System dynamic modelling and simulation of hydrodynamic machines

A graph-theoretic framework for the dynamic simulation of hydrodynamic (both axial and radial flow) machines is presented in this article. The physics based analytical models are developed by considering the dynamics of the hydraulic fluid flow and its interaction with the mechanical components. A linear graph is used to capture the topology of the system and the interconnection of the constituent components. Using the graph-theoretic framework, a dynamic model of an automotive hydrodynamic torque converter is developed to simulate its behaviour under different flow conditions. The ability of the model to capture different features of the torque converter will also be demonstrated by simulation. The simulation results are compared with and validated by experimental results in the literature.