Engagement Characteristics of Wet-Type Clutches

THIS PAPER presents a mathematical analysis of clutch engagement under certain idealized conditions and the related experimental work. The analysis is divided into several cases concerning pure inertia load acceleration and inertia load with a superimposed “work” torque load.

The author also discusses the “wear in” process which occurs in some clutch materials, such as phosphor bronze mated to steel plates; the effect of grooving; and the static coefficient of friction.