thereby applying the brakes.
When the brake pedal is released ,the spring pressure in
the compression chamber move the piston to the right
extreme position.
This same force of the spring keeps the fluid check valve
pressed on its seat for sometimes and thereby delays the
return of fluid from the lines in to the compression
chamber again
 Some delay is also caused by the inertia of the fluid in
the lines.
This produces a vacuum in the compression chamber and
unless this is destroyed immediately, there are all
chances of air leaking in to the system.
Even a very small amount of air will render the breaks
useless, the air being compressible.
This problem is solved by having intake port as shown.
As soon as some vacuum is formed, the atmospheric
pressure in the fluid reservoir forces the fluid through
intake port and holes in the piston which deflects the
rubber cup and enters the compression chamber,
destroying the vacuum
 But by the time this vacuum is destroyed the fluid from
the lines comes back in to reservoir by lifting the fluid
check valve off its seat.
This extra fluid now has to be accommodated somehow,
because compression chamber is already full.
If this is not done, the pressure in the lines will not be
relieved fully and there are all chances of brake shoes
rubbing with the drum.
Once this happens, there will be more heat generated at
the drum, which when transmitted to the wheel cylinder
would cause the fluid to expand and exert still more
pressure, causing the shoes to move still to move still
further towards the drum.
In this way, a vicious circle will start, cause the brakes to
jam ultimately.
 This is avoided by means of bypass port.
The extra fluid coming from the lines passes to the fluid
reservoir, where pressure is maintained atmospheric by
providing an air vent.
In case brake linings or pads or worn so that there is
excessive clearance between lining and drum or between
pad and disc, a quick release of brake pedal will draw
extra fluid from the reservoir into the compression
chamber and thereafter a quick pressure of the pedal will
send this extra fluid into the break pipe lines, thus taking
up the excessive clearance.
In this way a quick pumping up of the brake pedal helps
compensate for the wear of the brake linings or pads
 Moreover, unlike drum brakes, disc brakes should not
have any residual pressure in the pipe line because in that
eventuality the pads are not completely separated from
the disc when the brakes are released.
In a vehicle having either disc brakes or both the disc as
well as drum brakes, therefore, a special fluid check valve
having a small restrictor hole is used in the master
cylinder (fig. 10.29).
Fig. 10.30 and 10.31 shows clearly various components
of master cylinder
Wheel Cylinder
Wheel Cylinders in the brake system are meant to force
the brake shoes against the drum.
The construction of this is very simple.
Each wheel cylinder is provided with pistons, rubber
seals (cups), cup spreaders, spring and dust covers
(boots).
The brake line from the master cylinder is attached to the
inlet port and a bleeder screw with a cover is provided to
bleed air from the system whenever required. Wheel
cylinders are mounted on the back plate.
When brakes are applied the fluid under pressure from
the master cylinder enters the inlet port and forces the
pistons to move outward to push the shoes against the
drum
 Similarly, when the brakes are released, the brake shoe
retractor springs force the brake fluid out of the wheel
cylinder by pushing the piston inward.
With the contamination of the brake fluid, the cylinder
bore area between the rubber cups is subject to corrosion.
With the gradual wear if the brake linings, the distance
between the cups is increased due to which larger area of
the cylinder bore gets corroded.
In such a case if brake linings are replaced without first
servicing the wheel cylinders, the rubber cups would be
pushed back inward and would thus operate on the
corroded area of the bore.
This would cause damage to the cups and leakage of the
brake fluid resulting ultimately in the brake failure.
Two shoe leading brake:
This type of brake has been discussed already in Art. 10.1
on mechanical brakes and it was shown that with both
shoes leading the braking effect is increased.
On method of obtaining a two leading shoe brake was
also discussed.
The same effect can be achieved in case of hydraulic
brakes, too.
Instead of fitting one wheel cylinder, two such cylinders
are used in this case (fig. 10.40).
