Electrified Vehicle Shaft Insert Using Composite Material for Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electrified vehicle shaft assemblies require effective thermal management and lubrication while minimizing weight, as conventional materials are heavy and inefficient in providing fluid conduits.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a polymer-based or composite material insert within the shaft assembly to create a fluid conduit that blocks radial fluid flow, reducing overall weight and enhancing thermal management and lubrication efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If conventional materials are used for the shaft assembly, then the shaft provides sufficient structural strength, but the weight is excessive and thermal management efficiency is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft assembly employs a composite structure consisting of an outer shaft made from a first material (e.g., metal) and an inner shaft made from a second material (e.g., polymer or composite). This composite construction reduces overall weight while the specific material selection and configuration optimize thermal management by allowing fluid conduits to be integrated within the inner shaft, enabling efficient heat transfer from the motor.
2Temperature
If a fluid conduit is integrated into the shaft assembly, then thermal management and lubrication are improved, but the structural integrity and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft assembly is segmented into an outer shaft and an inner shaft as separate components. The inner shaft is specifically designed to incorporate fluid conduits for thermal management and lubrication. This segmentation allows the fluid conduit integration to be achieved without complicating the overall shaft structure, as the inner shaft can be manufactured with embedded conduits and then assembled into the outer shaft, maintaining structural integrity while enabling fluid flow paths.
3Weight of moving object
If the inner shaft is made from polymer or composite material, then weight is reduced, but the radial fluid flow blocking capability must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The inner shaft exhibits local quality differentiation where different portions serve different functions. The outer surface of the inner shaft is configured to block radial fluid flow between the fluid conduit and the external environment, while the inner surface defines the fluid conduit passage. This localized functional differentiation ensures that the polymer or composite material effectively controls fluid flow paths without requiring the entire shaft structure to be optimized for fluid blocking, thereby maintaining reliability while achieving weight reduction.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrified vehicle assembly includes, among other things, an outer shaft that is rotatable about an axis. The outer shaft rotatably couples a motor of an electrified vehicle to a transmission component of the electrified vehicle. A shaft insert provides a conduit for a fluid and that blocks the fluid from flowing radially between the shaft insert and the outer shaft relative to the axis. The shaft insert includes a polymer-based material, a composite material, or both.