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2023 | Book

Powertrain

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About this book

In this book, the reader learns the essential differences to the passenger car through the analysis divided according to assemblies. This gives him the tools to apply the detailed knowledge acquired to the design and development of competition vehicles. In the case of internal combustion engines, the focus is on performance-enhancing measures for racing vehicles. From the choice of the number of cylinders to the intake system to the exhaust system, the lever can be applied to every assembly. For electric drives, the traction battery, cell selection, cooling and operating strategy are considered in more detail. Energy recovery systems are an interesting enhancement for hybrid vehicles and all-electric powertrains, especially in strategic considerations for racing. Finally, gearboxes are needed independently of the drive source, albeit matched to it, so that the full potential can be exploited. The detailed, in-depth presentation makes this work just as suitable for the interested motorsport enthusiast as it is for the engineer in the field who is addressing the issues surrounding race car powertrains. The formula material is prepared in such a way that the book can also be used as a reference work.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
1. Combustion Engines
Abstract
The engine is what makes a vehicle an AUTOMOBILE, i.e. capable of moving forward on its own. In addition, the combustion engine exudes a great, if not the greatest, fascination of all the individual assemblies and is a symbol of performance. In the case of racing vehicles, great attention is paid not only to its performance but also to its acoustic appearance.
Michael Trzesniowski
2. Electric Drives
Abstract
Driving a vehicle with an electric motor is not an idea of our time. It was merely brought up again by the public discussion on reducing the greenhouse gas CO2. The first road vehicle to exceed the 100 km/h mark in a record-breaking journey was a torpedo-like single-seater in 1899. The record-breaking car was driven by two 25 kW electric motors on the rear axle. The fact that electric drive did not become established in road vehicles at that time had several reasons, one of which is still relevant today: the bulky volume and the large mass of the energy storage device, the battery. However, enormous progress has been made in the meantime in the field of electronics, which is important for the control of the electric motors and the service life of the batteries. For racing vehicles, with their requirements that differ from everyday vehicles, the consideration of electric drives looks considerably different, especially against the background of some of the environmental criticisms of racing.
Michael Trzesniowski
3. Hybrid Drives
Abstract
The proverbial link between classic drives with combustion engines and up-and-coming drives with electric motors is the hybrid drive, which – as the name suggests – is a mixture of both worlds.
Michael Trzesniowski
4. Calculation of the Drive Train
Abstract
A powerful engine is just as important for a racing car as a reliable drivetrain. However, it is even more important that the power of the engine is also efficiently transferred to the road so that the vehicle can demonstrate the desired high performance. To achieve this, the coordinated interaction of engine and drivetrain is crucial. The engine only works within a certain speed range – which is usually extremely narrow in the case of high-bred engines. The drive wheels, however, must provide propulsion over a wide speed range. The transmission is the assembly that mediates between the engine and the road. In order for it to do this as effectively as possible, the driving resistances to be overcome and the available engine power must be matched to each other.
Michael Trzesniowski
5. Power Transmission
Abstract
The power source – combustion engine or electric motor – provides the power needed to overcome the driving resistances. However, this power must be conducted from the engine output to the drive wheels. Sometimes, in addition to overcoming a spatial distance, it is also necessary to adapt to the engine resp. motor charakteristics. The following chapter reports on how all this is done.
Michael Trzesniowski
6. Fuel System
Abstract
The energy for propulsion is transferred to the wheels by the much-noticed engine. But it too can only convert energy, not generate it. The fuel system stores energy and provides the engine with the basis of its function.
Michael Trzesniowski
7. Electrical System
Abstract
The electrical system of a racing car was once limited to a generator, possibly a starter and the ignition system together with some cables. With the increase in electronic aids and measured value acquisition, the electrical system has also become so important in drives with internal combustion engines that its design and functional safeguarding occupy just as much space in development as that of other assemblies.
Michael Trzesniowski
8. Electronic Driver Aids
Abstract
Electronic driving aids are not permitted in every racing class. Where they are permitted, they make the driver’s job much easier and he can concentrate better on the other processes while driving and tires less quickly. Where the regulations prohibit them, it is usually so that the driver’s influence remains in the foreground during the competition.
Michael Trzesniowski
9. Comparison Series: Racing
Abstract
Comparisons between production and racing vehicles are made throughout the book to increase clarity, but here the similarities and differences are to be directly contrasted in a compact summary. This says a lot about both industries, their working methods and products in just a few pages.
Michael Trzesniowski
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Powertrain
Author
Michael Trzesniowski
Copyright Year
2023
Electronic ISBN
978-3-658-39885-9
Print ISBN
978-3-658-39884-2
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-39885-9

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