Such a two shoe leading brake is used on front wheels of
Hindustan Ambassador car
Brake shoe adjuster:
If the wear of the brake shoe lining increasing the
distance between the brake shoe and the drum is not
compensated by adjusting the brake shoes, it would
require excessive movements of the brake pedal as larger
quantity of the brake fluid will have to be displayed by
the wheel cylinder pistons for each brake application.
This may take very large time for the brake application,
which may lead to accident.
Thus it is very essential that brake shoe are adjusted for
wear, for which purpose shoe adjuster is used, many
different types of adjuster are in use.
1. Wheel cylinder ratchet type adjuster
A notched adjuster wheel and a screw strut are there
between cach shoe and the wheel cylinder
There are ratchet teeth on the adjuster.
For adjustment, a screw driver is inserted through a hole
in the side of the brake drum and is rested on the
adjuster notch
Using edge of the hole as falcrum lever is pressed
turning the adjuster, thereby moving the shoe closer to
the brake drum
A spring rest against the ratchet teeth and serves to
provide a clicking sound each time the adjuster wheel
has been turned through one circular pitch
Further the spring also provides a protection against any
unintended change after the adjustement.
2. Double toothed cam type adjuster
In this a double toothed cam is suited between member
A attached to the expander cup and the brake shoe
There is a hole in the side of the brake drum
When the shoe are not adjusted, the brake drum is rotated
till the hole aligns with the adjuster screw
The screw is then turned with the help of a screw driver
which moves both the shoes closer to the brake drum.
Automatic brake adjusters:
In some braking systems, automatic shoe adjustment is
provided, which maintain a constant clearance all by
itself.
One such system has been shown in fig. 10.43 which
operates when hand brake is applied.
The adjuster is in the form of a pawl and ratchet. When
the ratchet turn forward in the direction of arrow shown,
the shoe moves closer to the drum.
As the hand brake is applied, the pawl rides up the back
of a ratchet tooth and if the lining wear has been
excessive, the pawl will engage the next tooth.
On releasing the brakes the pawl also returns, thereby
turning the adjustment ratchet, so as to bring the shoes
closer to the drum
 Automatic adjustment of the disc brake is comparatively
simpler.
A rubber ring is provided in the caliper cylinder as
shown in fig. 10.44.
When the piston moves outwards during brake
application, the ring distorts slightly but no slip takes
place if the movement of piston is within limits.
However, when the brake pad wear is excessive so that
the piston movement during brake application is more,
the rubber ring slips over the piston and when the brakes
are released the piston retracts thus restoring normal
clearance.
Bleeding of hydraulics brakes:
In hydraulic brakes, care must be taken that not even small
quantities of air enter into the braking system.
The air being compressible, it gets compressed when the
brake pedal is pressed.
The result is that fluid pressure is not transmitted to the brake
which, as a consequence are not actuated.
The procedure of driving air out of the braking system is
called bleeding.
A special bleeding valve is provided for this purpose on the
shoe expander or the disc caliper.
For bleeding, the master cylinder is topped up completely
with the brake fluid and pipe is connected to the bleeding
valve nipple as shown in fig.10.45 and 10.46.
 The other end of this pipe is dipped in the brake fluid
contained in some jar.
One person sits on the drivers seat and presses the brake
pedal, after which the bleeder valve is opened by the
second person with a spanner, when some air bubbles
will come out of the pipe and escape through the brake
fluid into the atmosphere.
The bleeder valve is now closed and the brake pedal
released and pressed once more after which the bleeder
valve is opened again when some more air bubbles will
come out.
This procedure is repeated till on pressing the brake
pedal, no more air bubbles are noted when with the pedal
in the pressed position the bleeder valve is closed
Advantages of hydraulic system:
The fluid exerts equal pressure everywhere in its circuit.
For this reason equal braking effort is obtained at all the
four wheels.
The system is simple in construction, due to the absence
of brake rods, joints etc. inherent in the mechanical
system. Moreover, pipelines can be bent and shaped
according to the underside of the body structure.
Due to absence of joints compared to mechanical brakes,
rate of wear is also less.
The system is mostly self lubricating
Disadvantage of hydraulic system:
Even slight leakage of air into the braking system makes
it useless.
