The drivetrain of the car has mainly gone unchanged since its inception. A motor sends energy to a transmission (in inside combustion engine functions) or discount gears (in electrical motor functions). That energy is then despatched via fixed velocity (CV) joints and a drive shaft to energy the wheels.
Hyundai desires to achieve extra inside area in EV functions by eliminating the CV joints, shortening the drive shafts, and with the ability to make the motors smaller and positioned immediately at every nook of the car. They plan to do that with the Uni Wheel.
Hyundai Uni Wheel
The Common Wheel Drive System (Uni Wheel) simply debuted at Uni Wheel Tech Day in Seoul, South Korea.
Uni Wheel strikes an EV’s discount gears contained in the vacant area contained in the wheel hub. This, mixed with having small electrical drive motors positioned simply inside every wheel, permits for very diminished drive shaft lengths and no want for CV joints on the drive shaft.
This video explains it higher than I ever might.
In Hyundai’s phrases: “Uni Wheel makes use of a particular planetary gear configuration consisting of a solar gear within the heart, 4 pinion gears on both sides, and a hoop gear surrounding this association. Energy generated by the motor is transmitted to the solar gear, which in flip engages the pinion gears to rotate the ring gear. That is related to the wheel to drive the car.”
All of this has been carried out particularly to unlock area for individuals and cargo in EVs. Different advantages Hyundai that touts are a larger driving vary, the flexibility to make use of smaller electrical motors, and due to the Uni Wheel’s excessive discount ratio, it will possibly ship a “important torque output.”
Wheel Articulation With out CVs
The pinion gears within the Uni Wheel design are related to kind two linkages. This multi-link mechanism permits the wheel to articulate on its suspension, with out using CV joints.
This setup ought to present higher sturdiness and effectivity. In conventional drive programs, the CV joint angle modifications because the tire goes over bumpy terrain. The extra extreme the CV angle, the much less environment friendly it’s at transmitting energy and the extra inclined it’s to failure. Hyundai says that the “Uni Wheel can transmit energy with nearly no change to effectivity no matter wheel motion.”
Potential Points
The one actual crimson flags I see with this design are the restricted wheel journey that it’s going to enable and the rise in sprung mass. The restricted wheel journey will exclude this tech from engaged on off-road autos. The heavier sprung mass signifies that the shocks/dampers will probably be required to do extra work and can overheat quicker.
Cooling of this mechanism contained in the wheel hub may very well be a problem as effectively. And, the entire setup might require extra upkeep than the tried and true drivetrain used throughout the board at present.
Hyundai Uni Wheel in Manufacturing Purposes
No timeline was given as to once we may see this new Uni Wheel tech on manufacturing merchandise, nevertheless it has far-reaching functions. Hyundai and Kia have registered eight patents associated to the Uni Wheel in South Korea, Europe, and the U.S.
The 2 firms, that are carefully working collectively on all types of latest tech, say they’re “repeatedly verifying the steadiness, effectivity, and sturdiness of Uni Wheel via varied assessments to excellent its improvement and can proceed efforts to enhance its effectivity by adjusting the discount gear ratio, and upgrading the lubrication and cooling system.”
