International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics

Volume 119 No. 12 2018, 14593-14598

ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version)
url: http://www.ijpam.eu
Special Issue
ijpam.eu

Design modification for optimization of load capacity of the

centrifugal clutch
J.Krishnan 1, a, R.K.Rakeshb, C.P Harisekarc, M.Gowthamd, A.Ramani Raj e
a,b,c,d,e
Velammal Institute of Technology, Chennai – Kolkata Highway, Panchetti Post - 601204, T.N., India.
clutches. Hydraulic clutch has a reservoir containing
hydraulic fluid, and when you push down on the
Abstract clutch pedal, the fluid becomes pressurized. It works
along with the actuation element to disengage the
In this paper optimization of the centrifugal
gear you’re in, and engage the new gear.
clutch is done by modifying the design. The improvement
of load capacity of the centrifugal clutch is substantiated Example: Fluid coupling and torque converter.
using the analysis software, Ansys. Initially the three
dimensional model was done by the modeling software,
Positive clutch
PTC Creo, and it is exported to the analysis software for
Positive clutch is further classified into teeth
further analysis. Stress and displacement values are
obtained from the analysis software and interpretation of and jaw clutches. As it deals with actuation between
the obtained data is done. The modified design increases teeth and jaws, smooth engagement cannot be
the area of contact and the force exerted during power expected. It works on a simple mechanism with fewer
transmission in the engaged position, and thus optimizes components and due to the absence of friction there is
the load capacity of the clutch. no problem of heat generation.

Introduction Friction clutches

Friction clutches works on the principle of

Clutch is a device which is used to transmit
power from prime mover to gear box, thus serving
the purpose of a transmission system. Timely
engagement and disengagement has to be done, in
case of automobiles, so that the rider has the
complete control of motion of the vehicle.Design of
the clutch should be based on several factors like
torque transmitted, heat generated, vibration
damping, balancing of masses, self-load and size.
Types of clutches
1. Friction clutch
2. Fluid flywheel or Hydraulic clutch
3. Positive clutch
Hydraulic clutch
Hydraulic clutch works on transfer of energy
from one rotor to the other by means of some fluid.
By pressing the clutch pedal actuation of clutch
assembly is done. Hydraulic clutch assembly has
fewer components when compared to other types of
friction force between two surfaces rotating relative
to each other. Friction force is generated when the
driving member comes in contact with the driven
member. It provides smooth engagement between the
driving and driven members. Slip occurs when the
load attached exceeds the load capacity of the
clutch.Contact surfaces should develop a frictional
force which is capable of picking and holding up the
load with reasonably low pressure between contact
surfaces. Generated heat should be dissipated as soon
as possible, the material shouldn’t hold large amount
of heat and it should have high value of thermal
diffusivity. Friction lining should be made of
compressible material to have uniform pressure
distribution.
 Types of friction clutches
1. Cone clutch
2. Single plate clutch
3. Multi-plate cutch
4. Semi-centrifugal clutch
5. Centrifugal clutch

