TY - JOUR AB - Purpose This paper aims to investigate the thermal characteristics of the clutch hydraulic system under various oil flow conditions. Increasing the oil flow is one of the most important approaches to reduce the clutch temperature. However, the effect of the oil flow on the clutch temperature remains to be explored.Design/methodology/approach The thermal resistance network model and the lumped parameter method are used to study the thermal characteristics of the clutch hydraulic system. The predicted temperature variations of the clutch and the oil are compared with experimental data.Findings Results demonstrate that the larger the friction power is, the higher the temperatures of the clutch and the oil are. However, the temperature growth rates of the clutch and oil present different trends: the former decreases gradually and the latter increases constantly. Additionally, increasing the oil flow within a certain range gives rise to the decrease of clutch temperature and the increase of oil temperature; nevertheless, their variation trends are gradually weakening. When the oil flow is large enough, it brings a slight effect on the clutch temperature rise.Originality/value This paper extends the knowledge into the oil flow supply of the clutch hydraulic system. The conclusions can provide a theoretical guidance for the oil management of the transmission system. Additionally, the thermal resistance network model is also effective and efficient for other hydraulic equipment to predict the temperature variation. VL - 71 IS - 6 SN - 0036-8792 DO - 10.1108/ILT-07-2018-0256 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-07-2018-0256 AU - Ma Biao AU - Yu Liang AU - Chen Man AU - Li He Yan AU - Zheng Liang Jie PY - 2019 Y1 - 2019/01/01 TI - Numerical and experimental studies on the thermal characteristics of the clutch hydraulic system with provision for oil flow T2 - Industrial Lubrication and Tribology PB - Emerald Publishing Limited SP - 733 EP - 740 Y2 - 2021/03/06 ER -