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Fill speed and volumetric efficiency are two important performance characteristics for positive displacement pumps. Gerotor pump is a positive displacement internal type gear pump with a smaller inner rotor and an internal ring rotor. Dissolved air and entrained air content in the lubrication oil significantly affects the filling characteristics of suction chambers of the Gerotor pump. This leads to reduction in the pump flow rate and fill speed which limits maximum operating speed of the pump. In this paper, effect of dissolved air and entrained air is studied by modeling cavitation in detail using PumpLinx® CFD software and the importance of these parameters on Gerotor pump performance is described. The simulated results are validated with experiments with more than 95% accuracy in predictions. Key takeaway of present work suggests that design engineers should take dissolved air and entrained air effects into consideration while designing a pump.

The increased trend of automatic and automated transmissions across a breadth of applications is one of the market drivers for the development of wet clutch systems. Key product differentiators that drive the use of wet clutches in specific applications are (a) Compactness, (b) Low inertia, (c) Higher energy density, (d) Better NVH characteristics, and (e) Longer wear life. The above-stated product differentiators are dependent on performance of both the clutch cooling system and the friction system for two different operating events, namely engagement and disengagement. During engagement, slip under load between the clutch plates generates heat, which must be carried away by the oil, necessitating a high oil flow demand to all friction surfaces. Failing to achieve this leads to excessive plate temperatures and wear, ultimately resulting in poor performance and reduced clutch life.

Eaton has supported the design and development of spoilers for automobile applications. Addition of spoilers in the car influences the external aerodynamics and in turn impacts fuel economy and vehicle stability, in addition to providing improved external aesthetics. With the upward trend in fuel prices, it becomes more critical to quantify the effect of spoiler on the fuel economy. Eaton Corporation has undertaken efforts to establish predictive capability for evaluating the effect of a rear mounted spoiler on fuel economy. A first phase of these efforts focuses on development of a CFD methodology on the Ahmed Reference model and validation with wind tunnel testing. A second phase will focus on leveraging the methodology on an actual automobile and in the last phase, fuel economy models will be built using outputs from the CFD methodology. This paper focuses on detailed discussion about first phase of the work and summary of the second phase.