Car wind noise can be heard inside of your vehicle while driving on the highway and is the audible result of high-pressure air attempting to escape as you accelerate. This whooshing sound, high-pitched, enters through the smallest gaps or openings in the vehicle’s exterior. In automotive design, as with other design fields, variations and uncertainties…
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a specialized area of fluid mechanics that utilizes numerical methods and computational algorithms to investigate and resolve challenges related to fluid flows. By leveraging computers, CFD analyzes the movement of fluids (both liquids and gases) and their interaction with various surfaces under specific boundary conditions. High-speed supercomputers are often necessary…
A planetary gear system also known as an Epicyclic gearing or planetary gearing consists of spur gears arranged in an epicyclic configuration. In this setup, a central gear, known as the sun gear, acts as the input and drives the system. Multiple “driven” gears, or planets, orbiting the sun gear within a gearbox. These planets mesh with…
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are driven by both an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors, utilizing energy stored in batteries. Unlike fully electric vehicles and Plug in Hybrids (PHEVs), HEVs cannot be directly plugged in to charge their batteries. Instead, the battery is recharged through regenerative braking and by the internal combustion…
Have you ever wondered how a conventional powertrain makes your car move? Today, we’re diving into the world of conventional powertrains, the beating heart of most vehicles on the road. In a conventional powertrain, an internal combustion engine (ICE), transforms the stored energy from gasoline or diesel fuel into kinetic energy within the engine. This…
Alright, so let’s talk about vehicle performance and driveability! Many young car owners struggle with the misconception that modifying a car doesn’t affect its driveability. But what exactly is driveability? And how does it differ from vehicle performance? When we talk about vehicle performance, we’re talking about how well a car can do its thing,…