When your discussion revolves around the automatic transmission of vehicles or engineering machinery, one of the terms finds grave relevance- hydraulic torque converter. It is that turbomachine that replaces clutch and manual transmission and enables you to rev up your vehicle in auto-transmission modes. Consisting of a couple of turbines, a pump, and a stator, a torque converter uses a transmission fluid or a liquid to set auto-transmission in motion.
Though torque converters are an important development in the vehicle design and technology industry, increasing their efficiency has always been something every innovator, engineer, and scientist has been trying to achieve. Minimizing loss and entropy has a direct effect on maximizing efficiency.
Drag reduction in boundary-layer flow has a direct impact on increasing the efficiency of torque converters. In this regard, nature is the best source of inspiration. It has designed the shape, body structure, thickness, etc., for fast fishes and cetaceans to reduce fluid drag and improve agility.
With more and more technological innovations occurring in the vehicle and transportation industry, these machines’ individual components are also getting intelligent makeovers. Inspired by the target to create economic and efficient things, the latest technologies and innovative designs are integrated into the individual parts. Let’s take a look at how the emerging torque converter technologies promise to change the vehicle industry by quite a bit.
Upcoming torque converter technologies to improve automatic transmission
The vehicle industry makeover is happening from big to small and even from small to big. Hence every component of vehicles is being upgraded for better performance and improved efficiency.
Engineers and innovators are always tasked with innovation and product development that will be more suited to accommodate newer designs, upgrade vehicle speeds, and provide differentiating benefits. Torque converter technology is also going through a phase of innovation and technological advancement and creates some of the most significant ripples in the auto-transmission market.
A hydraulic torque converter will enable the engine to run even when the vehicle is parked or stopped. Though the physical connection required in the clutch case has been replaced by fluidic intervention in torque converters, some of the most prominent innovations and designs are altering things for the better!
Hyper-elliptical torque converters
The name is quite fancy- hyper-elliptical torque converters, also known as super squashed torque converters! The new avatar of torque converters, these pieces of machinery reduces the thickness of the engine and the overall transmission. The slim profile has a range of benefits.
● Packaging for a torque converter becomes more manageable with the slim design of the hyper-elliptical torque converter
● The reduced axial dimension creates a slim profile and makes it an ideal option for application in compact and lightweight passenger vehicles
● The hyper-elliptical tech provides an additional refinement and a seamless take-off performance.
Concave clutch torque converters
The concave clutch is one of the path-breaking innovations in the hydraulic torque converter technology that creates a cutting-edge advancement in the entire transportation and engineering industry. Experts are still saying that there is a lot more to learn, and the innovation is ongoing. The 10-speed late model transmissions like the Ford and GM vehicles that came out in 2017-2018 have adopted the concave-clutch technology.
The concave clutch is very similar to the converter clutch as it provides a one-is-to-one connection between the engine and transmission. But the concave clutch is different from the converter clutch because it uses the beveled edge of the converter instead of the flat edge.
● The concave design is revolutionary as it reduces gear slippage and downward dragging.
● The concave clutch technology was also innovated to create additional space inside the unit.
● It increases fuel efficiency and improves driver function.
How to take care of the new torque converter technologies?
Servicing and maintenance of the uber-new torque converter tech is a challenging job indeed. Big and small shops could face such a challenge. The emerging technology that has been employed in torque converters is consistent with the increasing number of gears. The same is true for late model transmission applications.
The multiple speed transmission technologies that come in numbers of eight, nine, and even more than ten will create difficulties for service providers and technicians. As a result, it is critical for the service and maintenance technologies to evolve alongside torque converters’ evolution to provide consistent service in times of need.