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Centrifugal clutch
Centrifugal clutches contain flyweights
whose outer surfaces are covered with the friction
lining. There are various types of centrifugal clutch,
of which the connected shoe type dominates the
discussion made in this paper.
Figure 1Connected shoe centrifugal clutch
The inward force created by the spring
opposes the expansion of the flyweight, due to the
centrifugal force. The magnitude of this centrifugal
force depends upon the speed at which the shoe is
revolving, mass of the shoe and the diameter of the
clutch. When the generated centrifugal force and the
opposing spring force become equal, then the
flyweights remain in floating condition. As the speed
of rotation increases the generated centrifugal force
dominates over the opposing spring force, and then
the friction lining gets contacted with the clutch bell.
The clutch bell is the outermost part of the assembly,
which is represented by the shaded lines in the above
figure. The force with which the shoe presses against
the driven member is the difference of the centrifugal
force and the spring force. The increase in speed
causes the shoe to press harder and enables more
torque to be transmitted. Further increase in speed
causes the shoe to press harder and enables more
torque to be transmitted. Centrifugal clutches with
conventional design find applications in small
automobiles like scooters and not for heavy
commercial vehicles.
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Modified design
The clutch bell of the conventional design is
like a hollow circular shell, but the modification is
made in order to improve itsperformance. Smooth
circular inclinations are provided in the inner side of
the bell and the number of inclinations produced
isequal to the number of the flyweights used in the
assembly. Modified design of the assembly with
three flyweights is shown below
Figure 2 Modified design
The above design is exaggerated toprovide a
clear view. The opposing spring force gets reduced
due to the decreasing inner radius of the bell for each
circular inclining section. Therefore the moment
acting about the shoe pivot will increase when
compared to the conventional design and for the
same engaging speed. The moment produced about
the shoe pivot, by the above design experiences 20%
increase, when compared with the conventional
model.
Finite element analysis using Ansys
Finite element analysis is a numerical
approach commonly used to predict the solution of
complex engineering problems. The software used
for the finite element analysis of our design is Ansys
International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics
workbench. It is a comprehensive finite element
package, which does different types of analysis like
structural, thermal, kinematics, dynamics, vibration,
fluid flow and many more. The initial step for
analysis is to create a model of the body that has to
be analysed. The model can be created in any
modeling software and it has to be imported to an
analysis software to carry out the FEA. The model
has to be converted into a STEP file, before
importing it to Ansys workbench.The mathematical
model of the physical object is generated by
governing equations and few prior assumptions. As
FEA is a numerical approach, the accuracy of results
can be improved, by redefining the model
parameters.
The three stages involved in solving any physical
problem are
 Preprocessing
 Processing
 postprocessing
Preprocessing
In this stage the problem is defined by the
finite element model. The initial step is to design the
model and then defining the meshing controls like
element shape, size and many more. The next step is
discretization.The discretized view of the old and the
proposed models are shown below
Figure 3 Meshed view of conventional model
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Figure 4 Meshed view of the modified model
Discretization involves in the process of
dividing the whole model into smaller parts of
definite shape, for the purpose of representing
complex domains as collection of simple
domains.Flange was suppressed to obtain a clear
view of the model. Critical portions of the model
should be remeshed with advanced meshing options.
Approximation functions derived from interpolation
theory are used over each element to define the finite
element model. The next step is to do material
selection. Structural steel is selected as the material
of the model of the clutch assembly. Structural steel
is selected as the material in both the cases. And the
properties generated by the Ansys software is listed
below
Density 7.85e-009 tonne mm-3
Coefficient of Thermal 1.2e-005 C-1
Expansion
Specific Heat 4.34e+008 mJ tonne-1 C-1
Thermal Conductivity 6.05e-002 W mm-1 C-1
Resistivity 1.7e-004 ohm mm
Processing
Static analysis of a single flyweight in the
engaged position was done, by applying moment
about the point the she pivot. Due to symmetry, same
results can also be expected from the other two
flyweights. Moment of about 275 N.mis applied
about the shoe pivot and the stress and deformation
values are obtained from the Ansys structural
analysis.
The moment created in the modified model
about the shoe pivot, is expected to be around 340
N.m because, due to the reduction in the opposing
spring force, the moment created about the axis of the
International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics
shoe pivot is expected to experience 20% increase
than the existing conventional model.
Figure 5 loaded condition of the conventinal model
Figure 6Loaded condition of the modified model
The applied moment increases the contact
force between the friction lining and the clutch bell.
And the stress generated over the region helps to
interpret about its uniform nature of distribution. The
stresses acting in various regions of the flyweight are
differentiated by the different color coding generated
by Ansys, depending upon the intensity of the
stresses generated. Accompanied with stress analysis,
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deformation readings are also obtained from the
Ansys software.
Post processing
Evaluation of results is done in the post
processing, and it is the final step involved in finite
element analysis of a model.
Figure 7 Stress distribution in the conventional model
Figure 8Stress distribution in the modified model
From the results obtained it can be noted
that the contact force exerted by the modified design
is higher than the conventional one. This can be
proved by looking the stress distribution in the
flyweight from the above two designs.
Similarly images of the deformation are
obtained from the Ansys analysis results. They are
International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics
presented below and discussions regarding
deformation of the two designs are done.
Figure 9 Deformation in the conventional model
Figure 10Deformation in the modified model
Deformation produced in the modified one
is higher, confirming the involvement of increased
stresses. Presence of intensified colours indicate the
high stress conditions.
Comclusion
As the contact force and the unifromity of
the contact stress increases, the generated friction
force also increases simulataneously. Therefore it
helps to transfer high torque at low speeds of rotation
and thus increases the load capacity of te clutch
assembly.
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References
[1] RavikiranMohan Tate, S.H. Sarje. A Review on
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International Journal for Scientific Research &
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[2] Gowtham Modepalli, Clutch assembly modeling
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Issue-11, Nov.-2015
[3]Nitinchandra R. Patel, SanketkumarDalwadi,
Vijay Thakor, Manish Bamaniya. Design of
centrifugal clutch by alternative approaches used in
different applications. International Journal of
Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and
Technology. Vol. 1, Issue IV, April 2013
[4] Murali S. Modeling and Prototyping of Automatic
Clutch System for Light Vehicles.International
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Research
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[6] R.S. Khurmi, J.K. Gupta (2005). Theory of
machines.S. Chand
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