From Piston to Wheel: How an Engine Turns a Car's Wheels
In short: A step-by-step look at how a car carries an engine's power from the pistons to the wheels, through the crankshaft, clutch, gearbox, propeller shaft, differential and axles, and the gear physics that makes it work.
A 1:53 short film in the series “How Things Work”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.
Sources used in this film: Springer (Springer Vienna), chapter by Kevin Hoag and Brian Dondlinger in Vehicular Engine Design, Powertrain book series, “Cranktrain (Crankshafts, Connecting Rods, and Flywheel)”; Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg (chapter in 'Automotive Transmissions' by Naunheimer, Bertsche, Ryborz and Novak, 2011), “Power Conversion: Selecting the Ratios”; Car - Shooters (car-shooters.com), “The differential: why the driven wheels do not turn at the same speed | Car - Shooters”; Springer Nature (Springer, Singapore; China Machine Press), chapter by Yong Chen, Hebei University of Technology, in Automotive Transmissions (2021), “Dual Clutch Transmission”; Springer Nature (Encyclopedia of Systems and Control, entry 'Transmission' by Luigi Iannelli, Università degli Studi del Sannio; published 02 February 2021), “Transmission”; Academia.edu (user-uploaded academic paper 'Design and Analysis of an Automotive Single Plate Clutch'; authors and journal not named on the page), “Design and Analysis of an Automotive Single Plate Clutch”; Atlas of Engineering (atlasofengineering.com), “Gear Ratio, Torque, Speed and Reflected Inertia | Atlas”; Academia.edu (hosting an academic engineering paper on gear-ratio selection; the original journal and authors are not named in the page text), “A design method of selecting gear ratios in manual transmissions of modern passenger cars”; Palgrave, London (Springer Nature), chapter by John Whipp and Roy Brooks in 'Lecturers' Guide to Part 2 Motor Vehicle Craft Studies' (1983), “Universal Joints/Propeller Shafts/Drive Arrangements”; Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Axle | Wheel Bearings, Suspension & Differential | Britannica”; BBC Bitesize (BBC), “1.28 Power transmission - BBC Bitesize”; University of California San Diego, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE 3 course page), “MAE 3 - Gear Ratios”; EngineersUniverse (STEM Studio interactive explainer), “Machine Design — Gear Ratio, Torque and Speed Tradeoff | EngineersUniverse”; BBC (BBC Bitesize, GCSE Design and Technology revision guide), “Gear trains - Mechanical devices - AQA - GCSE Design and Technology Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize”; Encyclopaedia Britannica (the page labels this text 'AI-generated answers from Britannica articles'; check it against the full Britannica article before relying on it), “Differential gear | Types, Uses & Benefits | Britannica”; EduMech (edumech.co.uk), “How a Differential Works | EduMech”.
