Hydrodynamic couplings and converters

Contents
1 Introduction 2

2 Hydrodynamic couplings 5
2.1 Basic equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2 Internal combustion engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3 Hydrodynamic converters 10
3.1 Basic equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.2 Characteristic curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.3 Two-phase converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

1
1 INTRODUCTION 2

1 Introduction
Hydrodynamic couplings employ turbomachinery and exploit the hydrodynamic forces
of a fluid to transmit power. The basic scheme is composed of a centrifugal pump, a
centripetal turbine and a fixed part (stator) which takes the fluid from the turbine exit
and redirects it inside the pump (see figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1: Basic scheme.

Assuming a steady behavior, the resultant of the torques applied to the system pump-
turbine-stator must be null. Therefore, one has:

CP CT CS = 0, (1.1)

where: CP is the torque exerted by the the pump impeller on the fluid; CT is the torque
exerted by the fluid on the turbine blading; CS is the torque exerted by the fluid on the
stator.
From equation (1.1), it appears that CP and CT may be different only if there is the
stator between the pump and the turbine. Therefore, hydrodynamic couplings can be
divided into two categories:

Hydrodynamic couplings: there is no stator, therefore CP = CT .

Hydrodynamic torque converters: the stator allows the turbine to transmit a torque
different from the one received by the pump.

Usually, a torque converter is mounted on the input side of the transmission gear train
and connected to a drive plate. The drive plate is used to connect the converter to the
cranckshaft flywheel flange of an engine. The torque converter is filled (from 50% to 80%)
with an automatic transmission fluid, and transmits the engine torque to the transmission.
1 INTRODUCTION 3

It can either multiply the torque generated by the engine or function as a fluid coupling.
It also serves as the engine flywheel to smooth out engine rotation as its inertia helps
to maintain crankshaft rotation between piston power pulses. It tends to absorb torsion
vibration from the engine and drive through the fluid medium since there is no direct
mechanical connection through the converter. As alredy said, the torque converter has
three major components: the pump impeller; the turbine runner; and the stator. The
impeller is integrated with the converter case, many curved vanes being radially mounted
inside. A guide ring is installed on the inner edges of the vanes to provide a path for

Figure 1.2: The pump impeller.

smooth fluid flow. When the impeller is driven by the engine crankshaft, the fluid is the
impeller rotates with it. When the impeller speed increases, the centrifugal force causes
the fluid to flow toward the turbine. The turbine is located inside the converter case but
is not connected to it. Many cupped vanes are attached to the turbine, the curvature of
the vanes being opposite from that of the pump vanes. Therefore, when the fluid is thrust
from the pump, it is caught in the cupped vanes of the turbine and torque is transferred
to the transmission shaft, turning it in the same direction of the engine crankshaft. When
automatic transmissions first came on the scene in the late 1930s, the only components
were the impeller and the turbine. This provided a means of transferring torque from the
engine to the transmission and also allowed the vehicle to be stopped while the engine runs
at idle. However, those early fluid couplings had one thing in common: acceleration was
poor. The engine would labor until the vehicle picked up speed. The problem occurred
because the vanes on the impeller and turbine are curved in the opposite direction to
one another. Fluid coming off the turbine is thrust against the impeller in a direction
opposite to engine rotation. In this way, not only is the engine horsepower consumed to
pump the fluid initially, but now it also has to overcome the force of the fluid coming from
the turbine. The stator was introduced to the design to overcome the counterproductive
force of fluid coming from the turbine opposing engine rotation. It not only overcomes the
problem but also has the added benefit of increasing torque to the impeller. The stator
1 INTRODUCTION 4

Figure 1.3: The turbine runner.

is located between the impeller and the turbine. It is mounted on the stator reaction
shaft which is fixed to the transmission case. The vanes of the stator catch the fluid as
it leaves the turbine runner and redirects it so that it strikes the back of the vanes of the
impeller, giving the impeller an added boost. The benefit of this added torque can be
as great as 30% to 50%. A one-way clutch may be used to allow the stator to rotate in

Figure 1.4: The stator.

the same direction as the engine crankshaft. However, if the stator attempts to rotate
in the opposite direction, the one-way clutch locks the stator to prevent it from rotating.
Therefore the stator is rotated or locked depending on the direction from which the fluid
strikes against the vanes.
2 HYDRODYNAMIC COUPLINGS 5

