A Novel Test Procedure to Determine the Behaviour of A Center Bearing of A Multi-Piece Driveshaft under Real Road Load Conditions

Abstract

Driveshafts are one of the most important members of the drivetrain that transmits the power and rotational movement from the engine to the rear axles. In light duty commercial vehicles, the multi- piece driveshafts have elastomeric parts called center bearing. The driveshaft center bearing usually consist of a rolling element bearing isolated in rubber and with a bracket configuration for attaching it to the vehicle chassis structure. The duty of the center bearing of the multi-piece driveshafts on the vehicle is the vibration damping function thanks to the elastomeric structure. Center bearing is an important sub-component of the multi-piece driveshaft which determines frequency response characteristic of driveshaft. The manner in which it is attached to the vehicle, whether directly to the under body or to the chassis frame, it can have a considerable effect on the center bearing’s capability of providing optimum isolation and reducing the transmission of disturbances to an acceptable level in a given application. Due to both real road conditions and operation time, the elastomeric structure and the rolling ball bearings are damaged in time and the level of vibration and noise can cause disturbance on the vehicle. In this study, a test systematic has been developed to determine the change in noise characteristics of center bearing sub-assembly during the real time operation of the driveshaft. The noise characteristics of center bearing sub-assembly before and after the tests were compared and investigated.

Keywords

• Driveshaft,Novel test,Drivetrain

References

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