Power Loss Evaluation of an E-Axle Gearbox Considering the Influence of Gear Oil Factors

• Published in: Lubricants Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 11
• Main Authors: Yan, Shufa, Kong, Zhuo, Liu, Hongwei, Zhang, Lin, Hu, Xiaoyu, Hou, Yuanjing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.01.2024
• Subjects: Bearings; E-Axle gearbox; Efficiency; Energy dissipation; Friction; Gearboxes; Influence; Light duty trucks; Model testing; oil formulation; power loss evaluation; Reynolds number; Shafts (machine elements); Velocity
• DOI: 10.3390/lubricants12010011
• ISSN: 2075-4442

An accurate power loss prediction in the gearbox is desirable for improving vehicle efficiency. To achieve this objective, evaluating the power loss is necessary. However, power loss is influenced by factors such as the gearbox structure, operating conditions, and gear oil formulation, making power loss evaluation a bottleneck in practice. Therefore, a systematic modeling methodology was developed to evaluate the gearbox power loss in an E-Axle that focuses on the influence of the gear oil factors in the load and no-load cases. The gearbox used in a light-duty truck E-Axle was tested to verify the proposed model. The test was performed under various operating speeds, input loads, and oil temperatures, and four types of gear oil with different formulations were also included to quantify their influence on the power loss. The results showed that the gearbox power loss was significantly influenced by the E-Axle operating conditions, oil temperatures, and different gear oil formulations, promoting different power losses. The comparison results showed good consistency between the predicted power loss and the measured data. The proposed methodology can be utilized to effectively predict the power loss of the E-Axle gearbox and further improve the E-Axle efficiency by selecting suitable oil formulations and adjusting oil temperatures.