2 Hydrodynamic couplings
2.1 Basic equations
The scheme of an hydrodynamic coupling is shown in figure 2.1. The centrifugal pump
and the centripetal turbine are often of pure radial type. The pump increases the total

Figure 2.1: Hydrodynamic coupling.

head of the fluid which is employed by the turbine to provide power to the final user. A
part of the energy of the pump is dissipated by fluid-dynamic losses inside the pump and
the turbine system. From the energy conservation:
PP = PT + P W , (2.1)
where PP , PT , and PW , are the the power absorbed by the pump, delivered by the turbine,
and dissipated by losses, respectively. Therefore, one has:
PT < PP , (2.2)
and, since CP = CT , it follows that T < P , where indicates the rotational speed.
The difference between the rotational speed of the pump and the turbine is measured by
a non-dimensional parameter called slip:
P T T
S= =1 , (2.3)
P P
2 HYDRODYNAMIC COUPLINGS 6

which has values between zero and one. The hydraulic efficiency of the coupling is
defined as
PT CT T
y = = = 1 S = , (2.4)
PP CP P
where is the speed ratio. The characteristic curves of the coupling are shown in figure 2.2,
where the hydraulic efficiency and the torque ratio = CT /CP = 1 are represented versus
. Indicate with 1 and 2 the inlet and outlet of the pump, respectively and with, 3 and

Figure 2.2: Characteristic curves of an hydrodynamic coupling.

4 the inlet and outlet of the turbine, respectively. Assuming that both the pump and
the turbine are purely meridional (2 = 4 = 0), that the fluid velocity at the exit of the
turbine is equal to the inlet pump velocity (C4 = C1 ), and that the fluid velocity at the
exit of the pump is equal to the inlet turbine velocity (C2 = C3 ), the velocity triangle have
the shape shown in figure 2.3. It is noteworhty that, if the blades are purely meridional,

Figure 2.3: Velocity triangles for an hydrodynamic coupling.

there will be shock losses at inlet of both the pump and the turbine since the relative
flow angles (1 and 3 ) cannot be zero in general.
2 HYDRODYNAMIC COUPLINGS 7

The specific work deliverd by the pump to the fluid is

WP = U22 U1 U4 = g(H20 H10 ) + WwP , (2.5)

where H 0 indicates the total head, WwP is the energy dissipated in the pump, and g is
the acceleration gravity. Furthermore, the specific work obtained by the turbine can be
written as

WT = g(H20 H10 ) WwT WwSL = WP WwP WwT WwSL , (2.6)

where WwT is the energy dissipated in the turbine and WwSL is the energy dissipated for
the shock losses in the coupling. As also shown by equation (2.4), the specific work of
the turbine can equal the specific work of the pump only in the absence of losses. In this
case one has PP = PT (since the mass flow is the same) the slip coefficient would be zero,
and = 1. But null losses can be achieved only for a null mass flow and, therefore, a null
torque.
The global efficiency of the coupling is defined as
Po P o PP PT
g = = = mT mP y , (2.7)
Pi PT Pi PP
where Pi is the power delivered by the engine to the pump shaft; Po is the power delivered
by the turbine to the external user; and mT and mP are the mechanical efficiencies of
the turbine and the pump, respectively. Since the mechanical efficiencies are close to one,
the curve of the global efficiency is very close to the hydraulic efficiency line (y = 1 S).
When S is close to zero, the power delivered by the coupling tends to zero so that the
mechanical efficiency reduces dramatically and the global efficiency drop to zero. The
maximum global efficiency is obtained for S 0.01 0.03. The torque absorbed by the
pump is
CP = m(Cw2 r2 Cw1 r1 ) = m(U2 r2 U4 r1 ); (2.8)
which equals the torque delivered by the turbine, namely,

CT = m(Cw3 r3 Cw4 r4 ) = m(U2 r2 U4 r1 ). (2.9)

The mass flow, computed at the exit of the pump, is

m = A2 V2 = A2 U2 , (2.10)

where = V2 /U2 is the flow coefficient of the pump. Defining = r1 /r2 , one has:

