Rear axle construction In cases where the rear suspension is non-independent, the type of axle used is either a dead

axle or a live axle. The former only has to support the weight of the vehicle, where the latter has to fulfill this task and, in addition, contain a gear and shaft mechanism to drive the road wheels.

Axle shafts The axle shaft (half shaft) transmits the drive from the differential sun wheel to the rear hub. The arrangement of a simple rear axle can be seen in the figure, the road wheel attached to the end of the half shaft, which in turn is supported by bearing located in the axle casing. The diagram illustrates the forces acting on the rear axle assembly under a under different operating conditions.

Operating conditions The total weight of the rear of the vehicle may exert a bending action on the half shaft. urthermore, there is a tendency for the overhanging section of the shaft to be sub!ect to a shearing force. "uring cornering a side force acts upon the road wheel which imposes a bending load and an end thrust becomes a #pull$. % side force also tends to bend the overhanging section of the half shaft. inally, under driving conditions the half shaft has to transmit the driving tor&ue which sub!ects the shaft to torsional stress.

Stresses The various types may be compared by considering the stresses the shaft has to resist ig. 'a shows a line sketch of a simple haft which is sub!ected to( ')+-torsional stress due to driving and braking tor&ue. *hear stress due to the weight of the vehicle ( ig. 'b). ,ending stress due to the weight of the vehicle ( ig. 'c). Tensile and compressive stress due to cornering forces.

Types of axles %xle shafts are divided into three main groups depending on the stresses to which the shaft is sub!ected(

. .

*emi-floating Three-&uarter floating

ully floating.

Semi-floating ig. )a shows a typical mounting of an axle shaft suitable for light cars. % single bearing at the hub end is fitted between the shaft and the casing, so the shaft will have to resist all the stresses previously mentioned. To reduce the risk of fracture at the hub end (this would allow the wheel to fall off), the shaft diameter is increased. %ny increase must be gradual, since a sudden change in crosssectional area would produce a stress-raiser and increase the risk of failure due to fatigue. ( atigue may be defined as breakage due to continual alteration of the stress in the material). %lthough the final-drive oil level is considerably lower than the axle shaft, the large amount of #splash$ would cause the lubricant to work along the shaft and enter the brake drum. *ealing arrangements normally consists of an oil retainer fitted at the hub end (the lip of the seal is positioned towards the final drive). The half shaft in this assembly required to be able to withstand the torsion load involved in driving the road wheel, and bending loads in both the horizontal and vertical planes plus the percentage of car weight on the wheel.

Three-quarter floating

/aving defined the semi-and the fully floating shaft, any alternative between the two may be regarded as a three-&uarter floating shaft. ig. )b shows a construction which has a single bearing mounted between the hub and the casing. The main shear stress on the shaft is relieved but all other stresses still have to be resisted. The half shaft must withstand bending loads due to side thrust when cornering and, of course, at the same time transmit driving torque.

Fully floating This is generally fitted on commercial vehicles where tor&ue and axle loads are greater. The construction shown in ig. )c consists of and independently mounted hub which rotates on two bearings widely spaced on the axle casing. This arrangement relieves the shaft of all stresses except torsional, so the construction is very strong. *tuds connecting the shaft to the hub transmit the drive and when the nuts on theses studs are removed, the shaft may be withdrawn without !acking up the vehicle. The shaft is to transmit only the driving torque to the rear wheel.

Axel shaft material % tough, hard material must be used to withstand the various stresses, resist spline wear and provide good resistance to fatigue. % medium carbon alloy steel containing such elements as nickel, chromium and molybdenum is the usual choice.

0alculation of axle shafts The following forces act on a moving wheel( . . . The tor&ue due to the traction or braking force (T w and Tb) The traction or braking force ( The lateral force
y w

and

when the vehicle makes a turn or skid

The normal reaction 1w

*imultaneous appearance of maximum longitudinal and transverse forces at the wheel road contact is not possible, for !oint action is restricted by the adhesion force

The loading conditions of axle shafts and beams reduce to the following three cases(

'- Rectilinear motion The longitudinal force ( 3aximum tor&ue is

w

or

) attain its maximum value e&ual to 1w 2,

where( Tw 4 wheel tor&ue Te max 4 maximum engine tor&ue ig 4 gearbox ratio ('st gear) if 4 final drive ratio kd 4 dynamic factor kl 4 the coefficient of differential locking ma 4 automobile mass accounted for the driving axle g 4 5.6' m7s) wt 4 transferred weight

where

2 4 coefficient of adhesion (8.6)

9 In this case,

48

)- Skidding of automobile In this case a lateral force and normal reaction are acting on the wheel. %ssume that the longitudinal force w 4 8. The largest lateral force- centrifugal forcewhose value is limited by the wheel-road grip e&uals

The vertical reactions and lateral forces of the inner and outer wheels are

where v 4 vehicle speed (km7h) 1 4 radius of turn of the road t 4 wheel track width 2 4 coefficient of road adhesion during sidewise skidding 4'.8 : 4 plus sign is used for the axle shaft of the wheel which is inner relative to the skidding direction, and the negative sign, the outer wheel.

