Automobiles are commonly can be seen in our daily life. With the development of the economy and the improvement of people’s quality of life, more and more people choose to buy cars for their own usage. Therefore, automobile plays a more and more important role in our society.
There is no doubt that automobiles consist of complex subsystems that work together to provide efficient and reliable transportation. Many different parts have different functions and performance. Some of them are quite familiar to us.
Among all the auto parts, engine is the most important. Its right performance leads to the good condition of the automobiles. It can run on wide variety of fuels such as gasoline, diesel fuel, and ethanol and so on. But do you know how does it work? It takes air from the intake tract and fuel from the carburetor or fuel injectors and compresses it inside the cylinder. Then the spark plugs fire, igniting the air/fuel mixture and forcing the piston down in the cylinder, which turns the crankshaft.
In addition to the engine, the drive axle is also a necessary part as to the whole car. It cooperates well with the transmission to achieve the effects. Generally, the drive axle takes the power from the transmission and channels it to the tires, which in turn propel the vehicle. And the transmission can take the power generated by the engine at the crankshaft and relays it to the drive axle. These parts work together to drive cars.
As to the transmission, it can be further divided into manual or automatic models. The former type is one in which the driver selects gears through the use of a shift lever and clutch pedal in the passenger compartment. While the latter one can shift through forward gears by itself, and the driver only needs to select between drive (forward) and reverse. Obviously, it is more convenient when compared to the former one. Thus, the automatic models are more and more popular among people in recent years.
The parts mentioned above are mainly used to push the automobile forward. However, what part do you need if you want to stop it? The answer is the brake system. It uses the power of hydraulic fluid to transfer the force the driver applies to the brake pedal to a clamping force that slows the vehicle. Then the brake pedal is attached to a master cylinder that pumps brake fluid through steel and rubber lines to each wheel. At each wheel, the caliper forces brake pads to clamp down on the rotor, a large steel disc that is attached to the wheel. This causes the vehicle to slow down.