ANALYSIS OF AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION USING FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED (FTIR) SPECTROCOPY

Automatic Transmission (AT) system is efficient in the aspects of vehicle safety, comfort, reliability and driving performance. The objectives of this paper are to collect the oil samples from AT systems of engine bus according to manufacturer's recommendations and analyse collected oil samples using oil analysis technique. The sample transmission fluid which was taken from the AT gearbox has been experimentally analyzed. The oil samples were taken with an interval of 5,000km, 30,000km, 50,000km, 80,000km, 180,000km and 300,000km for AT bus operation. These samples then have been analyzed by comparing between new and used transmission fluid using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Oil analysis by FTIR is a form of Predictive Maintenance (PdM) to avoid major failure in machine elements. Most machine elements are not easily accessible in the transmission system. Having a reliable technique would avoid the needs to open the components unnecessarily, hence, help to prevent catastrophic failure which are very costly, and ease of regular monitoring. In order to identify the major failures of automatic gearbox, forecasts can be made regarding the lube transmission fluid analysis test. By using this test, the minor problems can be determined before they become major failures. At the end of this research, the wear particles profile for interval mileage of AT system was obtained. Keywords: Wear, Automatic Transmission (AT), Transmission fluid, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Oil analysis.