The weight comparison between
composite and steel drive shafts
The entire vehicle drive shaft consists of
several rotating masses. About 17-22% of the
power generated by the engine was wasted
due to rotating mass of power train system.
Power was lost because a lot of energy was
needed to rotate/ move heavy parts. This
energy loss could be reduced by decreasing
the amount of rotating mass. In figure 9, a mass
comparison between steel and composite drive
shafts has been done. The substitution of
composite shaft has resulted in considerable
weight reduction about 72% compared to
conventional steel shaft. Due to an excessive
weight reduction the geometry would become
slender which would lead to a large deflection.