Sources used in this film
- Springer (Springer Vienna), chapter by Kevin Hoag and Brian Dondlinger in Vehicular Engine Design, Powertrain book series — Cranktrain (Crankshafts, Connecting Rods, and Flywheel) · View →
- Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg (chapter in 'Automotive Transmissions' by Naunheimer, Bertsche, Ryborz and Novak, 2011) — Power Conversion: Selecting the Ratios · View →
- Car - Shooters (car-shooters.com) — The differential: why the driven wheels do not turn at the same speed | Car - Shooters · View →
- Springer Nature (Springer, Singapore; China Machine Press), chapter by Yong Chen, Hebei University of Technology, in Automotive Transmissions (2021) — Dual Clutch Transmission · View →
- Springer Nature (Encyclopedia of Systems and Control, entry 'Transmission' by Luigi Iannelli, Università degli Studi del Sannio; published 02 February 2021) — Transmission · View →
- Academia.edu (user-uploaded academic paper 'Design and Analysis of an Automotive Single Plate Clutch'; authors and journal not named on the page) — Design and Analysis of an Automotive Single Plate Clutch · View →
- Atlas of Engineering (atlasofengineering.com) — Gear Ratio, Torque, Speed and Reflected Inertia | Atlas · View →
- Academia.edu (hosting an academic engineering paper on gear-ratio selection; the original journal and authors are not named in the page text) — A design method of selecting gear ratios in manual transmissions of modern passenger cars · View →
- Palgrave, London (Springer Nature), chapter by John Whipp and Roy Brooks in 'Lecturers' Guide to Part 2 Motor Vehicle Craft Studies' (1983) — Universal Joints/Propeller Shafts/Drive Arrangements · View →
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Axle | Wheel Bearings, Suspension & Differential | Britannica · View →
- BBC Bitesize (BBC) — 1.28 Power transmission - BBC Bitesize · View →
- University of California San Diego, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE 3 course page) — MAE 3 - Gear Ratios · View →
- EngineersUniverse (STEM Studio interactive explainer) — Machine Design — Gear Ratio, Torque and Speed Tradeoff | EngineersUniverse · View →
- BBC (BBC Bitesize, GCSE Design and Technology revision guide) — Gear trains - Mechanical devices - AQA - GCSE Design and Technology Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize · View →
- Encyclopaedia Britannica (the page labels this text 'AI-generated answers from Britannica articles'; check it against the full Britannica article before relying on it) — Differential gear | Types, Uses & Benefits | Britannica · View →
- EduMech (edumech.co.uk) — How a Differential Works | EduMech · View →
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Springer (Springer Vienna), chapter by Kevin Hoag and Brian Dondlinger in Vehicular Engine Design, Powertrain book serie: Cranktrain (Crankshafts, Connecting Rods, and Flywheel)
- Also: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg (chapter in 'Automotive Transmissions' by Naunheimer, Bertsche, Ryborz and Novak, 2011: Power Conversion: Selecting the Ratios
- Also: Car - Shooters (car-shooters.com): The differential: why the driven wheels do not turn at the same speed | Car - Shooters
- Also: Springer Nature (Springer, Singapore; China Machine Press), chapter by Yong Chen, Hebei University of Technology, in Aut: Dual Clutch Transmission
- Also: Springer Nature (Encyclopedia of Systems and Control, entry 'Transmission' by Luigi Iannelli, Università degli Studi del: Transmission
- Also: Academia.edu (user-uploaded academic paper 'Design and Analysis of an Automotive Single Plate Clutch'; authors and journ: Design and Analysis of an Automotive Single Plate Clutch
- Also: Atlas of Engineering (atlasofengineering.com): Gear Ratio, Torque, Speed and Reflected Inertia | Atlas
- Also: Academia.edu (hosting an academic engineering paper on gear-ratio selection; the original journal and authors are not na: A design method of selecting gear ratios in manual transmissions of modern passenger cars
- Also: Palgrave, London (Springer Nature), chapter by John Whipp and Roy Brooks in 'Lecturers' Guide to Part 2 Motor Vehicle Cr: Universal Joints/Propeller Shafts/Drive Arrangements
- Also: Encyclopaedia Britannica: Axle | Wheel Bearings, Suspension & Differential | Britannica
- Also: BBC Bitesize (BBC): 1.28 Power transmission - BBC Bitesize
- Also: University of California San Diego, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE 3 course page): MAE 3 - Gear Ratios
- Also: EngineersUniverse (STEM Studio interactive explainer): Machine Design — Gear Ratio, Torque and Speed Tradeoff | EngineersUniverse
- Also: BBC (BBC Bitesize, GCSE Design and Technology revision guide): Gear trains - Mechanical devices - AQA - GCSE Design and Technology Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize
- Also: Encyclopaedia Britannica (the page labels this text 'AI-generated answers from Britannica articles'; check it against th: Differential gear | Types, Uses & Benefits | Britannica
- Also: EduMech (edumech.co.uk): How a Differential Works | EduMech
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