U4
CP = CT = A2 r2 U2 (1 ). (2.11)
U2
Since
U4 T r1
= = (1 S), (2.12)
U2 P r2
2 HYDRODYNAMIC COUPLINGS 8

the torque can written as

CP = CT = A2 r23 P2 [1 2 (1 S)]. (2.13)

It is noteworhy that the flow coefficient is an increasing function of the slip coefficient.
In fact, when S = 0 the mass flow is zero and also = 0. For a constant value of P ,
increasing S means that T decreases so that the centrifugal forces inside the turbine
decreases and the mass flow increases, inducing a larger value of . From equation (2.13),
it appears that if S increases both and the term inside the brackets increase; therefore
the torque is an increasing function of the slip coefficient at constant P as shown in
figure 2.4. Equation (2.13) indicates also that the transmitted torque can be increased

Figure 2.4: Torque versus slip coefficent.

by increasing the dimensions of the coupling (A2 ) or by using a fluid with higher density.
Moreover, equations (2.8) and (2.9) show that the torque depends on the mass flow.
Therefore, in order to vary the torque, one may consider to vary the mass of fluid confined
in the coupling (variable filling), obtaining a variable fluid section with respect to the
geometrical areas with the possibility of regulating the torque as shown in figure 2.5. In
order to lower the torque during the initial transient acceleration of the coupling, a special
chamber is employed (see figure 2.3) which contains the fluid at rest and delay the filling
of the coupling vanes during acceleration.

2.2 Internal combustion engine

Let us consider the connection between an internal combustion engine with an hydro-
dynamic coupling. Assume that the torque delivered by the internal combustion engine
2 HYDRODYNAMIC COUPLINGS 9

Figure 2.5: Torque caharacteristic with variable filling at con-

stant impeller speed.

(ICE) varies with the engine speed as shown by the curve CM in figure 2.6. The ICE is
connected to the pump shaft, so that they have the same rotational speed (M = P ). On
the same diagram, one can provide the curve of the torque delivered by the coupling for
a given value of the slip. For simplicity, we assume that the flow coefficient depends only
on the slip S and is independent of the impeller speed. With this assumption, according
to equation (2.13), the torque is a parabolic curve versus P . The (steady) equilibrium
point (E) is obtained at the intersection of the curves where we have that the input
torque (CM = CP ) equals the output torque CT = CR , where CR is the torque required
(resistance) by the final user connected to the turbine shaft. Let us analyze the starting

Figure 2.6: Coupling with an internal cobustion engine: equi-

librium point.
3 HYDRODYNAMIC CONVERTERS 10

transient of the coupling (see figure 2.6). Initially, the ICE delivers its torque to the pump
shaft. In this phase, CM > CP = CT < CR so that the turbine is stationary and S = 1.
Since CM > CP , the pump shaft accelerates according to the equilibrium equation
dP
IP = CM CP , (2.14)
dt
where IP is the inertia of the shaft. The point representing the dynamic equilibrium of
the system moves along the S = 1 curve with increasing CP = CT , until CP = CT = CR .
At this point, the turbine starts rotating and the slip decreases. Since CM is greter than
the resistant torque. the point representing the dynamic equilibrium of the system moves
along a trajectory with CR CP = CT CM , with decreasing slip, until the equilibrium
point E is reached. It is noteworthy that it would not have been possible to start the
engine without a cloach since for M = P = 0 we have CM < CR . Therefore, in this case
the hydrodynamic coupling substitutes the cloach.
Let us see what happen if the load suddenly increases so that the torque required
by the user overtakes the maximum torque which the engine can deliver. In this case
CT < CR , therefore the turbine slows down and the slip increases. For the same P , the
torque required by the pump increases and overtakes the torque delivered by the engine,
so that also the pump slows down. If the load is greater the torque delivered by the
engine for any M , then the turbine stops and the pump reaches the equilibrium point
with CM = CP and S = 1. Therefore, the hydrodynamic coupling avoids the stop of
the engine when the load is too high (very important in the escavators, for example).
In this working condition, the power supplied by the engine is dissipated by the fluid in
the coupling so that it is necessary to have a cooling system designed to avoid too high
temperatures.

