Failure modes and optimal performance of a generic synchronizer

Paper in proceeding, 2018

The gear shifting mechanism is a crucial part of the gearbox which transmits the torque from engine to wheels with different transmission ratio. For smooth and comfortable gear changing the gear shifting mechanism is still a challenge for the engineers to adapt the different driving situations. In case of heavy vehicles particularly under certain circumstances optimized performance by avoiding failure modes of the gear shifting mechanism is also a challenge. In this paper failure modes and optimized values of the system parameters are identified to contribute for this challenge. A model of the gear shifting mechanism is developed in GT-Suite software. Failure modes are identified via sensitivity analysis. Four system response characteristics are plotted against the time and used to identify the failure modes. Optimization routine of the GT-Suite is applied on the model by taking seven parameters into account as independent variables and synchronization time as an objective function. Percentage changes of the variables from their initial values are calculated and analyzed. Finding of optimal values of parameters of the gear shifting mechanism is valuable contribution to design reliable and efficient transmission system for automotive industry especially for heavy vehicles.