Development of an innovative cooling system at the countershaft assembly station
In automotive component manufacturing, temperature gradients are typical at workstations, especially in summer, affecting production processes. Interruptions in production lines are unacceptable, as constant flow is crucial to avoid financial losses. This issue is evident at the assembly station...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The Serbian Academic Center
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Applied Engineering Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://aeletters.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/AEL00407.pdf |
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| Summary: | In automotive component manufacturing, temperature gradients are
typical at workstations, especially in summer, affecting production
processes. Interruptions in production lines are unacceptable, as constant
flow is crucial to avoid financial losses. This issue is evident at the assembly
station for the countershaft of truck transmissions, which can reach 181.7°C
after welding. During summer, downtimes increase due to inadequate
cooling process, as indicated by 235 minutes of downtime in May,
coinciding with rising temperatures and increased demand in September,
highlighting the need for an effective cooling system. This research
proposes a novel design to homogenize cooling times for the countershaft.
The cooling cabin was designed to fit the shaft dimensions, with air inlets
strategically positioned based on assembly geometry, focusing on the
hottest area. Numerical simulations using the finite element method
integrated a turbulence model to analyze airflow at the cabin’s inlet and
outlet. The goal was to reduce the shaft temperature from 181.7°C to an
ambient range of 28°C to 34°C, minimizing cooling time and reducing
downtime. Results showed a successful reduction, achieving 26.9°C. |
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| ISSN: | 2466-4677 2466-4847 |