Simulation and experimental study on lubrication of high-speed reducer of electric vehicle

Abstract

Purpose The lubrication of the high-speed reducer of an electric vehicle is investigated. The specific contents include visualization of the flow field inside reducer, lubrication evaluation of bearings and efficiency experiment. Design/methodology/approach The flow field inside reducer at five working conditions: straight, uphill, downhill, left lean and right lean is simulated by smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). According to the instantaneous number of particles through bearings, the lubrication states of bearings are evaluated. The test platform is set up to measure the efficiency of the reducer. Findings The flow field inside the reducer is obtained, the lubrication of bearings needs to be improved, the efficiency of the electric vehicle reducer meets the requirement. Originality/value The SPH method is used to simulate lubrication instead of using the traditional grid-based finite volume method. A novel method to evaluate the lubrication of bearings is proposed. The method and conclusions can guide electric vehicle reducer design.