REAR AXLE

(The differential is not shown purposely, so as to make the general arrangement more
clear.)
Fig. shows a simplified view of the live rear axle of a front engine, rear driven
automobile. The drive from the propeller shaft comes to the pinion shaft which is
supported in bearings in the axle casing, the crown wheel is in mesh with the pinion and
is mounted on shaft on the ends of which are fixed the caps which serve to restrict the
wheels in axial direction. The wheels are mounted on bearings on the ends of the axle
shaft.
The weight of the body and load due to occupants is transmitted through springs to the
axle casing. The casing itself is supported by road wheels.

Various forces and torques experienced by the rear axle can be identified now as follows:
1. Weight of the Body
The rear axle may be considered as a beam supported at the ends and loaded at two
points as shown in Fig. The rear weight W of the body is transmitted to the rear axle
through two suspension springs. R1 and R2 are the reaction forces from the road
wheels. This weight causes shear force and bending moment in the axle shaft.

2. Driving Thrust
Driving torque produced in the engine is transmitted to the road wheels by the
propeller shaft through the bevel pinion, bevel gear and the two axle shafts connected
to the road wheels. This thrust driving the road wheels and the axle casing forward
has to be communicated to the frame and the body of the vehicle. The axle has to
push the chassis frame and the body of the vehicle along in the forward direction.
This is most conveniently done by some form of member connecting the axle casing
 and the chassis frame in the longitudinal direction (Fig.). Such members are called
thrust members or radius rods.
3. Torque Reaction
If the road wheels are fixed with the propeller shaft rotating, it is seen that the bevel
pinion will tend to roll round the crown wheel taking with it the axle casing. This
tendency is also present when the vehicle is running. Thus there is a force on the axle
casing (which supports the bevel pinion), to rotate. This is called torque reaction.
The torque producing this action is the equal and opposite reaction to the driving
torque.
Now the tendency on the part of the axle casing has to be opposed, otherwise the
propeller shaft would be subjected to heavy bending loads and may fail. This can be
effectively done by means of a member (leaf spring), one end of which is attached to
the axle casing and the other end to the frame so that the member itself remains in the
direction of the vehicle axis.
In the same way, the braking torque on the axle casing is opposite in direction to the
(accelerating) torque reaction.
4. Side Thrust
Often the rear axle experiences side thrust or pull due to any side load on the wheel,
e.g., the cornering force. Panhard rod (Fig.) may be employed to hold the axle in
position against the side thrust.

Rear Axle Drives

In all the drives employed for the rear axle, the springs take the weight of the body.
Hotchkiss drive
This is the simplest and most widely used type of rear axle drive. The propeller shaft is
provided with two universal joints and also a sliding joint. The spring is fixed rigidly in
the middle, to the rear axle. The front end of the spring is fixed to the frame and the rear
end is connected to the swinging link (shackle). The driving thrust is transmitted to frame
by the front half of the spring.
Due to the torque reaction, the spring deflects as shown in Fig. Thus the torque reaction is
taken up by the springs. Similarly, to take up the braking torque the spring would deflect
in the opposite direction. When the springs deflect in the manner shown, the bevel pinion
shaft also changes its position. If there is only one universal joint at the front end of the
propeller shaft, it will bend. Therefore to avoid this, propeller shaft is provided with two
universal joints at both the ends.

During the up and down movement of the rear axle, it has to move in a circle with the
front spring support at the frame as centre. But for the propeller shaft motion, it will
about the first universal joint as the centre, so its length has to vary. Hence it is provided
with a sliding joint in it to accommodate for the change in its length.
The springs besides taking the weight of the body, also take the driving thrust, torque
reaction, braking torque and the side thrust.

