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1 A new hybrid transmission (P310) has been developed for FWD 3-liter engine class sports utility vehicles. The development of this transmission has been aimed at improving power performance and fuel economy, achieving the world's top-level weight reduction and compact size, while maintaining high torque capacity. In order to achieve these goals, the gear train and motor have been newly designed, and advanced technology has been applied. Moreover, this hybrid transmission achieves seamless acceleration and quiet performance. This paper describes the major features and performance of this transmission in detail.

A new experimental apparatus to visualize and measure the flow in the stator of a torque converter is proposed. A one-sided coaxial shaft constructed of an input shaft and an output shaft provides an open space inside the stator shaft for measurement. Through the window on the stator shaft, the flow in the stator can be directly observed. We also improved the laser sheet lighting method into the blade passage by using a mirror inside the blade. By visualizing the flow with the laser sheet lighting method, we found that the flow around the leading edge has different separation regions along the blade span. Furthermore, by using a laser doppler velocimeter, velocity vectors and turbulence intensities were measured in three stator blades of different thicknesses with the same camber line. The thickness of the stator blades affects the flow patterns.

This paper describes a simulation study of the internal fluid flow of a torque converter. The study was conducted by using the steady-interaction technique to connect the boundaries between neighboring elements. This technique averages the flow variables in the circumferential direction on the connecting boundary surfaces. A comparison of computational results with experimental data gives an estimate of the accuracy in predicting torque converter performance with this method.

The durability of an automatic transmission is greatly affected by its lubrication properties. However, it is difficult to estimate exactly the flow rate of lubricating oil at each part of the automatic transmission, because of its structural complexity under rotating conditions. This paper presents a simple model which can estimate the flow rate of lubricating oil in the automatic transmission. Using this method, we can obtain various information about the lubricating state at every part of the automatic transmission and can help our judgement of whether lubrication is sufficient. To test this model and its results, we tried some experiments and examined the lubricating state by measuring discharge rate of oil. The estimated data is in good agreement with the experimental data. This study should assist in the optimal design of the lubricating system in the automatic transmission.