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The development of new transmission designs continues to affect the vehicle market. Continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) remain one of the more recent designs that impact the vehicle market. A desire for high belt-pulley capacity has driven studies concentrating on metal-on-metal (M/M) friction as a function of the CVT fluid. This paper describes the statistical techniques used to optimize the fluid friction as a function of additive components in a bench-scale, three-element test rig.

Nylon is used as a material in the design of various components of automatic transmissions. Pump rotor guides and thrust washers are among components designed from nylon. Nylon must be compatible with automatic transmission fluid (ATF). An immersion test using nylon strips in various test fluids was developed. The nylon color change was independent of the physical properties (as measured by change of tensile force) of the material. Testing indicated that nylon color change is catalyzed by oxidation effects, and the change in tensile strength is related to thermal degradation. An automatic transmission fluid (ATF) containing calcium sulfonate detergent showed better oxidation resistance and caused less loss of tensile strength in nylon 6 (PA6).