Torque tube drive

It consists of a tubular member called torque tube which encloses the propeller shaft. One
end of it is attached to axle casing while the other end which is spherical in shape fits in
the cup attached to the frame. In this case, the torque tube takes the torque reaction, the
centre line of the bevel pinion shaft will not shift and it always pass through the centre of
the spherical cup if the propeller shaft is connected to the gear box shaft by means of a
universal joint situated exactly at the centre of the spherical cup. No universal joint is
needed at the rear end of the propeller shaft. Also, no sliding joint is needed because both
the pinion shaft and the propeller shaft in this case will move about the centre of the
spherical cup.
The spring takes only the side thrust besides supporting the body weight. Clearly torque
reaction, braking torque and the driving thrust are taken by the torque tube.
Radius rod and Panhard rods
In both the types of drive, the side thrust is taken by the leaf springs. If coil springs are
used, they are unable to take side loads and therefore a separate member is employed.
Such a member is usually in the form of a transverse radius rod fixed parallel to the
wheel axis, with one end pivoted to the axle casing and the other end to the chassis frame.
Such rods are usually called Panhard rods.
Propeller shaft
This is the shaft which transmits the drive from the gear box to the final drive gears of the
vehicle through universal joint. It is also called as drive shaft/cardan shaft.
In vehicles with large wheel base, the long propeller shaft would tend to sag and whirl,
also operate in general at a high speed.

(Whirl is like the action of a rope that is in an arc while held at both ends).
At a certain speed, the whirling becomes critical and the shaft vibrates violently. This
causes bending stresses in the material that are higher than the shearing stresses caused
by transmitted torque. This also set up sympathetic resonant vibrations in the vehicle
body.
Critical whirling speeds of shafts can be increased by increasing its diameter, but that
would increase its inertia which would decrease its acceleration and deceleration.
The tendency for the propeller shaft to whirl should be reduced and to do so, it should be
made tubular and should be perfectly balanced.
Critical whirling speed is also found to decrease as the square of its length. Thus
decreasing the length to half would increase the critical speed 4 times.
Hence diameters as large as possible and lengths as short as possible to keep the critical
speed above the driving speed range.
Shaft lengths are minimized by using long transmission extension housings and centre
universal joint with 2 piece propeller shafts.
When used, the centre universal joint is supported by a centre support bearing which is
insulated from the vehicle chassis.

The critical speed is given by Nc = 60 . π2 √ EIg/(ρA)

2π l2
Where I – M.I of the shaft section = = π(do4- di4)/64, m4
A – Cross-section.area = π(do2- di2)/4, m2
do, di – outside and inside diameters, m
l – length of the shaft, m
g – acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/sec2
E – Modulus of elasticity of steel = 2 x 1011 N/m2
ρ – density of steel = 7800 kg/m3

Nc = 1,19,310 √ do2+di2 , r.p.m

l2

Propeller shafts are so designed that the calculated critical speed is about 60% higher than
the engine speed at maximum power.

Propeller shafts can also be designed for a given torque rating, which is the torque
required to stress them to the elastic limit.
If Te – Engine torque, Nm
G – Gear ratio
Tt – Torque to be transmitted by the propeller shaft, Nm
Td – design torque for the shaft, Nm
fs – safe shear stress, N/m2
J – Polar M.I of the shaft section, m4
= π(do4- di4)/32 for hollow circular section
y – distance from N.A to the outermost fibre of the shaft, m
= do/2
Then Tt = Te . G Nm
Td = Tt x Factor of safety

And Td = fs (or) Td = fs . J = π . do4- di4 . fs Nm

J y y 16 do

Universal joints
A universal joint is a particular type of connection between two shafts, whose axes are
inclined to each other. The most simple type of universal joint is the Hooke’s joint. It is
simple and compact in construction and reasonably efficient at small angles of propeller
shaft movement up and down, say upto 18°. The axes of shafts A and B are intersecting.
Each of these shafts contains a yoke. The cross C has four arms. The two opposite arms

of the cross are supported in bushes in the yoke of the shaft A, while the other two arms
of the cross are supported I the yoke of shaft B. Thus shaft A can have angular rotation
about axis XX and the shaft B, about the axis YY. It is thus seen that it will be possible
for the shafts A and B to have positive drive while allowing angular movement between
them.
An improved form of the Hooke’s joint uses needle roller bearings to support the cross in
the yokes. This results in increase in joint efficiency.

