Effects of structural parameters of oil groove on transmission characteristics of hydro-viscous clutch based on viscosity-temperature property of oil film

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of structural parameters of oil groove (such as central angle number, depth and so on) on pressure, flow, load capacity and transmitted torque between friction pairs of hydro-viscous clutch. Design/methodology/approach According to the working process of friction pairs of hydro-viscous clutch, mathematical models of hydrodynamic load capacity and torque transmitted by the oil film were built based on viscosity-temperature property. Then analytical solutions of pressure, flow, load capacity and transmitted torque were obtained; effects of central angle of oil groove zone and friction contact zone, oil film thickness, number of oil grooves on pressure, flow, load capacity and torque were studied theoretically. Findings The research found that the central angle of oil groove zone, number of oil grooves and oil groove depth have similar effects on flow, which means that with the increase of central angle, number or depth of oil grooves, the flow also increases; pressure in friction contact zone and oil groove zone drops along radial direction, whereas its value in oil groove zone is higher. With the increase of the central angle of oil groove zone, pressure in friction contact zone and friction contact zone rises, and the load capacity increases, whereas the transmitted torque drops. Number of oil grooves has little effect on load capacity. When the oil film thickness increases, its flow increases accordingly, whereas the pressure, load capacity and transmitted torque drops. Meanwhile, the transmitted torque decreases with the increase of number of oil grooves, whereas the oil groove depth nearly has no effects on transmitted torque. Originality/value In this paper, mathematical models of hydrodynamic load capacity and torque transmitted by oil film were built based on viscosity-temperature property in the working process of hydro-viscous clutch, and their analytical solutions were obtained; effects of structural parameters of oil groove on transmission characteristics of hydro-viscous clutch based on viscosity-temperature property were revealed. The research results are of great value to the theory development of hydro-viscous drive technology, the design of high-power hydro-viscous clutch and relative control strategy.