Dry clutches - Static response modeling

With the development of computing resources and the arrival on the market of ever more powerful computers, the design and validation of new products, or the development of older ones, has changed completely in recent years.

Increasing emphasis is being placed on numerical modeling of the physical phenomena that govern the operating behavior of systems or system components.

The reasons for this approach lie mainly in the desire of manufacturers to get it right first time. This implies complete mastery of the manufacturing process and knowledge of the behavior of the various parts in the kinematic or dynamic chain of the final system.

Therefore, before a new product is produced, all stages of the manufacturing process are simulated, from initial steps such as cutting or shaping, through to final production stages such as heat treatment or surface treatment. The resulting part, usually part of a more complex system, is then included in the kinematic chain of this system and tested under real-life stress conditions.

Depending on the result of the system calculation, it may be decided to change the part definition and repeat the calculation of the manufacturing process. In the end, the result of the calculation must give design engineers the certainty of meeting all the criteria imposed by the specifications.

The advantage of this approach is that, thanks to calculations, even if they may sometimes seem tedious, we can have a very accurate characterization of the functioning of the product being developed, even before the product exists. This shortens design and development times for the final product, which has a direct impact on development costs.

The clutch system is particularly concerned by this approach. The aim of this article is to calculate the static response of the diaphragm, cover and friction assembly. The diaphragm is in fact the most important component, so the first calculation to be carried out is that which defines it.

In the following article , we'll look at the response of the clutch mechanism.

The complete study of the subject includes the articles :

— BM 5 855 - Dry clutches. Static response modeling (this article) ;

—  - Dry clutches. Modeling dynamic response.