Engine Crankshaft System - Essay Example

Component balance refers to the balance between all the components rotating at high speeds. Firing interval refers to the regulation of the angle turned by the crankshaft between the power strokes of a multi cylinder engine. Secondary force is the force which must be adjusted according to the original motion or the simple harmonic motion (Ludvith, 2009). Transmission is connected to the engine from the clutch. It turns at the same revolutions per minute as the engine. The torque and the speed are inversely proportional to each other if the power remains constant.

The gear box allows the engine's output torque and speed to vary. The vehicle's speed and load are matched, based on the weight in the car and the road conditions. All engines have a redline, which is the maximum rpm value above which the engine will explode. They also have narrow rpm ranges where the horsepower and the torque reach their maximum. Gear ratios perform a very important role; they allow the engine and the drive wheels to change as the car changes the speed. Changing gears allows the engine to stay below the redline and near the rpm range for the best performance.

In Inline 3-cylinder engines the engine fires once every 240 degrees crankshaft angle. The Firing order is 1-3-2. Regardless of how the crankshaft rotates, the combined center of gravity of the 3 pistons and con-rods remains at the same location hence eliminating the generation of vibrations. Mathematical analysis also shows that no force is generated in the vertical as well as the transverse direction. However, the 3-cyclinder engine also needs a balancer shaft. The reason for that is that the mathematical calculation is based on the assumption that the engine is one point and all the forces acting on this single point result in the complete cancellation of all forces.

In reality, the forces actually act on three different points on the crankshaft resulting in the crankshaft vibrating end to end rather than the cancellation of the forces.The piston at the top generates an upward force to the left end of the crankshaft and the piston going downwards generates an upward force at the middle. The third piston thus generates a downward force at the right side. After a 180 degree rotation the situation will be reversed with the downward force now being exercised on the left and the upward force at the right side of the crankshaft.

This is the end to end vibration which occurs in the engine.A single balancer shaft is used to overcome the problem of vibration. The weight at each end of the balancer shaft moves in the opposite direction to the end pistons. When the piston goes down, the weight goes up and vice versa. The end to end vibration is counter balanced by the balancer shaft being driven at the same speed as the crankshaft.The drive shaft transfers power from the transmission to the differential. The three main components to a basic drive shaft are front universal join, drive shaft and rear universal joint.

The speed at which instability occurs in a rotating shaft is the critical or the whirling speed. Lighter materials with higher modulus of