Modeling and dynamic simulation of a virtual prototype for applying automobile differential into hybrid electric vehicle as power-slit device

The Toyota Prius is the bestselling hybrid vehicle on current market. The power split device (PSD) in the Toyota Hybrid System (THS) is the key component in Prius. And the differential is the essential component in automobile drive axel. The PSD in hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and the automobile differential both belong to planetary-gear system, although they have different mechanisms. In theory, it is feasible to apply automobile differential as the PSD in HEV. However, in the study of this new concept, it is found that under the PSD working conditions the inner friction of the differential acts in a longer time, and it causes the differential shaft failure. In this paper, for redesigning the differential mechanism to reduce its inner friction, the dynamic characteristic of automobile differential with inner friction was analyzed in detail. And to assess the effect of reducing friction after redesigning, a virtual prototype of the differential was modeled in ADAMS, and verified by the experiment data.