+- riving wheels overcome irregularities /ere, only the vertical force is accounted for

where

kdr 4 is the dynamic factor of road; for cars, kdr 4 '.<=; for trucks, kdr4 ).=8

-The axle shaft dimensions are determined for the most dangerous case of loading. or s semi-floating axle the dangerous cress section lies in the bearing installation >one. or the first condition, the e&uivalent stress due to bending and torsion is

where d 4 the axle shaft diameter b 4 the overhanging length

"uring skidding the following bending moments and stresses act on the axle shaft 3i 4 1w i b ?
yi

rw;

3o 4 1 w o b :

yo

rw

where rw 4 wheel radius (the upper sings are used for the inner axle shaft, and the lower sign, for the outer axle shaft relative to the skidding direction).

-@hen the driving wheels overcome an irregularity, the bending stress is

- The floating axle is calculated only for torsion at the maximum traction force

The axle shaft is calculated also for the maximum twist angle

where A 4 the length of the axle shaft B 4 the shear modulus C 4 the moment of inertia of the cross section of axle shaft sb 4 == 3Da for shafts without keyway -8 3Da for shafts with keyway

9 The permissible twist angle is E 4 6o for ' m length of the shaft. F Gumber of splines of the axle shaft is form '8 (for cars) to '6 (for trucks) F the shaft factor of safety 4 ).8- ).=

0ritical *peeds of *haft

%ll rotating shafts, even in the absence of external load, deflect during rotation; the magnitude of the deflection depends upon the stiffness of the shaft and its supports, the total mass of the shaft and attachment parts, the imbalance mass with respect to the axis of rotation, and the amount of damping in the system.

*hafts of constant cross section(

Hxample( ind the half axle critical speed, the half axle has the following dimensions the length between bearings is 8.I m and its diameter is )= mm. The unit weight of shaft materials is <I.8 kG7m+, H 4 )88 BDa.

0alculation of wheel-hub bearings

or the bearings of the driving axle with semi-floating axle shafts (as seen in the figure),

the loads on wheel bearing are calculated using the following formulas( Straight!line motion

"r # Rz l $ a%

"a# &

'urvilinear motion

"r o # Rz o l $ a ( Ry o rw $ a%

"a o # Ry

"r i # Rz o l $ a ) Ry i rw $ a%

"a i # Ry i

Gecessary service life of bearings (in millions of revolutions) is ascertained based on the specified life of the automobile with due consideration of overhaul periods.

,earing 0lassifications

1olling ,earings versus Cournal ,earings(

eatures *tarting tor&ue Juit operation *pace Aimitation

,all ,earings /igh (advantage) Goisy at high speed Dreferable when the axialdimension are limited ,ecoming noisy when failure is imminent 0an carry combination of radial and thrust loads 3uch less the !ournal bearing, more accurate position (gears)

Cournal ,earings Aow Juit operation Dreferable when the radialdimension are limited Kil film provides insulation ailure is sudden -

Hlectrical insulation ailure warning Thrust load 0learance

Aubrication problem Got sensitive Kverload ,earing *election( The selection of an appropriate bearing for a given task, whoever, in an involved activity, which needs to take into account, amongst other factors( load speed location si>e cost starting tor&ue noise lubrication supply

Lery sensitive

0an take high overloads for short time

"efinitions( The basic static load rating, 0o, is the load the bearing can withstand without any permanent deformation of any component. The basic dynamic load rating, 0, is the constant radial load which a bearing can endure for 'x'8 I revolutions without evidence of the development of fatigue in any of the bearing components. The life of a ball bearing, A, is the number of revolutions (or hours at some constant speed), which the bearing runs before the development of fatigue in any of the bearing components. The equivalent load, D,

is defined as the constant radial load which if applied to a bearing would give the same life as that which the bearing would attain under the actual conditions of load and rotation. D 4 LM1 : NT @here( D 4 e&uivalent load (G); L 4 '.) if mounting rotates is recommended 4 '.8 if shaft rotates; M 4 radial factor (given in bearing catalogues), see table ) for example data; N 4 thrust factor (given in bearing catalogues), see table ) for example data; T 4 applied thrust load (G)