Static Pressure Measurement in a Torque Converter Stater

The objective of this paper is to experimentally investigate the static pressure field in a torque converter stator. Static pressure is the most reliable and useful quantity to measure since it is based on good fundamental physics and the experimental procedure is simple. Although the automotive torque converter is one of the most complicated turbomachines, static pressure measurement in this device has not been reported in the literature.

Static pressure measurements were made in a stator blade passage. The measurements were taken at 72 locations under several operating conditions. Results show that: 1) the stator pressure field is three-dimensional throughout the whole range of speed ratio conditions, 2) the pressure distribution is poor at the blade tip section, 3) the well-known one-dimensional performance model can not accurately predict the radial distribution of torque from hub to tip, and 4) a two-dimensional inviscid flow model can reasonably predict the static pressure field at the mean radial section.