FUEL CONSUMPTION AND EMISSION REDUCTION BY DE-LINKING

ALTERNATOR IN AUTOMOBILES
Anjan N B #1, Abhishek A Patil #2
Department of Mechanical Engineering
The National Institute of Engineering
Manandavady Road 560008 Karnataka
1
anjan.nagaiah@gmail.com
2
abhi.ap4@gmail.com

Abstract The present technology in the

the front of the engine and are driven by the

automobile industry is to reduce fuel consumption

crankshaft.

and emission. This is affected by different types of

through electromagnetism.

loads acting on the engine. Charging the battery of

channelled into the battery, providing voltage to

an automobile using alternator is also a load on

run the various electrical systems. For the most

the engine. Delinking the alternator from the

part,

engine will cut down fuel consumption and

lightweight. Roughly the size of a coconut, the

emission. In this project, an effort has been made

alternators found in most passenger cars and light

to design a cone clutch assembly to disengage the

trucks are constructed using an aluminum outer

drive of an alternator. It disengages the drive

housing, as the lightweight metal does not

when battery gets fully charged and engages

magnetize. This is important since aluminum

automatically when it reaches the threshold

dissipates the tremendous heat generated by

voltage using a pneumatic circuit. The source for

producing the electrical power and since the rotor

the pneumatic circuit is the Automobile Air

assembly produces a magnetic field. A drive

Braking System. The circuit is controlled by the

pulley is attached to the rotor shaft on the front of

ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

the alternator. When the engine is running, the

Keywords

Threshold

Voltage,

Charging

Battery,

Pneumatic

Alternator,

Circuit,

Air

Braking System, ECU (Electronic Control Unit)

Alternators

alternators

are

produce

AC

Electricity

relatively

small

power
is

and

crankshaft turns the drive belt, which in turn spins

the pulley on the rotor shaft. In essence, the
alternator transfers the mechanical energy from
the engine into electrical power for the car's

I.

INTRODUCTION

accessories.The graph1 shows that the maximum

An automotive charging system is made up of

efficiency of the alternator is around 55% at

three major components: the battery, the voltage

1400rpm, in rest of the speeds it is around 43%.

regulator and an alternator. The alternator works

Due to such low efficiency some of the engine

with the battery to generate power for the

power is lost. This power and fuel consumption

electrical components of a vehicle, like the interior

can be drastically made low by delinking the

and exterior lights, and the instrument panel. An

alternator from engine. Graph-2 shows various

alternator gets its name from the term alternating

losses in the alternator.

current (AC).Alternators are typically found near

Disadvantages:
1

Efficiency of alternator at different speeds

1. There is a tendency to grab.

2. There is some reluctance in disengagement.
Strict requirements made to the co-axiality of the
shafts being connected Torque transmitted by the
cone clutch:Let

Different losses in the alternator

Di = Inner diameter of cone

Ri = inner radius of cone
Do = Outer diameter of cone
Ro =Outer radius of cone
Rm = mean radius of cone
Dm = mean diameter of cone

= Semi cone angle or pitch cone angle or face

angle, P = Intensity of normal pressure at contact
II.
Design of Cone Clutch
A simple form of a cone clutch is shown in fig. it

surface, = Coefficient of friction,

consists of driver or cup and the follower or cone.

The cup is keyed to the driving shaft by a sunk
key and has an inside conical surface or face
which exactly fits the outside conical surface of
the cone. The slope of the cone face is made small
enough to give a high normal force. The cone is
fitted to the driven shaft by a feather key. The
follower may be shifted along the shaft by a
forked shifting lever in order to engage the clutch
by bringing the two conical surfaces in contact.
Advantages and disadvantages of cone clutch:
Advantages:
1. This clutch is simple in design.
2. Less axial force is required to engage the
clutch.

Figure 1: Cone Clutch

Fa = Axial force
Fa

Fn = Normal force = sin ()

Consider an elemental ring of radius r and

T=

thickness dr as shown in the figure

2 Fa

3 sin
()

(Ro 2Ri 2)

(Ro3 Ri3)/( (Ro2

Ri2 )

The sloping length = sin ()

T =

p2

component

of

the

above

3 (Do3 Di3)/( Do2 Di2) =

Dm --------------------(4)

2 sin
()

Normal force on the ring = P2 sin ()

2sin
()

Fa

Area of elementary ring = 2

Axial

2 Fa

Axial Force Fa = P (Do2 - Di2) ------------------(5)

force

Uniform wear: For uniform wear condition Pr = C

Constant

sin () = 2 pr dr

sin
()

Total axial force Fa=

Equation (1) become

2 pr dr

Fa =

2Pr =

Frictional force outer ring = P2 sin ()

Fa = 2 c( Ro Ri) or

Moment of friction force about the axial=

C=

2 ( Ro Ri)

P2 sin ()r

= P2

Equation (2) become

sin
()

T=
Total torque =

P2 2 sin ()
T=

2
sin

2 2 =

= (Ro2 Ri2)/2

Uniform pressure theory: p constant

Substitute for C
Equation (1) becomes
2

Fa = p (Ro -Ri )
P=

(Ro 2Ri 2)

--------- Equation (3)

sin
()
2 P

2 P

P2 2 sin () ( Ro2

Ri2 ) =

T = sin () =

Substitutes the value of P from equation --------(3)

2 P

( + )
2

2
+
2

If the clutch is engaged when one member is

stationary and other rotating, then the cone faces
will tend to slide on each other in the direction of