Flexible ring universal joint

Each shaft carries a three-arm spider on splines. There are six holes in the flexible ring
which is made of reinforced rubberized fabric. Each of the spiders is fixed to each side of
the ring by means of bolts and nuts. This type of joint is thus very simple in construction
and hence cheap. There is also no need for lubrication of the joint. It also provides small
axial movement. The only disadvantage is that it cannot operate at large angular
deflections. Further, to transmit large amount of torque the size of the joint becomes
unduly large.
The universal joints described above have one defect in common. In all these joints, the
speed of the driven shaft does not remain uniform. Depending upon the angle of
inclination of the shafts, the driven shaft speed undergoes cyclic variation. The variation
is zero for zero angle of inclination but its magnitude becomes considerable when the
angle is large.

In case of Hooke’s joint with needle roller bearings, it would be desirable to have a small
operating angle between the shafts than to have none at all, because in the former case,
the needle would roll slightly, thus preventing the high stress contact areas remaining at
place continuously thus avoiding the squeezing of grease and consequently preventing
their embedding into the journal and the cap race.

One method to achieve a uniform driven shaft speed is by using two such joints. The
intermediate shaft is so arranged that it makes equal angles θ with the first and third
shafts. The variation caused by one joint is then cancelled out by the second joint.
However, this will be valid only when the angles on both joints are exactly equal, which
is not always the case in practice. Special constant velocity universal joints where the
fluctuations in the speed of the driven shaft at very large angles are completely absent are
also available though these are much costlier and complicated in construction. These
types of joints have to be used where due to the location of the engine close to the
wheels; the connecting shafts are short; for example, in case of front engine with the front
wheel drive, in four wheel drive vehicles etc.
Constant velocity Universal joints
In vehicles where the front axles are being driven, regulatory of rotation and transmission
of torque at large inclinations are vital. In these vehicles, the inclinations between the
shafts may assume a large value (even upto 40°). In such cases, constant velocity
universal joints are used. It does not suffer from the previously mentioned disadvantage.
i.e., variation in the speed of the driven shaft. The speeds of the shafts connected by this
joint are absolutely equal.

The steel balls are lodged in grooves cut on the inside and outside, respectively, of two
concentric races with spherical surfaces, keyed or splined to the driving and driven shafts.
In this case, the ball grooves are parallel with each other, and they, therefore, do not
control the angular position of the plane of ball centres.
This is accomplished by means of a ball cage, in the shape of a spherical shell, with
perforations accommodating the balls, usually six in number.

The ball cage is acted upon by the connected shafts through the intermediary of a pin and
a pilot, the pin having spherical connections with the pilot and both shafts.
Any deviation of the shafts from the inline position results in angular position of the pilot
and cage around this common center, and by suitably the relative lengths of the arms of
the lever and the distance of its support from the axis of the joint, the angular position of
the ball cage can be made equal to half the angular motion of one shaft relative to the
other, so that the plane of ball centres always bisects the angle between shafts.

FINAL DRIVE
The functions of the final drive are to provide a permanent speed reduction and also to
turn the drive round through 90°. The reduction provided is about 4:1 in cars and 10:1 in
heavier vehicles. This is done either in one or two stages. For lesser reduction, say upto
about 7:1 single reduction is used, while higher reductions are achieved in two steps. The
double reduction has to be resorted to, because otherwise the size of the larger gear
becomes too much.
The final drive in practice, consists of a bevel pinion and a crown wheel (Fig.) or
alternatively, worm and wheel arrangement. The bevel pinion is mounted on a shaft
which is connected to the propeller shaft generally through a universal joint. From the
crown wheel the drive goes to the differential. Three types of gears are used for the final
drive gearing:
1. Straight Bevel Gears
These contain the straight teeth. They are therefore simplest and thus the cheapest of
all types (Fig.). However, with straight bevel gears, at one instant only one pair of
teeth of pinion and the crown wheel will be in contact. As a result an uneven
transmission of motion will take place as the load is transferred from one pair of teeth
to the next. Thus these gears are noisy and suffer from high wear.

2. Spiral Bevel Gear

The spiral gears have curved teeth which result in greater contact of the teeth.
Because of this spiral bevel gears are silent running and stronger than the straight
bevel gears (Fig).
3. Hypoid Bevel Gears
These types of gears are widely used for final drive these days. The name ‘hypoid’ is
derived from the ‘hyperboloid of revolution’. The basic surface on which the teeth are
cut in their case, is hyperboloid, which is a solid obtained by rotating a hyperbola about
an offset axis. Such gears are employed to connect shafts at right angles to each other,
but not lying in the same plane. In appearance, the shape of the teeth is similar to the
ones in case of spiral bevel gears.

