Introduction of Hydraulic
Coupling & Torque Convertor
Er. Mukesh Didwania
ASTU (ADAMA)
•Introduction of Fluid / Hydraulic Coupling
•Basic principle of operation
•Characteristics & Applications
•Introduction of Torque convertor
•Components & Working
Fluid / Hydraulic Coupling
• hydrodynamic device used to transmit rotating mechanical
power
• It is a simple mechanical device that connects a prime mover
(typically a squirrel cage motor) to a driven machine. These can
be conveyors, crushers, fans, pumps and blowers
Components
• A fluid coupling consists of three components, plus the hydraulic fluid
• The housing, also known as the shell (which must have an oil tight seal around
the drive shafts), contains the fluid and turbines. This is called the working circuit
• Two turbines : The 'working' part of the coupling consists of two elements
• One connected to the input shaft; known as the pump or impellor, input turbine-
primary wheel
• The second connected to the output shaft, known as the turbine, output turbine,
secondary wheel or runner
Basic principle of operation….
• When the motor is rotated, the fluid is picked up in the vanes of the impeller and
thrown outwards, across the gap, towards the vanes of the runner. As a result of
the fluid kinetic energy, the runner begins to rotate and drive the driven machine.
There are no physical connections between the two halves of the coupling, and
therefore the driver and driven machines are not directly connected
• The driving turbine, known as the 'pump', (or driving torus) is rotated by the
prime mover, which is typically an internal combustion engine or electric motor.
The impellor's motion imparts both outwards linear and rotational motion to the
fluid.
• The hydraulic fluid is directed by the 'pump' whose shape forces the flow in the
direction of the 'output turbine' (or driven torus). Here, any difference in the
angular velocities of 'input stage' and 'output stage' result in a net force on the
'output turbine' causing a torque; thus causing it to rotate in the same direction
as the pump.
……Basic principle of operation
• The motion of the fluid is effectively toroidal - travelling in one direction on paths
that can be visualized as being on the surface of a torus:
• If there is a difference between input and output angular velocities the motion
has a component which is circular (i.e. round the rings formed by sections of the
torus)
• If the input and output stages have identical angular velocities there is no net
centripetal force - and the motion of the fluid is circular and co-axial with the axis
of rotation (i.e. round the edges of a torus), there is no flow of fluid from one
turbine to the other.
Characteristics
• Stall speed:
• The stall speed is defined as the highest speed at which the pump can turn when the output
turbine is locked and maximum input power is applied. Under stall conditions all of the
engine's power would be dissipated in the fluid coupling as heat, possibly leading to damage.
• Slip
• Due to slippage that will occur in any fluid coupling under load, some power will
always be lost in fluid friction and turbulence, and dissipated as heat
• Hydraulic fluid
• As a fluid coupling operates kinetically, low viscosity fluids are preferred
• Hydrodynamic braking
• Fluid couplings can also act as hydrodynamic brakes, dissipating rotational energy
as heat through frictional forces (both viscous and fluid/container).
Applications
• Industrial : Steel Production
• Rail transportation
• Automotive: transmissions as an alternative to a mechanical
Clutch
• Aviation
1. Marine and industrial machine drives-where variable speed
operation and/or controlled start-up without shock loading of the
power transmission system is essential
2. Power Generation
3. Mining and Quarrying
4. Petrochemical and food production
Torque convertor….
• Cars with automatic transmissions need a way to let the engine turn while the
wheels and gears in the transmission come to a stop. Manual transmission cars
use a clutch, which completely disconnects the engine from the transmission.
Automatic transmission cars use a torque converter.
• A torque converter is a type of fluid coupling, which allows the engine to
spin somewhat independently of the transmission. If the engine is
turning slowly, such as when the car is idling at a stoplight, the amount of torque
passed through the torque converter is very small, so keeping the car still
requires only a light pressure on the brake pedal. If you were to step on the gas
pedal while the car is stopped, you would have to press harder on the brake to
keep the car from moving. This is because when you step on the gas, the engine
speeds up and pumps more fluid into the torque converter, causing more torque
to be transmitted to the wheels.
……Torque convertor
The key characteristic of a torque converter is its ability to multiply torque when there is a
substantial difference between input and output rotational speed, thus providing the
equivalent of a reduction gear. Some of these devices are also equipped with a temporary locking
mechanism which rigidly binds the engine to the transmission when their speeds are nearly equal,
to avoid slippage and a resulting loss of efficiency.
Components….
(1) PUMP (2) TURBINE (3) STATOR (4) FLUID CONVERTER (5) CLUTCH
….Components….
• The housing of the torque converter is bolted to the flywheel of the
engine, so it turns at whatever speed the engine is running at. The fins that
make up the pump of the torque converter are attached to the housing, so
they also turn at the same speed as the engine. The cutaway below shows
how everything is connected inside the torque converter.
• The pump inside a torque converter is a type of centrifugal pump. As it
spins, fluid is flung to the outside, much as the spin cycle of a washing
machine flings water and clothes to the outside of the wash tub. As fluid is
flung to the outside, a vacuum is created that draws more fluid in at the
center.
• The fluid then enters the blades of the turbine, which is connected to the
transmission. The turbine causes the transmission to spin, which basically
moves your car. You can see in the graphic below that the blades of the
turbine are curved. This means that the fluid, which enters the turbine
from the outside, has to change direction before it exits the center of the
turbine. It is this directional change that causes the turbine to spin
…..Components
In order to change the direction of a moving object, you must apply a force to that
object -- it doesn't matter if the object is a car or a drop of fluid. And whatever
applies the force that causes the object to turn must also feel that force, but in the
opposite direction. So as the turbine causes the fluid to change direction, the
fluid causes the turbine to spin.
The fluid exits the turbine at the center, moving in a different direction than when
it entered. If you look at the arrows in the figure above, you can see that the fluid
exits the turbine moving opposite the direction that the pump (and engine) are
turning. If the fluid were allowed to hit the pump, it would slow the engine down,
wasting power. This is why a torque converter has a stator.