This system is suitable only for applying brakes
intermittently. For parking purpose separate
mechanical linkage has to be used.
 Suspension systems
Basic requirements
Low initial cost.
Minimum weight.
Minimum tyre wear.
Minimum deflection consistent with required stability.
Function of suspension system
To prevent the road shocks from being transmitted to the
vehicle frame.
To preserve the stability of the vehicle in pitching or rolling.
To safeguard the occupants from road shocks.
To provide good road holding while driving, cornering
and braking.
What is suspension system
Suspension is the term given to the system of springs,
shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to
its wheels
Serve a dual purpose contributing to the car's handling
and braking.
Protects the vehicle itself and any cargo or luggage from
damage and wear
SUSPENSION SYSTEM LAY OUT
Elements of suspension system

Spring: It absorbs road shocks or impacts due to

bump in road by oscillating.
Tyres also provides spring effect , but to a smaller extent.

Damper: They reduce the tendency of the carriage

unit to continue to bounce up and down on its
springs .
Oscillation due to road shocks are restricted to a
reasonable level by damper
Springs
Springs are resilient members and as such act as
reservoirs of energy .
They store the energy due to the sudden force which
comes when vehicle encounters a bump or a ditch .
This energy is released subsequently and with the action
of damper, the energy is converted into heat and bounce
is avoided.
Springs used for suspension system should absorb road
shocks quickly and return to the original position slowly
Types of springs
1. Leaf spring
2. Coil spring
3. Torsion bars
4. Air and gas spring
5. Rubber spring
Leaf spring
Referred to as Laminated springs since they use steel
strips or lamination one over the other with reducing
length.
They are also called as Semi elliptical springs as they are
bent in that form.
Leaf strips are made from strips of spring steel
 Each strip is called a leaf. They are joined together by
clamps and a central bolt.
The length of each leaf decreases so that the spring
assembly act as a flexible beam and is of uniform
strength.
The ends of master leaf are formed into loops called
spring eyes.
One end of the spring is attached with frame through a
spring bolt passing through the eye. The other end is
secured through a shackle .
The shackle helps in accommodating the change in length
of the spring.
1.2 Helper spring
A helper spring is just like a semi elliptical spring but
without eyes at the ends
Its ends touches the brackets fitted on the frame when
the truck is heavily loaded.
These springs allow for a wide range of loading
Generally it is used on rear suspension only.
2.Coil spring
A section of Spring steel rod wound in a spiral pattern or
shape.
Widely used in both Front and Rear suspension
systems.
Like large metal bed springs, these coils cushion and
absorb the shocks and bumps as the vehicle is driven.
They are usually found near the front wheels, but some
cars have them in the rear as well.
Often the Shock absorbers run up the center of the coil
springs.
3. Torsion bars
A torsion bar is a solid bar of steel which is connected to
the car chassis at one end, and free to move at the other
end.
They can be mounted across the car or along the car.
The springing motion is provided by the metal bar's
resistance to twisting.
To over-simplify, stick your arm out straight and get
Someone to twist your wrist.
Presuming that your mate doesn't snap your wrist, at a
certain point, resistance in your arm (and pain) will cause
you to twist your wrist back the other way.
That is the principle of a torsion bar
 Torsion bars are normally locked to the chassis and the
suspension parts with splined ends.
This allows them to be removed, twisted round a few
splines and reinserted, which can be used to raise or
lower a car, or to compensate for the natural 'sag' of a
suspension system over time.
They can be connected to just about any type of
suspension system listed on this page.
The rendering below shows an example longitudinal
torsion bar.
The small lever at the far end of the torsion bar would be
attached solidly to the frame to provide the fixed end.
 The torsion bar itself fits into that lever and the
suspension arm at the front through splined holes.
As the suspension at the front moves upwards, the bar
twists along its length providing the springing motion.
4.Air and gas spring
In these springs compressed air or gasses filled in the
cylinder or bellows against which the wheel movement is
transmitted through diaphragm.
