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Turbo transmissions are hydrodynamic, multi-stage drive assemblies designed for rail vehicles using internal combustion engines. The first turbo-transmission was developed in 1932 by Voith in Heidenheim, Germany. Since then, improvements to turbo-transmissions have paralleled similar advances in diesel motors and today this combination plays a leading role worldwide, second only to the use of electrical drives.
Turbo transmissions serve as a hydrodynamic link which converts a motor's mechanical energy into the kinetic energy of a fluid, via a torque-converter and fluid coupling, before producing the final rotary output. Here, the fluid is driven through rotor blade canals at high flow rates and low pressure. This is where turbo-transmissions differ from similar hydro-static transmissions, which operate using low flow rates, and high pressure according to the displacement principle.