3 Hydrodynamic converters
3.1 Basic equations
Hydrodynamic torque converters are employed when the output torque required by the
user are different from the input torque. In this case the coupling must include a stator
(see figure 3.1), so that:
CP = CT + CS . (3.1)
The pump and turbine shaft have in general different rotatinal velocity whose ratio is
out T
= = . (3.2)
in P
Indicate with 1, 3, 5 the inlet of the pump, turbine, and stator, respectively; and with 2,
4, 6, the outlet of the pump, turbine, stator, respectively. Assuming for simplicity that
the pump and the turbine have the same dimensions (namely, r1 = r4 = r5 = r6 and
r2 = r3 ) and that V2 is meridional and the meridional components of the velocity are
3 HYDRODYNAMIC CONVERTERS 11

Figure 3.1: Torque converter.

Figure 3.2: Velocity triangles.

constant, the velocity triangles have the form shown in figure 3.2. With this assumptions,
one has:
U3 U4
= = . (3.3)
U2 U1
Define the geometric ratio
r1 U1 r4 U4
= = = = , (3.4)
r2 U2 r3 U3
and indicate with the flow coefficient,
cm2 V2
= = . (3.5)
U2 U2
Now, let us write the torque exchanged between the fluid and the components of the con-
verter. Remember that absolute (relative) angles are positive if measured in the clockwise
(anti-clockwise) direction with respect to the axial direction (see figure 3.2). The pump
3 HYDRODYNAMIC CONVERTERS 12

torque is

CP = m(r2 cw2 r1 cw1 ) (3.6)

= m(r2 U2 r1 c6 sin 6 ) (3.7)

cm
= mr2 u2 (1 tan 6 ) (3.8)
u2

= A2 r23 P2 (1 tan 6 ). (3.9)

The turbine torque is

CT = m(r3 cw3 r4 cw4 ) (3.10)

= m(r2 U2 r1 (U4 V4 sin 4 )) (3.11)

cm
= mr2 u2 (1 ( tan 4 )) (3.12)
u2

= A2 r23 P2 (1 + tan 4 2 ). (3.13)

Finally, the stator torque can be written as

CS = m(r5 cw5 r6 cw6 ) (3.14)

= mr1 (cw4 cw1 ) (3.15)

cm cm
= mr2 u2 (( tan 4 ) tan 6 ) (3.16)
u2 u2

= A2 r23 P2 ( (tan 4 + tan 6 )). (3.17)

In the previous equations, the angle 4 and 6 (defined with respect to the meridional
direction), according to the one-dimensional theory, coincide with the blade angles. Also
in the case of the converters, in order to increase the torque one may increase the dimension
of the coupling or employ a fluid with higher density.

3.2 Characteristic curves

The characteristic curves of the torque converter are provided in figure 3.3 together with
the characteristic curves of a coupling (y = , = 1), for comparison. Firstly, to study
the torque ratio provided by the coupling, let us write as

CT 1 + tan 4 2
= = . (3.18)
CP 1 tan 6
3 HYDRODYNAMIC CONVERTERS 13

Figure 3.3: Characteristic curves of a converter.

Therefore, also is a function of . In particular, notice that for 0 (which corresponds

to high values of , namely high values of the centrifugal forces in the turbine runner)
one has
= 1 2 < 1; (3.19)
and for = 1 one has

= > 0. (3.20)
tan 6 + tan 4
Therefore, one can infer that is a decreasing function of , as confirmed by experiments.
The second performance curve is the hydraulic efficiency versus . It is defined as
PT CT T
y = = = . (3.21)
PP CP P
The hydraulic efficiency curve has a maximum, as shown in figure 3.3, since is a de-
creasing function of .In general, one has opt > ? , where ? is the value of for which
the flow angle coincide with the blade angles at the inlet of the blades. In fact, increasing
the rotational speed ratio with respect to ? induces an increase of the shock losses which
is overwhelmed by the reduction of the continuos flow losses due to the reduction of .
For low values of ( 0), the flow cannot be considered one-dimensional. Boundary
layer separation may occur inside the impeller and the turbine runner, and the hydraulic
efficiency drops to zero. Usually, in practice, the range of application of the converter is
where y > 0.7, so that the maximum thermal power to be absorbed from the fluid by
the cooling system is about 30% of the input power.
Finally, let us define the non-dimensional torque exchange by the fluid with the pump
CP
C= = (1 tan 6 ). (3.22)
A2 r23 P2
3 HYDRODYNAMIC CONVERTERS 14

