Dynamics Performance and Abrasive Wear of the Automotive Drive Shaft

Abstract

An automotive drive shaft is used in a front drive transmission vehicle for transmitting rotary movement from the gearbox output shaft to the wheels with a constant velocity. This paper presents the kinematic model of ball joint and tripod joint with consideration of clearance and proposes a simplified dynamics model of the drive shaft. The simulation of the dynamics model is given by the measured data. Also, the abrasive wear of the ball type joint is tested on the experimental setup with consideration of full loading. The results show that the dynamics of the motion will be affected by the clearance when the loading changes its direction. The motion will be stable due to the damping. It can be found that the abrasive wear of ball joint largely depends on the relative sliding velocity from the experiments. This will probably affect the dynamics performance and the impact force, which will also cause the other type of failures.

Analysis of a cross groove constant velocity joint mechanism designed for high performance racing conditions

“…Pitting outbreaks are present to varying levels across the raceways due to rolling contact fatigue. Mao et al 19 utilised a kinematic model to investigate the wear of the components in a full half shaft, comprising ball type CVJ and plunging tripod type CVJ. Measurements showed greater wear on the balls and raceways compared with the cage window surfaces.…”