Application of a Hydraulic Clutch to a Highway Maintenance Vehicle

In the past the fuel efficiency of many vehicles has been adversely affected by the unnecessary parasitic horsepower losses incurred by line driven hydraulic pumps when pump capacity is not required. This paper describes the application of an Ausco hydraulically actuated multiple disc clutch to the main system pump on a highway maintenance vehicle. The described clutch system was prototyped on an Iowa Department of Transportation road maintenance truck in the fall of 1980.

This paper outlines the basic system concept, hydraulic circuit for clutch actuation, design and procurement problems, preliminary fuel economy improvement and alternate clutch actuating concepts.