The flow coefficient is a decreasing function of the speed ratio (because if T increases
the centrifugal forces in the turbine contribute to reduce the mass flow), so that the
torques depend also on and the rotational speed of the pump. Increasing the value of
, decreases and the term between the brackets increases. In general, C results to be a
decreasing of .
The curves of figure 3.3 are characteristic of the simple converter scheme described
in this section. Different performance curves can be obtained changing the architecture
of the converter. For example, one can have multistage converters, in which thare are
several turbines; or mutiphase converters, in which the geometrical configuration may
vary during the run time (asymmetric configurations).
Notice that, since y = , the point in figure 3.3 at which the hydraulic efficiency
of the converter is equal to the hydraulic efficiency of the coupling must correspond to
= 1. Beyond this point, for larger values of , the hydraulic efficiency of the converter
is smaller than the efficiency of the coupling and the torque delivered by the turbine is
smaller than that absorbed by the pump. At this operating points it would be better
to employ an hydrodynamic coupling rather than a torque converter. For such a reason
the stator may be mounted by a one-way clutch in order to be able to rotate idle in one
direction, as explained in the next section.

3.3 Two-phase converter

As an example, consider a converter in which the stator is connected to the casing through
a one-way clutch which allows it to rotate only in one direction (the coupling is capable
of transmitting the torque only in one direction). Notice that the torque absorbed by the
stator changes its sign as the value of is greater or smaller than one. Therefore, we can
design a configuration in which, for values of greater than the one for which = 1, =1 ,
the stator rotates idle and the converter works as an hydrodynamic coupling (two-phase
converter). The value of remains equal to one and the hydraulic efficiency increases
linearly with since y = 1 S = .
When the engine starts to drive the pump, the fluid in the impeller is put in rotation
and the impeller speed increases. The centrifugal force causes the fluid to flow outward
along the vanes towards the turbine.
The fluid strikes the vanes of the turbine which begins to rotate in the same direction
of the impeller. When the fluid reaches the interior of the turbine, it is directed towards
the stator and its flow through the pump begins again.
There are working conditions in which the flow is quicker and more powerful, and
there are times when this flow is almost nonexistent. We can distinguish two types of
fluid flows within the converter: one is the vortex flow and the other is the rotary flow.
The vortex flow is a spiraling flow existing as long as there is a difference in speed
between the pump and the turbine. Rotary flow is a quasi solid body rotation of the fluid
together with the pump and the turbine. Vortex flow is strongest when the speed difference
between the pump and the turbine is the greatest, as when the vehicle is accelerating (
is low, see figure 3.6). During this phase, the flow leaving the turbine strikes the front
3 HYDRODYNAMIC CONVERTERS 15

Figure 3.4: Two types of flows.

Figure 3.5: The stator operation configurations.

vanes of the stator and locks it on the stator reaction shaft, preventing it from rotating in
the counterclockwise direction. The fluid passing through the stator is redirected towards
the back of the vanes of the impeller resulting in an additional torque over that provided
by the engine to accelerate the pump in the clockwise direction (see figure 3.5. During
the periods of low vortex flow ( is high, see figure 3.7), the fluid coming from the turbine
strikes the convex back of the pump rather than the concave face of the pump. This causes
the one-way clutch to release and the stator freewheels on the reaction shaft. At this point
there is little need for torque multiplication. As the rotating speed of the impeller and
the turbine become closer, the vortex flow decreases and the fluid begins to circulate with
the impeller and turbine (rotary flow). This is called the coupling point of the torque
converter. At the coupling point, the statorfreewheels in the clockwise direction (see
figure 3.5.
3 HYDRODYNAMIC CONVERTERS 16

Figure 3.6: The acceleration phase.

Figure 3.7: The cruising phase.

References
1. Toyota technical training: torque converter.

2. A. Dadone, Macchine Idrauliche, CLUT, Torino.

3. K. Maier, Modern drive technology with hydrodynamic couplings for Coal-Mine

Applications, Voith Turbo GmbH & Co. KG, Crailsheim.

4. A. Roberson, Hydrodynamic couplings used as conveyor starting equipment, Surtees

and Son, Ltd.