Purpose The lubrication of the high-speed reducer of an electric vehicle is investigated. The specific contents include visualization of the flow field inside reducer, lubrication evaluation of bearings and efficiency experiment. Design/methodology/approach The flow field inside reducer at five working conditions: straight, uphill, downhill, left lean and right lean is simulated by smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). According to the instantaneous number of particles through bearings, the lubrication states of bearings are evaluated. The test platform is set up to measure the efficiency of the reducer. Findings The flow field inside the reducer is obtained, the lubrication of bearings needs to be improved, the efficiency of the electric vehicle reducer meets the requirement. Originality/value The SPH method is used to simulate lubrication instead of using the traditional grid-based finite volume method. A novel method to evaluate the lubrication of bearings is proposed. The method and conclusions can guide electric vehicle reducer design.

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Theoretical calculation and numerical simulation are used to investigate the lubricating oil demand of spur gears. In accordance with the function of lubricating oil during the meshing process, oil demand is regarded as the superposition of oil for lubrication and cooling. Oil for lubrication is calculated in accordance with meshing and elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) theories. Oil for cooling is obtained from friction heat. The influence of different meshing positions on lubricating oil demand is analysed, and the effects of modulus, tooth number, transmission ratio, input speed and input torque on lubricating oil demand is investigated using a control variate method. Simulation results indicated that oil for lubrication and oil for cooling have two maxima each during a meshing circle. The influences of different gear parameters and working conditions on lubricating oil demand are compared. The results showed that the oil volume for lubrication increases and oil volume for cooling decreases as the modulus, tooth number and transmission ratio of the gear increase, the oil volume for lubrication and oil volume for cooling increases as the input speed and input torque increase.