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To gain in-depth understandings of engaging characteristics, the purpose of this paper is to improve the model of wet clutches to predict the transmitted torque during the engagement process.

The model of wet clutch during the engagement process took main factors into account, such as the centrifugal effect of lubricant, permeability of friction material, slippage factor of lubricant on contact surface and roughness of contact surface. Reynolds’ equation was derived to describe the hydrodynamic lubrication characteristics of lubricant film between the friction plate and the separated plate, and an elastic-plastic model of the rough surfaces contact based on the finite element analysis was used to indicate the loading force and friction torque of the contact surface.

The dynamic characteristics of wet clutch engagement time, relative speed, hydrodynamic lubrication of lubricating oil, rough surface contact load capacity and transfer torque can be obtained by the wet clutch engagement model. And the influence of the groove shape and depth on the engaging characteristics is also analyzed.

The mathematical model of the wet clutch during the engagement process can be used to predict the engaging characteristics of the wet clutch which could be useful to the design of the wet clutch.

During the operation of a wet clutch, there are fluctuations in speed and torque, which have an impact on the stability of the clutch and the strength of the friction plate and the spline pair of the dual steel plate. The purpose of this study is to investigate the vibration characteristics of the wet clutch and the dynamic load characteristics of the spline pairs.

The spline pair model is established by the piecewise linear function method, and on this basis, dynamic equations considering the spline pair of dual steel plates and friction plates are established. Considering that the wet clutch has multiple spline pairs, an equivalent model of the number of teeth and the equivalent model of the tooth width were proposed, and the Runge-Kutta numerical method was used for the wet clutch for these two models.

The research results show that the equal tooth number model has greater meshing stiffness and smaller fluctuation than the constant tooth width model, which shows that increasing the meshing stiffness of the system is beneficial to reduce system fluctuation and improve system stability.

The friction plate has the system that multiple splines are independent of each other, which is relatively complicated. Therefore, an equivalent calculation is performed on multiple pairs of steel plates (friction plates) to simplify the calculation of the spline pairs.

This paper provides a theoretical basis for further dynamic characteristics analysis of wet clutch and reducing fluctuation of speed and torque.

Dynamic equation considering the spline pair of the dual steel plates and the friction plates is established to study the vibration characteristics of the wet clutch and the dynamic load characteristics of the spline pair, etc.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-03-2023-0078/

In armored vehicles integrated transmissions, residual life prediction based on oil spectrum data is crucial for condition monitoring and reliability assessment. This paper aims to use the advantages of real-time and accurate prediction of binary Wiener process, the residual life prediction of clutch is studied.

First, combined with the wet clutch life test, the indicator elements Cu and Pb and the failure threshold of the residual life prediction of the clutch are extracted through the oil replacement correction of the spectral data of the whole life cycle; second, the correlation characteristics of indicating elements are analyzed by MATLAB Copula function, then the correlation function of residual life will be derived; third, according to the inverse Gaussian principle, the performance degradation mathematical models of the unary and binary Wiener processes of the above two indicator elements are established; finally, the maximum likelihood estimation method is used to estimate the parameters, and the monadic and binary performance degradation mathematical models are used to predict the residual life of the tested clutch.

By comparing the prediction results with the test results, with the passage of time, 81.25% of the predicted value error of the residual life prediction method based on the binary Wiener process is controlled within 20%, while 56.25% of the predicted value error of the residual life prediction method based on the unitary Wiener process is controlled within 20%. At the same time, the prediction accuracy of the binary prediction model is 2%–16.7% higher than that of the unitary prediction model.

This paper studies the residual life prediction theory of wet clutch, which can develop the theory and method of comprehensive transmission health monitoring, and provide theoretical and technical support for the construction of a reliable health management system for high-speed tracked vehicles.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The purpose of this paper is to reduce the drag loss and study the effects of operating conditions and groove parameters such as flow rate and temperature of automatic transmission fluid, clearance between plates, groove depth and groove ratio on the drag torque of a wet clutch for vehicles, parametric analysis of the drag torque model of wet multi-plate friction clutch with groove consideration.

Both experimental and numerical research was carried out in this work. Parametric groove models, full film lubrication flow model and pressure distribution model are established to investigate the effects of the grooves on drag torque of a wet clutch. Multigrid method is used to simplify the solution.

In this paper, a drag torque model of a wet multi-plate friction clutch based on the basic theory of viscous fluid dynamics is examined through experimental and numerical methods that take grooves into account, and the change trend of drag torque with operating conditions and groove parameters is analyzed.

Multigrid method is used to solve the governing equations, which simplifies the solution process because of the restrictions and interpolation operations between the adjacent layers of coarser and fine grids. These works provide insight into the effect regularity of operating conditions and groove parameters on drag torque of a wet multi-plate friction clutch. Furthermore, variable test conditions and sufficient experimental data are the main functions in the experimental research.

This study aims to establish a friction coefficient model relative to the rotation speed of a wet clutch engagement, which can predict friction coefficient under different stages of slipping velocity and different load pressures. In particular, the model has been improved by accounting the speed effect for the perdition of wet friction-element boundary friction, which is significant for understanding the friction mechanisms and for supporting the development of more efficient and related products.

