Abstract
The propeller shaft of rear-wheel drive vehicle is an axis which transfers power from an engine to rear-wheel through differential gear box. It is currently made of two-Piece steel structure to avoid resonance. This structure has weight of more than 10kg by the property of the steel. Moreover to connect two-piece axis, additional components are needed such as center bracket, supporting bearing and one universal joint. When existing propeller shaft is alternated fiber epoxy composite material and aluminum hybrid shaft, propeller shaft can be manufactured in one piece structure because of its high vibration characteristics and lighter than existing steel propeller shaft. Additionally, it has advantage of reducing vibration and noise because one piece structure can eliminate connecting components in the center and be manufactured to a simple axis. In this study, research on adhesive strength in respect to roughness of aluminum surface was conducted to manufacture hybrid propeller shaft. Then one piece hybrid propeller shaft satisfying the performance standards of propeller shaft such as statistic torsion torque strength and first bending natural frequency was manufactured. And one piece structure hybrid shaft was manufactured and applied to specimen vehicle through the research on connecting method between aluminum yoke and hybrid shaft. This hybrid propeller shaft satisfied all performance standards of propeller shaft for automobile and reduced almost 40% of weight from existing two piece steel structure propeller shaft.
Keywords: Carbon fiber epoxy composite, Glass fiber epoxy composite, Hybrid Propeller shaft, Torsion torque, First bending natural frequency, light weight