Analysis on effects of material parameters on thermoelastic instability of separate plate in wet clutch

Abstract The working characteristics of wet clutches have an important impact on the safety performance of vehicles. In order to obtain the thermoelastic instability characteristics of wet clutch separate plate, a finite element modeling method is proposed. The temperature field calculation model of separate plate and its thermo-hydro-mechanical coupling relationship are constructed. The distribution law of high temperature hot spots on the surface of separate plate is obtained and the thermoelastic instability mechanism is revealed. Effectiveness of the simulation model is verified by road test, and surface topography of separate plate is observed by scanning electron microscope. A thermoelastic instability calculation model considering different material parameters is established. The temperature field distribution law is reviewed under different elastic modulus, specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity and thermal expansion coefficient. Results show that increasing the specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity of the separate plate, decreasing the elastic modulus and thermal expansion coefficient can improve the stability of the system. The thermal conductivity and thermal expansion coefficient have important effects on the thermoelastic instability. The specific heat capacity has a certain effect, and the elastic modulus' effect is the least. The research results of this paper can provide theoretical support for optimizing the structure of wet clutch and improving the stability of the system.