Literature Review:

This chapter will explain more about the information collected related to this
project such as types of propeller shaft, joint used in propeller shaft,
manufacturing process of propeller shaft, the common type of failure to propeller
shaft, finite element method and fatigue.
There are different types of drive shafts in Automotive Industry:

1 piece driveshaft
2 piece driveshaft
Slip in Tube driveshaft

The Slip in Tube Driveshaft is the new type which also helps in Crash Energy
Management. It can be compressed in case of crash. It is also known as a
collapsible drive shaft.
Crouse and Anglin et al states that, power produced by the engine will be
transferred to the wheel though propeller shaft. The usage of propeller shaft as a
power transmitter in automobile is more convenience because it is less likely to
become jammed or broken compared to chain drive. The construction features of
propeller shaft used is different depending on the drive train of the vehicle. Rear
wheel drive (RWD) vehicle usually use propeller shaft that has universal joint (Ujoint) and slip joint at each end. As for front wheel drive (FWD) vehicle use
propeller shaft called half shafts that has constant velocity joint at each end. The
function of the joint is to allow changes in suspension angle.
H. I. F. Evernden, et al states that, where the engine and axles are
separated from each other, as on four-wheel-drive and rear wheel- drive vehicles,
it is the propeller shaft that serves to transmit the drive force generated by the
engine to the axles. For its usage, the optimal shaft is a short, bar-like product.
The longer the bar, the more liable it is to sag and sagging is further promoted
when rotation is applied. Sagging causes vibration and results in an increase in
noise, to such an extent that the shaft is likely to break when the critical speed is
exceeded. The propeller shaft is naturally designed not to break when used
within the service limits expected of use. In addition. it is subjected to variation

while the remaining propeller shafts are rigid members; i.e. do not designed to
suppress vibrations arising from a wide range of causes.

Birch and Rockwood states that, A universal joint (U-joint) is a joint in a

rigid rod that permits the rod to move up and down while spinning in order to
transmit power by changing the angle between the transmission output shaft
and the driveshaft as shown in Fig. The most common types of U-joint used in
automotive industry is Hooke or Cardan joint. A basic U-joint consists of driving
yoke, driven yoke, spider and trunnions. Each connection part of the spider and
trunnion are assembled in needle bearing together with the two yokes. The
driving yoke force the spider to rotate the other two trunnions. The previous
action causes the driven yoke to rotate.

P.K. Mallick et al states that, Power transmission can be improved through

the reduction of inertial mass and light weight. Substituting composite structures
for conventional metallic structures has many advantages because of higher
specific stiffness and higher specific strength of composite materials. Composite
materials can be tailored to efficiently meet the design requirements of strength,
stiffness and composite drive shafts weight less than steel or aluminum of similar
strength. It is possible tomanufacture one piece of composite drive shaft to
eliminate all of the assembly connecting two piece steel drive shaft. Also,
composite materials typically have a lower modulus of elasticity. As a result,
when torque peaks occur in the driveline, the driveshaft can act as a shock
absorber and decrease stress on part of the drive train extending life.
Mutasher et al., [9] has studied static torque and power transmission
capacities of a hybrid aluminium/composite drive shaft, fabricated by a wetted

filament winding method. Elasto-plastic properties were used for the aluminium
tube and linear elastic for composite materials. Good agreement was obtained
between the finite-element predictions and experimental results.
H. Bayrakceken, et al states that, Fatigue failure of the drive shaft. The
complete fracture is occurred between the bearing and flange. The concept of
fatigue is very simple, when a motion is repeated; the object that is doing the
work becomes weak. For example, when you run, your leg and other muscles of
your body become weak, not always to the point where you can't move them
anymore, but there is a noticeable decrease in quality output. This same
principle is seen in materials. Fatigue occurs when a material is subject to
alternating stresses, over a long period of time. Examples of where Fatigue may
occur are: springs, turbine blades, airplane wings, bridges and bones. Metal
fatigue is caused by repeated cycling of the load. It is a progressive localized
damage due to fluctuating stresses and strains on the material. Metal fatigue
cracks initiate and propagate in regions where the strain is most severe.
Asmamaw Gebresilassie et al states that, In current market, drive shaft is
the

most

important

component

to

any

power

transmission

application;

automotive drive Shaft is one of this. A drive shaft, also known as a propeller
shaft or Cardan shaft, it is a mechanical part that transmits the torque generated
by a vehicle's engine into usable motive force to propel the vehicle. Physically, it
is tubular in design, with an outside and inside diameter, which spins at a
frequency governed by engine output. Drive shaft must operate in high and low
power transmission of the fluctuating load. Due this fluctuating load it becomes
fail and tends to stop power transmission. Thus it is important to make and
design this shaft as per load requirement to avoid failure. Now a days two pieces
steel shaft are mostly used as a drive shaft. The two-piece steel drive shaft
consists of three universal joints, a center supporting bearing and a bracket,
which increases the total weight of an automotive vehicle and decreases fuel
efficiency. However, in this project work an attempt is made to evaluate the
suitability of composite material such as E-Glass/Epoxy for the purpose of
automotive drive shaft application. A one-piece composite shaft is optimally
analyzed using Finite Element Analysis Software for E-Glass/Epoxy composites
with the objective of minimizing the weight of the shaft, which is subjected to the

constraints such as torque transmission, critical buckling torque capacity and

bending natural frequency.

Literature Summary:

The power produced from an engine of automobile can be transferred to the drive
wheel by power transmission system. Each automobile has different power transmission
system constructive features depend on the vehicles driveline concept. To transmit the
driving torque from the engine or gear unit to the wheels, most of passenger car and light
vehicle driven by combustion engine has at least two driveshaft as a basic requirement.
During operation, torsional stress and bending stress was experienced by driveshaft due to the
weight of the car or misalignment of journal bearing. In order to meet the requirements of one
of the most highly stressed components in automotive assembly, a failure investigation must
be conducted. Finite element method was used as stress analysis to determine the stress
conditions at the failed section. Nearly all of driveshaft are metal shafts or metal tubes that
has special joint at each end called universal joint (U-joint) or constant-velocity (CV) joint.