Study on influence of inlet and outlet flow rates on oil pressures and braking torque in a hydrodynamic retarder

Purpose - Traditional prediction of braking characteristics of vehicular hydrodynamic retarders is commonly conducted based on braking characteristics model of closed working chamber, namely, closed working chamber model (CWCM). In CWCM, inlet and outlet oil pressures and braking torque are considered to be independent of inlet and outlet flow rates. However, inlet and outlet flow rates can affect internal and external braking characteristics under actual working conditions. This study aims to establish a more accurate braking characteristics model of a hydrodynamic retarder under full oil-charging condition, and then the influence of varying inlet and outlet flow rates on oil pressures and braking torque is investigated in this paper. Design/methodology/approach - A full flow passage of working chamber in a hydrodynamic retarder with inlet and outlets was established, and the reliability of numerical model was analyzed and validated. Pressure rise was introduced to describe the variation of inlet and outlet oil pressures. Then, on the basis of the validation, the CWCM was proposed at different rotor rotational speeds. The inlet and outlet oil pressures and braking torque were numerically computed at different inlet and outlet flow rates with Full Factorial Design experimental method. The results obtained were involved into establishing the braking characteristics model of open working chamber, namely, open working chamber model (OWCM), combined with Radial basis function approximation model. The OWCM with different inlet and outlet flow rates was analyzed and compared with CWCM. Findings - The results show that inlet and outlet flow rates have obvious influence on the variation of inlet and outlet oil pressures in OWCM compared with CWCM. The outlet A pressure rise significantly changes with the inlet and outlet A flow rates, while the pressure rise of outlet B ismainly affected by the outlet B flow rate. Originality/value - This paper presents an OWCM of hydrodynamic retarders under full oil-charging condition. The model takes into account the impact of oil inflowing and outflowing from the working chamber, which can provide a more accurate prediction of braking characteristics of hydrodynamic retarders.