Propeller shafts of rear and four-wheel driven cars often cause big problems for the members of the security departments in the event of frontal impact. The high forces and accelerations which are transmitted through the shaft and, especially, the uncontrollable buckling of the two- or three-piece shaft at the centre bearing can have severe consequences for the passengers. GKN AG has developed and built a fallweight test rig to investigate the crash characteristics of propeller shafts. Parallel, so-called crash-optimized propshafts have been developed - this means propshafts with 'defined' behaviour during impact. Depending on the requirements, several different max. axial forces, displacements and the energy to be absorbed from the shaft can be realised by using different tube materials like steel, aluminium and composites, by specific design of endparts like flanges and joints and/or by the connecting method of tube and endpart.
The propshaft as an active part in the power train during vehicle crash
Die Antriebswelle als aktiver Teil in der Kraftübertragung bei einem Fahrzeugzusammenstoß
1993
21 Seiten, 14 Bilder, 7 Quellen
Conference paper
English
The propshaft as an active part in the power train during vehicle crash
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1993
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