Clutch Pack Disk With Axial Softness for Stable Contact Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multi-disk clutches, especially in dry versions, experience reduced contact pressure and torque capacity due to frictional forces, leading to undesirable torque jumps and controllability issues, and existing solutions are costly and complex.
Innovation Solution
A disk design with a region of axial elastic softness, implemented as a steel sheet spring region, is introduced between the contact and toothed regions to prevent jamming and torque losses, featuring low axial rigidity and potentially integrated with the main body or as a separate component, allowing axial displacement and reducing frictional impacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If multi-disk clutches are used with traditional rigid disk design, then torque transmission capacity is increased through multiple friction surfaces, but frictional forces in the multi-disk toothing reduce contact pressure and cause torque jumps
Solution Approach 1:
The disk is designed with different axial rigidity characteristics in different regions: the contact region (friction surface) maintains high axial rigidity to ensure stable contact pressure, while the toothed region is connected through a flexible connection with low axial rigidity. This local differentiation allows the friction surfaces to remain firmly pressed together while the toothing can accommodate axial movements independently, preventing torque jumps and maintaining reliable torque transmission.
2Device complexity
If disks are connected rigidly to the disk carrier, then structural simplicity is maintained, but friction forces in the toothing reduce effective contact pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The disk is segmented into functionally distinct regions: a contact region with high axial rigidity for friction contact and a toothed region with flexible connection for torque transmission. The flexible connection acts as a decoupling element that separates the mechanical behavior of the two regions, allowing the toothed region to move axially to accommodate friction forces while the contact region maintains stable pressure, thus preserving both simplicity and contact pressure.
3Stress or pressure
If axial softness is introduced to reduce friction effects, then contact pressure is maintained, but structural complexity increases with additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible connection is integrated directly into the disk structure, merging the functions of the disk body and the axial softness element into a single component. This eliminates the need for separate spring elements or additional parts, reducing assembly complexity and manufacturing costs while still providing the necessary axial flexibility to maintain contact pressure and reduce frictional losses in the toothing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design maintains contact pressure and prevents torque jumps, reducing assembly costs and improving controllability by integrating axial softness into the disk structure, enabling efficient torque transmission while minimizing frictional losses.
Implementation Method 1
a region (6) which introduces an elastic softness in the axial direction between the contact region (4) and the toothed region (5), characterized in that this region (6) has a low rigidity in the axial direction
Implementation Method 2
disks (2) which can be brought into torque-transmitting contact to transfer torque from a torque input component to a torque output component
Data Source
AI summary
A clutch pack for a clutch in a drive train of a motor vehicle includes an axis defining an axial direction and a disk, rotatable about the axis, for contacting a counter-disk to transfer a torque. The disk includes a main body with a contact region for absorbing torque from or transferring a torque to the counter-disk, a toothed region for torque-transmitting contact with a disk carrier, and a region of specific elastic softness in the axial direction disposed between the contact region and the toothed region. In an example embodiment, the region of specific elastic softness in the axial direction is a steel sheet spring region.