As seen from Fig., in the case of hypoid gears, the pinion shaft is placed below the axis of
the crown wheel. This permits a lower position of the propeller shaft, thus allowing a
low chassis height. Moreover, with hypoid gears pitch diameter of the pinion for a given
size of the crown wheel for a given speed reduction is more on account of the offset.
This increases strength of the pinion by about 20 to 30 percent and also provides a larger
pitch overlap, resulting in real silent running. The obvious disadvantage is less ground
clearance. Further, these are comparatively expensive, difficult to assemble and need
special high pressure lubricant because of greater sliding action present in this case.
Both the pinions including its shaft and the crown wheel are usually made from nickel-
chrome alloy steel, machined and carburised, after which they are case hardened by
quenching in oil.

Worm and Wheel Arrangement

Instead of bevel pinions and the crown wheel, the worm and wheel arrangement is also
used quite frequently. Worms used are of the multi-start type. Such a worm would have
a lead equal to number of starts times its pitch and would thus advance the wheel through
a larger distance compared to a single start worm. This decreases the gear ratio. Usually
final devices have four to eight start worms depending upon the reduction required.

Thus,

Worm and wheel type of final drive is particularly useful in heavier vehicles where the
final reduction is greater the about 6. This gives a quiet, efficient and very strong drive.
Further, larger gear reductions are possible with worm and wheel drive in single
reductions as compared to the bevel pinion type where double reduction has to be
employed. The worm can be mounted either below the wheel axis level giving low
chassis height or above the wheel axis level allowing more ground clearance. The
disadvantages of the worm drives are their higher cost and more weight than the bevel
gears. Moreover, their mechanical efficiency is lower than that of bevel gears for a single
stage final drive. Further, with the overhead worm, lubrication of the teeth becomes
difficult. These disadvantages restrict their use in actual practice.
Worm is usually made of nickel steel and is case-hardened, whereas phosphor bronze is
used for the worm-wheel.
DIFFERENTIAL
When the car is taking a turn, the outer wheels will have to travel greater distance as
compared to the inner wheels in the same time (Fig.). If therefore, the car has a solid rear
axle only and no other device; there will be tendency for the wheels to skid. Hence if the
wheel skidding is to be avoided, some mechanism must be incorporated in the rear axle,
which should reduce the speed of the inner wheels and increase the speed of the outer
wheels when taking turns; it should at the same time keep the speeds of all the wheels
same when going straight ahead. Such a device which serves the above function is called
a differential.

In case of the non-driving wheels, however, the difference in speeds of the inner and the
outer wheels poses no problem since such wheels are independent of each other and as
such they can adjust their speeds according to the requirements.
To understand the principle on which differential works, consider Fig. To the crown
wheel of the final drive is attached a cage, which carries a ‘cross-pin’ (in case two planet
pinions are employed) or a ‘spider’ (in case four planet pinions are used in the
differential). Two sun gears mesh with the two or four planet pinions. Axle-shafts are
splined to each of these sun gears. The crown wheel is free to rotate on the half-shaft as
shown.
When the vehicle is going straight the cage and the inner gears rotate as a single unit and
the two half shafts revolve at the same speed. In this situation, there is no relative
movement among the various differential gears. To understand what happens when the
vehicle is taking a turn, assume that the cage is stationary. Then turning one sun gear
will cause the other to rotate in the opposite direction. That means that if left sun gear
rotates ’n’ times in a particular time, the right sun gear will also rotate n times in the same
period but, of course, in the opposite direction. This rotation is super-imposed on the
normal wheel speed when the vehicle is taking a turn. Thus, for example, consider a
vehicle with wheel speed N r.p.m. going straight, when it takes a turn toward right.
At this time there will be a resistance to the motion of the right wheel and as a result of
differential action if the right wheel rotates back at ‘n’ r.p.m. then the left wheel will
rotate forward at ‘n’ r.p.m. This will give the resultant speed of the left wheel as (N + n)
r.p.m and that of the right wheel as (N – n) r.p.m.
The torque from the final drive is also divided between the two half-shafts. As the planet
pinions are free to rotate on the cross-pin or the spider arm, they cannot apply different
torque to the teeth on one side from the one on the other side. Therefore, they act as a
balance and divide the torque equally between the two wheels on the axle, even when
their speeds are different.
Due to this reason if one wheel is on a slippery surface where it can simply skid and any
torque that is transmitted to it will simply cause it to rotate idly, then no tractive force
could be obtained from the other wheel. In this situation the slipping wheel will spin at
twice the crown wheel speed, while the opposite wheel will remain stationery. This
equality of torques is true only if there is no friction present anywhere in the differential
system. However, because this is not possible in practice, some inequality of torques is
always there. The larger the amount of friction present in the differential, the larger is the
inequality of torques.

