Design Optimization of the Rigid Drive Disc of Clutch Using Finite Element Method

A friction clutch is an essential component in the process of power transmission. Due to this importance, it's necessary to investigate the stresses and vibration characteristics of the rigid drive disc of clutch to avoid failure and obtain an optimal weight and cost. This work presents the numerical solution of computing the stresses and deformations during the steady-state period, as well as the vibration characteristics of the rigid drive disc of friction clutch. Furthermore, new models for rigid drive disc have been suggested. The response of the new suggested models have been compared to the classic model, the numerical results show that the stresses and vibration characteristics of rigid drive disc of clutch can be controlled by adjusting design parameters. They show as well that the suggested models improve the response of the friction clutch considerably. The ANSYS/WORKBENCH14 and SolidWorks 2012 have been used to perform the numerical calculation in this paper.