Performance Analysis of Automotive Torque Converter Elements

The hydrodynamic performance of a three-element automotive torque converter is analyzed by measuring flow between the elements with five-hole Pitot tubes. The performance of each element, including head, head loss, and efficiency, is defined and evaluated. The results show that the pump is the major source of loss in the speed ratio range where vehicles are most frequently operated in everyday driving. The loss coefficients for the three elements are also evaluated using a one-dimensional flow model. The friction loss coefficient of the turbine shows small variation over the entire tested speed ratio range, whereas the coefficients of the pump and stator vary considerably according to the operating speed ratio. The cause of loss in the pump and stator is investigated by flow visualization and three-dimensional numerical flow analysis. A low kinetic energy region in the pump and leading edge separation in the stator are clearly visualized or computed.

[1]  Budugur Lakshminarayana,et al.  Steady and Unsteady Flow Field at Pump and Turbine Exits of a Torque Converter , 1998 .

[2]  Shimpei Mizuki,et al.  ANALYSIS OF FLOW WITHIN PUMP IMPELLER OF TORQUE CONVERTER , 1996 .

[3]  Marco Cigarini,et al.  Fluid Flow in an Automotive Torque Converter: Comparison of Numerical Results with Measurements , 1995 .

[4]  Klaus Brun,et al.  The Flow Field Inside an Automotive Torque Converter: Laser Velocimeter Measurements , 1996 .

[5]  B. P. Leonard,et al.  A stable and accurate convective modelling procedure based on quadratic upstream interpolation , 1990 .

[6]  Volker Browarzik.  Experimental Investigation of Rotor/Rotor Interaction in a Hydrodynamic Torque Converter Using Hot-Film Anemometry , 1994 .

[7]  Ryutaro Himeno,et al.  Computational Study on Flow through a Torque Converter , 1988 .

[8]  Haruo Ishibashi,et al.  Measurement of Instantaneous Pressure and Velocity in Nonsteady Three-Dimensional Water Flow by Means of a Combined Five-Hole Probe , 1980 .

[9]  Tomo-o Ishihara,et al.  AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF FLUID FLOW IN A TORQUE CONVERTER , 1983 .

[10]  B. Launder,et al.  The numerical computation of turbulent flows , 1990 .

[11]  D. Spalding,et al.  A calculation procedure for heat, mass and momentum transfer in three-dimensional parabolic flows , 1972 .

[12]  Stephen J. Kline,et al.  The Purposes of Uncertainty Analysis , 1985 .

[13]  Eiji Ejiri,et al.  Improvement of prediction accuracy for torque converter performance: One-dimensional flow theory reflecting the stator blade geometry , 1994 .