As soon as the wheel passes over a road irregularity the
compressed air returns the system to its original position
Disadvantages
1. High cost . 2. Risk of breakdown.
3. Freezing of moisture in air in cold weather.
4. Greater maintenance required
 Comprises of compressor , suppling air to air tank
Pressure maintained 5.6 to 7 kg/sq.m
Air bags on each wheel
As load applied , air bags compressed actuating the
levelling valve .
Air from the tank fills the compressrd air bag & hence
raise the level of the frame.
Air from air bag gets released as load on chassis
decreases .
Advantages of air suspension
These maintain a constant frequency of vibration
whether the vehicle is laden or unladen.
Constant frame height is maintained
 It helps to reduce the load while the vehicle in motion i.e.
the dynamic loading as the spring rate variation between
laden and unladen weight is much less.
It gives smooth and comfort ride of the vehicle.
The stiffness of the system increases with the increase of
the deflection.
Common Air Suspension Problems
1. Air bag or air strut failure: Due to old age, or moisture
within the air system that damages them from the inside.
2. Compressor failure:
-Primarily due to leaking air springs or air struts
- Compressor burnout may also be caused by moisture
from within the air system coming into contact with its
electronic parts.
3. Dryer failure - which functions to remove moisture from
the air system eventually becomes saturated and unable to
perform that function
 As the absorption of IR radiations is measured only in a
narrow range of wavelengths (not the entire range of
wavelength of IR radiations) which has specifically a
high absorbance for the particular gas, the technique is
called as Non-dispersive infra-red'.
For example carbon monoxide has a strong absorbance
in the wavelength band of 4.5-5 m
The analyzer measures differential in absorption of
energy from two columns of gas;
(i) the gas to be analyzed in the sample cell' and
(ii) a gas of fixed composition like N2 contained in the
reference cell which is free of the gas of interest and
relatively non-absorbing in the infrared region.
 The infrared beam from a single source is usually split
into two beams of the same intensity, one each for the
sample and reference cells.
The detector is divided in two compartments separated
by a flexible diaphragm; one section receives transmitted
IR energy from the sample cell and the other from the
reference cell.
The detector is filled with the gas of interest, so that the
energy transmitted to the detector is fully absorbed
The flexible diaphragm of the detector senses the
differential pressure between the two sections of the
detector caused by the difference in the amount of
transmitted IR energy absorbed..
 The deflection in the diaphragm is used to generate an
electrical signal that determines the concentration of the
gaseous species of interest.
A rotating interrupter in the path of IR beam is put to
generate AC signal output that can be amplified.
NDIR instruments are seldom used for measurement of
hydrocarbons except in the garage type analyzers as the
IR absorbance to different hydrocarbons varies
substantially.
The unsaturated hydrocarbons are primarily responsible
for photochemical smog but they do not have an
adequate absorption in the IR wavelength range that is
specific to the saturated hydrocarbons and vice versa
 Sensitivity and response of NDIR to the exhaust HC is
typically only half of the probable true value.
NO absorbs only weekly in the infrared region.
Moreover, CO, CO2and water vapours interfere
seriously;
Hence NDIR analyzers are also not used for NO
measurement
Flame Ionization Detector (FID)
Pure hydrogen-air flames are practically ion-free but on
introduction of even little amount of hydrocarbons the
flame causes considerable ionization and becomes
electrically conducting.
The ionization current is proportional to the number of
carbon atoms present in the hydrocarbon molecules
 Thus, FID is effectively a carbon atom counter e.g., one
molecule of propane generates three times the response
generated by one molecule of methane.
The measurement of HC by FID is expressed as parts
per million of methane i.e. as ppmC 1 i.e., ppm of
hydrocarbon containing equivalent of one carbon atom.
The HC concentration is commonly written as ppmC.
HC concentration measured as ppm propane (C3 ) is to
be multiplied by a factor of 3 to convert it to ppmC.
All classes of hydrocarbons i.e., paraffin, olefins,
aromatics, etc. show practically the same response to
FID.
Oxygenates, e.g. aldehydes and alcohols however, have
a somewhat lower response.