AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FOR AUTOMOTIVE GAS TURBINE POWER PLANTS
In a concentrated government-industry effort to develop an automotive gas turbine power plant as an alternative to spark ignition engines, General Motors has been awarded a 68-month contract to develop an automotive gas turbine. The delivery of a fully-developed power plant in a Pontiac Phoenix front-drive vehicle is scheduled during 1985 for test and evaluation by the Environmental Protection Agency. The goal is to incorporate near-term (five-year) technology capable of a 30% improvement over fuel economy projected for a comparable conventional 1984 automotive power plant. Maximum component efficiency at very low power levels is the key to overall system performance capable of this improvement. The selection between a new continuously-variable transmission or a conventional automatic transmission (CAT) calls for critical examination of the automotive driving cycle, specific fuel/power/speed characteristics of the gas turbine engine, and transmission subsystem performance and efficiency at very low power levels. It is shown that the four-speed CAT with converter clutch and multiple fixed-gear ratio selection provides two advantages: it exhibits maximum component efficiency at very low power levels, a requirement for maximum fuel economy over a 0-60 mph Federal driving cycle; and it permits the gas turbine power train to run near the best specific fuel consumption characteristics for road load speeds of 0-60 mph. The conventional torque converter automatic transmission, with present-day technology including converter clutch variable displacement pump, low output spin losses, and overdrive gearing, is the best transmission selection for the advanced ceramic two-shaft gas turbine engine.
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Supplemental Notes:
- Also published in HS-028 833 (SAE-SP-465), "Advanced Gas Turbine Systems for Automobiles," Warrendale, Pennsylvania, 1980, p 1-5. Presented at SAE Congress and Exposition, Detroit, 25-29 February 1980.
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Corporate Authors:
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
400 Commonwealth Drive
Warrendale, PA United States 15096 -
Authors:
- Polak, J C
- Publication Date: 1980
Media Info
- Pagination: 5 p.
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Automatic transmissions; Development; Economic efficiency; Fuel conservation; Gas turbines; Research; Turbine engines
- Identifier Terms: General Motors Corporation
- Uncontrolled Terms: Efficiency; Research and development
- Subject Areas: Economics; Energy; Research; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00391485
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Report/Paper Numbers: SAE 800099, HS-028 834
- Files: HSL, USDOT
- Created Date: Dec 30 1984 12:00AM