Limited Slip differentials

The conventional (standard) differential delivers an equal amount of torque to both the
wheels. The limited slip differential performs an additional function over standard
differential; that is, it provides more driving force to the wheel with traction when one
wheel begins to spin. Therefore, it modifies load-equalizing action with certain amounts
of speed-equalizing action to enhance vehicle capability and operation.
With a standard differential, if one wheel is on a slippery surface, such as ice, snow or
mud or if the wheel gets lifted off the ground while turning at high speeds as in racing
cars and the other wheel is on dry ground, the wheel on the slippery surface would spin
and the other would not drive the car. A limited slip unit would drive the wheel with
traction and reduce the possibility of becoming immobile.
Limited Slip differentials fall into two categories; those with clutch plates and those with
clutch cones. Both units perform the same task. The differential cases are similar to
standard cases except for a large internal recess in the area of each side gear. This recess
accepts either a clutch pack or a clutch cone depending on design.
The clutch pack consists of clutch discs and plates. The clutch discs are splined to the
side gear, and the clutch plates are tangled and fit into the case. The discs rotate with the
side gear and the plates with the differential case. In the other unit, the cone is splined to
the axle shaft, and it rotates with the side gear only.

A preload spring or springs provide the necessary clutch apply pressure to provide drive
to both axles and wheels during unequal traction on the drive wheels. This action forces
the sun gears to slide on the splines of the half shaft outwards, thus increasing the
frictional resistance between the clutch and sun gears. In this way, the mechanism locks
the sun gears and the axle along with the differential case. The spring tension is low
enough to allow clutch slippage on the inner drive axle when turning corners. Such a
differential is called “non-slip or limited slip differential” and is shown in Fig.
Differential Lock

Another alternative which is sometimes used to avoid the slipping wheel problem is to
provide a differential lock. When the lock is applied, the differential action is stopped
and the whole torque is then applied to the wheel, which retains its grip on the ground.
This action enables the vehicle to move on.
A differential lock is a mechanical device that, when fitted to a differential, prevents the
driving wheels from rotating at different speeds.
One of the most common types of differential lock consists of a sliding dog clutch, which
is moved by an electrically operated solenoid unit or by compressed air. When engaged,
the sliding dog clutch meshes with a similar set of dog teeth machined onto the
differential case. This prevents the planet gears from driving the sun gears at different
speeds. It is important to remember that a differential lock must not be selected for
normal road use, as this can cause serious damage to the final drive and differential.

