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1、The Effect of a Viscous Coupling Used as a Front-Wheel Drive Limited-Slip Differential on Vehicle Traction and Handling1 ABCTRACTThe viscous coupling is known mainly as a driveline component in four wheel drive vehicles. Developments in recent years, however, point toward the probability that this d
2、evice will become a major player in mainstream front-wheel drive application. Production application in European and Japanese front-wheel drive cars have demonstrated that viscous couplings provide substantial improvements not only in traction on slippery surfaces but also in handing and stability e
3、ven under normal driving conditions.This paper presents a serious of proving ground tests which investigate the effects of a viscous coupling in a front-wheel drive vehicle on traction and handing. Testing demonstrates substantial traction improvements while only slightly influencing steering torque
4、. Factors affecting this steering torque in front-wheel drive vehicles during straight line driving are described. Key vehicle design parameters are identified which greatly influence the compatibility of limited-slip differentials in front-wheel drive vehicles.Cornering tests show the influence of
5、the viscous coupling on the self steering behavior of a front-wheel drive vehicle. Further testing demonstrates that a vehicle with a viscous limited-slip differential exhibits an improved stability under acceleration and throttle-off maneuvers during cornering.2 THE VISCOUS COUPLINGThe viscous coup
6、ling is a well known component in drivetrains. In this paper only a short summary of its basic function and principle shall be given.The viscous coupling operates according to the principle of fluid friction, and is thus dependent on speed difference. As shown in Figure 1 the viscous coupling has sl
7、ip controlling properties in contrast to torque sensing systems.This means that the drive torque which is transmitted to the front wheels is automatically controlled in the sense of an optimized torque distribution.In a front-wheel drive vehicle the viscous coupling can be installed inside the diffe
8、rential or externally on an intermediate shaft. The external solution is shown in Figure 2.This layout has some significant advantages over the internal solution. First, there is usually enough space available in the area of the intermediate shaft to provide the required viscous characteristic. This
9、 is in contrast to the limited space left in todays front-axle differentials. Further, only minimal modification to the differential carrier and transmission case is required. In-house production of differentials is thus only slightly affected. Introduction as an option can be made easily especially
10、 when the shaft and the viscous unit is supplied as a complete unit. Finally, the intermediate shaft makes it possible to provide for sideshafts of equal length with transversely installed engines which is important to reduce torque steer (shown later in section 4).This special design also gives a g
11、ood possibility for significant weight and cost reductions of the viscous unit. GKN Viscodrive is developing a low weight and cost viscous coupling. By using only two standardized outer diameters, standardized plates, plastic hubs and extruded material for the housing which can easily be cut to diff
12、erent lengths, it is possible to utilize a wide range of viscous characteristics. An example of this development is shown in Figure 3.3 TRACTION EFFECTSAs a torque balancing device, an open differential provides equal tractive effort to both driving wheels. It allows each wheel to rotate at differen
13、t speeds during cornering without torsional wind-up. These characteristics, however, can be disadvantageous when adhesion variations between the left and right sides of the road surface (split-) limits the torque transmitted for both wheels to that which can be supported by the low- wheel.With a vis
14、cous limited-slip differential, it is possible to utilize the higher adhesion potential of the wheel on the high-surface. This is schematically shown in Figure 4.When for example, the maximum transmittable torque for one wheel is exceeded on a split-surface or during cornering with high lateral acce
15、leration, a speed difference between the two driving wheels occurs. The resulting self-locking torque in the viscous coupling resists any further increase in speed difference and transmits the appropriate torque to the wheel with the better traction potential.It can be seen in Figure 4 that the diff
16、erence in the tractive forces results in a yawing moment which tries to turn the vehicle in to the low-side, To keep the vehicle in a straight line the driver has to compensate this with opposite steering input. Though the fluid-friction principle of the viscous coupling and the resulting soft transition from open to locking action, this is easily possible, The appropriate results obtained from vehicle tests are shown in Figure 5.Reported are the avera
