Automotive Powertrain Science and Technology

A motor vehicle’s powertrain consists of the components which generate power and enable it to move – its engine, exhaust system, transmission, drive shaft, suspension and wheels. Any automotive engineering student going beyond basic mechanics will need a sound knowledge of the mathematics and scientific principles, particularly calculus and algebra, which underpin powertrain technology. This textbook supports a series of courses, for instance BTEC unit 28 “Further Mathematics for Engineering Technicians”, which is a requisite for a foundation degree in automotive engineering, and BTEC higher unit 25 “Engine and Vehicle Design and Performance”, without giving full coverage of automotive technology. It is a more focused companion to the author’s Automotive Science and Mathematics 978-0-7506-8522-1, also published by Routledge.

Allan Bonnick, CEng MIMechE, trained and worked as an automotive technician before eventually becoming a principal lecturer and head of MV studies at Eastbourne College of Technology and Art. After retirement he joined the Technical Committee of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers, during which time he received the Mackenzie Junner Award for his work on electronically controlled systems on commercial vehicles.