THE DOUBLE-REDUCTION AXLE

In this type of axle the permanent reduction of speed between the engine and road wheels
is obtained in two separate steps. Double-reduction axles are used chiefly on heavy
lorries, buses, etc., for the following reasons: such vehicles run at low speeds in
comparison with passenger cars; thus, while cars run at speeds up to 100mph, lorries do
not exceed between 50 and 80 mph; they also have larger diameter wheels. Thus,
although lorry engines run at much slower speeds than car engines, the reduction of speed
between the engine and road wheels is a good deal larger, being from 5:1 up to 10:1, as
against 3.5:1 up to 6:1.
If these large reduction were obtained in a single step, using, say, bevel gearing, then
either the bevel pinion would have to be made very small with few teeth, then it would be
both weak and inefficient, or the crown wheel would have to be made very large, which
would result in a heavy and expensive axle, and would reduce the clearance between the
axle and the ground too much. Similar conditions are found, to a lesser degree, with
worm final drives, and so the double reduction axle is adopted when the final drive ratio
has to be large. On some vehicles they are used to enable a very low body position to be
obtained.
Both steps at the centre of the axle
This type of double-reduction final drive is shown in Fig. Referring to Fig., the bevel
pinion A is driven by the propeller shaft and gears with a small crown wheel B. The
latter is fixed to a layshaft C, to which is also fixed a spur pinion D. The layshaft is
carried in ball or roller bearings at its ends in the axle casing, suitable thrust bearings
being provided to take the thrust of the bevel gears. The spur pinion D meshes with a
large spur wheel E which is bolted to the differential case F just as the crown wheel of a
single reduction axle is bolted. The differential cage is carried in ball or roller bearings in
the axle casing in the usual way.
The arrangement of the gearing in Fig. is slightly different from the above. The
differential is here situated between the two halves of the layshaft instead of between the
two driveshafts. The propeller shaft drives the bevel pinion A, meshing with the small
crown wheel B that is bolted to the differential cage. The latter is supported by the shaft
C which is carried in ball bearings in the axle casing. The differential wheels DD are
now integral with short sleeves free to rotate on the shaft C, and which carry spur pinions
EE at their outer ends, outside the differential cage. The pinions EE mesh with spur
wheels FF fixed to the driveshafts. Thus the differential action is obtained between the
pinions EE instead of between the driveshafts themselves. The chief advantage of this
arrangement is that the differential now revolves at a higher speed than the road wheels,
and so, for a given torque on the latter, the forces on the differential wheel teeth are
smaller, enabling smaller wheels to be used. To set against this advantage, two spur
pinions and wheels are required for the second reduction, thus increasing the cost.

A third arrangement is shown in Fig. The spur pinion A driven by the propeller shaft,
drives a wheel B fixed to the layshaft C, to which is also fixed the bevel pinion of the
bevel drive. The arrangement of the latter is normal. It will be observed that the axis of
the propeller shaft is higher than it would be with a single reduction bevel gear axle, and
can thus be brought more nearly into line with the main shaft of the gearbox, so that the
work put upon the universal joints is reduced. This advantage is also obtained with the
overhead worm-driven axle.
With single-reduction bevel axles and with underhung worm drives the engine and
gearbox are sometimes inclined in the frame in order to obtain this advantage.
An arrangement in which the second reduction is by an epicyclic gear is used by
Scammel on some of their lorries and is shown diagrammatically in Fig. A bevel first
reduction and a normal bevel-type differential are used, the differential cage being carried
in bearings in the end plates A which are bolted up to flanges on the central drum-shaped
portion of the axle casing. The differential shafts carry pinions B which form the sun
wheels of epicyclic gears of the sun and annulus type. The annuli C are fixed, being
formed integral with the end covers which are bolted up to the central casing on the same
flanges as the plate A. The arms D which carry the planet pinions are made integral with
the driveshafts and are supported in bearings in the end covers C. The tubular end
portions of the axle casing are bolted up to the end covers C on flanges as shown.
TWIN SPEED DOUBLE-REDUCTION FINAL DRIVE
The demands for a truck to operate under a varying range of operation conditions means
that the overall transmission ratio needs to be extensive, which is not possible with a
single or double reduction final drive. For example, with a single reduction final drive,
the gear reduction can be so chosen as to provide high cruising speed on good roads with
a 5 speed gear box. Conversely, if the truck is to be used on hilly regions or for off-road
use then a double reduction axle may provide the necessary gear reduction.
Therefore, to enable the vehicle to operate efficiently under both conditions, a dual
purpose two speed gear reduction may be built into the final drive axle.
This two speed double reduction final drive has a conventional crown wheel and bevel
pinion single speed first reduction with a second stage speed reduction consisting of two
pairs of helical gears. These gears mounted on the crown wheel support shaft act as
intermediate gears linking the crown wheel to the differential cage final reduction gears.
Low or high ratio is obtained when the central sliding dog clutch splined to the crown
wheel shaft slides either to the left or to the right respectively to engage the dog teeth
attached to the gears. The drive is then divided via the differential to the half shafts and
road wheels.