| Popis: |
The current paper consists of two main parts: In the first, the evolution of passenger car differentials during the past twenty years of automotive design is presented. A short description on the features and principle of operation of each device is given. In the second part, a recent advance in differential design is presented. It is a newly developed differential, designed to actively control the distribution of the driving torque to the wheels. The new device incorporates an electric machine, which can operate either as a motor or generator and affects torque distribution to the vehicles driving wheels. The driving behavior of a vehicle equipped with the new differential was simulated in ADAMS/Car. Comparative results were obtained using the following three types of differentials: an open differential, a limited slip differential and the new actively controlled device. Acceleration tests on road surface with different friction coefficient on each side of the vehicle for each differential type verified the accuracy of the simulation and verified that driving stability can be enhanced by actively controlled differentials. |