(Ro3 Ri3)
3sin
()

T = sin () = 3

=2

Where Dm = Mean diameter, Dm =

Equation 2 becomes
T =

T = (Ro2 Ri2)2 ( )

(Ro 2Ri 2)

(Ro3 Ri3)

an element of the cone. This will resist the

engagement and then force
Axial load Fai = Fa (Sin+ cos )
Force width

b=

Outer diameter
Inner diameter

Do = Dm + b Sin
Di = Dm - b Sin

Friction material used in the design is woven

asbestos and its co-efficient of friction is in
between 0.1-0.2.
Efficiency of alternator at 6000rpm = 0.453
Power required to drive the alternator =
Power generated by the alternator
efficiency of the alternator

Therefore, maximum power required to drive the

alternator =

1562

Figure 2 : Assembly of Cone Clutch in Solid

works

0.45

= 3719W
So, clutch is to be designed based on maximum

III.

Design of Pneumatic Circuit to

Actuate Cone Clutch

power to drive alternator. The table below gives

the dimensions of the cone clutch.

Once the alternator drive is isolated from the

Design Details

engine, the process of charging the battery stops.

In order to charge the battery, the isolated system

Larger Diameter D1 (in mm)

99.235

Smaller Diameter D2 (in mm)

90

has to couple with the engine shaft. This makes

the alternator pulley to rotate, thereby charging the
battery. To accomplish this, a Single acting

Face Width b (in mm)

15.77

Mean Diameter Dm (in mm)

94.6175

Semi Cone Angle (in

degree)

13

pneumatic cylinder with spring return is used.

This actuates the Cone clutch. The control of the

actuation is done by the ECU (Electronic Control

Unit) of the automobile. The air source for the
pneumatic actuation is from automobile air

Pressure P ( in N/mm )

0.45

Axial Force Fa ( in N)

474.51

Torque T ( in Nmm)

9979

braking system. The design of the circuit is based

on the pneumatic pressure available from the Air
Braking System of an Automobile. The available
pneumatic pressure in a typical automobile is
around 80 psi. Hence this is assumed as the source
for designing the entire system.

Table 1: Design details of Cone Clutch

Estimation of Load:
From Design of the Cone Clutch, the force
required to engage the clutch was found to be Fen
= 776N

Load acting on the cylinder is found to be = Fa +

from the engine. Later when the battery voltage

Fo(axial movement) ; Distance to be moved to

drops down to 7.5 Volts, the circuit engages the

disengage the clutch = 5mm

alternator with the engine, thereby charging the

Load to be carried by cylinder = 830.24 +

battery. This cycle continues. The circuit is

(30.4795) = 982.642N

controlled by the signal sent from ECU. The

positive voltage at port S actuates the left mode of
the DCV. This results in the extension of the

Pressure Available: 80psi (0.55158Mpa)

piston, thereby disengaging the clutch. The

Bore area of cylinder should be = Ac = F/P

negative voltage at Port S results in the retraction

=982.642/0.55158 = 1781.50 mm2.

of the cylinder, thereby engaging the clutch. The

magnitude of the signal is controlled by the signal

Diameter of the cylinder = dc =

=

Ac

generator, which is responsible for the spool

movement in the DCV.

1781.50 = 47.62 mm

Sl.NO

Parameter

Value in mm

Diameter of blank end

47.62

of cylinder
2

Stroke

5-10

Table 2: Details of Single acting Cylinder

The nearest value which meets the requirement is

Figure 3: Pneumatic Circuit

50mm bore diameter and 10 mm stroke length and

hence it is selected.
IV.
Pneumatic Circuit
The cone clutch is actuated by the pneumatic
circuit. This circuit either engages the clutch with
the engine or disengages with the engine
crankshaft. The circuit is controlled by the ECU.
The clutch remains in engaged position when the

Results and Discussion

Alternator is a low efficiency machine. Its
efficiency varies between 0.43 to 0.55. Therefore,
it consumes a lot of energy. Once the battery is
charged there is no necessity to run the alternator.
This is evident from the graph shown below4

battery is to be charged. Once the battery is

charged fully, the circuit disengages the alternator
from the engine.
The isolation of the alternator depends on the
battery voltage. Normally the battery is charged at
constant voltage of 14.2 Volts. Once the battery
attains this voltage, the battery becomes saturated.
At this point the circuit disengages the alternator

Graph4 : Power savings at different speeds

When we disengage the drive of the alternator the

save at full load condition is around 3.5kW and
around 1kW at idling.
Average Specific Fuel Consumption of car
(average rated power 25kW) is around 185g/BHP
= 250g/kW-hr. Quantity of fuel saved under
different hours of disengagement are tabulated
below. (Assuming that alternator consumes
2.5KW in car)

Acknowledgements
The authors thank NIE for the continuous support
and encouragement.
References
Text Books:
1. Kamlesh purohit, C. S. sharma, Design of
Machine Elements, New Delhi: PrenticeHall of India, 2003.
2. Peter Croser, Frank Ebel, Pneumatics,
Edition 2002
Data Hand Books:
1. K. Mahadevan, K. Balaveera Reddy,
Design Data Handbook for Mechanical

Table 3: Savings of fuel in grams

And for truck of average rated power 60kW,
quantity of fuel saved under different hours of disengagement of the alternator are given as follows
(Assuming alternator consumes 3.5KW in a truck)

Table 4: Savings of fuel in grams

Quantity of fuel saved = reduction in EMISSION

Engineers,4th Edition 2013