Sensitivity Analysis on a Synchronization Mechanism for Manual Transmission Gearbox

This paper presents the dynamic and analysis models of a typical synchronizer, which are mainly used to analyze the sensitivity of parameters of synchronizer on the gear shift performance. Because there are so many parameters namely coefficient of friction, cone angle, mean radius, blocker angle, etc, affected the synchronizer performance, which the times of experience will increase in a geometrical ratio if tested them one by one, it is almost impossible to evaluate all parameters by experience alone. Due to virtual prototype technology, the synchronizer parameterized virtual models can be built for the synchronizer studies. The parameterized virtual models of the typical synchronizers are developed with ADAMS. Then the gear shift process is simulated and analyzed for the given input parameters respectively. The models also predict the shift time and the peak of the shift force, and the model is validated by the good correlation between simulation results and test data. Finally, this paper discusses the influence of the main parameters of synchronizer on the gear shift performance. The models can be used for the platform of the synchronizer studies, and the results of the analysis can also be used as a reference for the synchronizer design.