This research investigated the mechanism of wet friction in a wet clutch engagement. A mixed friction model is established based on the asperity model and Newton’s law of viscosity. To obtain a friction coefficient computed by the model, the normal load shared by both asperities and lubrication fluid needs to be determined. Therefore, rough surface contact mechanism is analysed; a surface topography model is established; and surface parameters are obtained by means of surface topography measurement and reconstruction. Finally, verification of the mixed friction model is achieved.

Friction will be generated by both the asperity contact and the lubrication film shear relative to the rotation speed. And, the higher the relative speed, the larger the shearing power of lubrication film. It is caused by decrease in contact area of asperity. Surface morphology of a sintered bronze friction disk was obtained by a Laser-Micro-Test. The predicted results by the established model show that the total friction coefficient slightly reduced and then increased suddenly with speed. The surface topography model is responsible for the nonlinear behaviour of the asperity friction. Results of the simulation model are in agreement with those of the wet clutch engagement experiments.

This research is original and it is supported by the national defence project. The wet friction element which is applied on tracked vehicles is analysed for the first time. Through the model, the trend of the friction coefficient can be more accurately predicted. The problem of the wet friction plate modelling difficult is solved by using the mixed friction model.

This paper aims to introduce the moment of inertia of the driving and driven end of the clutch into the analysis of the transient temperature field of a friction plate and studied the influencing factors on that, especially to a marine gearbox.

A three-dimensional transient heat transfer analysis model of a wet clutch friction plate used in a marine gearbox is developed, and the transient characteristics of the temperature field during engagement are analyzed with taking account of the influence factors such as the sliding friction coefficient, engaging revolving speed, moment of inertia and applied engagement pressure.

The paper found out that the hot spot appears on the surface of the friction plate, taking account of the effect of radial slots and spiral groove. To avoid damage to the friction plate as a result of overheating, the appropriate sliding friction coefficient, lower engaging revolving speed and reasonable selection of applied engagement pressure curve can ensure a favorable heating situation of the friction plate. The reasonable structural design for the clutch with a bigger moment of inertia of driving end and smaller moment of inertia of driven end can reduce the engaging time effectively and decrease the peak temperature of the friction plate.

This paper fulfils a method to study the transient temperature field of a wet clutch friction plate, especially used in a marine gearbox.

This paper aims to explore the effect of automatic transmission fluid (ATF) temperature on the dynamic friction-wear properties of the friction component in a wet multi-disc clutch during the running-in process.

The running-in evolution was explored in terms of global friction performance and instantaneous friction characteristics. The variation of friction torque of the initial 300 engagement cycles was obtained by wet-clutch tests. Finally, an optical microscope was used to detect the wear mechanism of friction surfaces.

The ATF temperature showed a significant effect on the friction-wear performance in the clutch running-in process. The mean coefficient of friction decreased with the increase of the ATF temperature and decreased rapidly in the approximately initial 60 clutch engagements. The higher the ATF temperature was, the thinner the ATF film was, and more asperity summits were cut, thus leading to a smoother surface. Considering the slightly instantaneous friction fluctuation and the wear performance, a proper ATF temperature is necessary.

The results provide theoretical guidance for selecting the optimal ATF temperature during the running-in process.

This paper aims to explore the influence of applied pressure on the tribological properties of the friction component in a wet multi-disc clutch during the running-in process.

The running-in evolutionary was explored in terms of global friction performance. The variation of friction torque and mean COF of the initial 300 engagement cycles was obtained by full-scale tests. Finally, an optical microscope was used to detect the wear characteristics of friction surfaces.

The applied pressure showed a significant influence on the tribological behaviors of wet clutches during the running-in process. The mean COF decreased and then increases with the increase of the applied pressure. A higher applied pressure contributed to more asperity summits being sheared, thus resulting in a smoother surface. Considering a suitable wore performance, properly applied pressure is necessary.

The results provide theoretical guidance for selecting the optimal applied pressure in the running-in of wet clutches.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-08-2022-0256/

This paper aims to study and compare the friction stability of wet paper-based clutches with regard to the radial grooves (RG) and waffle grooves (WG).

This paper presents an experimental study of a wet clutch concerning the effect of groove patterns on the friction torque and surface temperature. The friction stabilities of RG and WG are investigated with the applied pressure, rotating speed and automatic transmission fluid (ATF) temperature taken into consideration.

The friction torque and surface temperature of WG are larger than those of RG under the same operating condition. The friction torque difference between RG and WG grows with the increase of applied pressure and narrows with the increase of ATF temperature. Additionally, their temperature difference expands via increasing the rotating speed and ATF temperature or reducing the applied pressure; in this way, not only the variable coefficient difference between RG and WG can be narrowed, but also the friction stability of the clutch can be improved dramatically.

This paper explains the thermodynamic differences between RG and WG; moreover, it is verified experimentally that WG has a better friction stability than RG.