Design of a Friction Clutch Using Dual Belleville Structures

Abstract

This paper presents a simplified friction clutch design, which consists of the dual Belleville spring and the friction plates. This design exploits the preset angle on the Belleville spring to increase the friction area during operation; thus, the load on spring is reduced at a given transmitted torque. Due to the increasing of friction area, the Belleville spring can also act as a friction plate, and the components required for the clutch can be reduced. The maximum transmittable torque of the clutch is easily adjusted by varying the preload on the Belleville spring. Moreover, it is very easy to assemble the components of the present clutch. To demonstrate the present design, a prototype friction clutch with a Belleville spring has been fabricated and tested. We showed that the transmitted torque remained constant for different operating speeds.

A load–displacement prediction for a bended slotted disc using the energy method

“…These two segments were clearly described by Schremmer 6 and Shen and Fang 3 where the extension of the Almen's formula was employed. In the extended formula, the rigid displacement is not the only criteria included, but also the bending displacement.…”

“…The analysis of this non-linear characteristic of a disc spring continues to interest engineers. [1][2][3][4] Load-displacement formula for a coned disc spring or a non-slotted disc spring was first developed by Almen and Laszlo. 1,5 Based on the theory of Almen, the dimensions used to define the geometries refer to the middle line of the disc spring cross-section.…”

“…In the extended formula, the rigid displacement is not the only criteria included, but also the bending displacement. 3,6 The existence of lever arm segments significantly contributes to the bending deflection besides allowing for the rigid rotational motion.…”

“…As pointed out in previous research, 3,6,7 the loaddisplacement formula for the slotted disc spring was derived from a coned disc spring formula. However, the formula is geometrically limited to a straight slotted disc spring.…”

Analytical and Experimental Study of Conical Telescoping Springs With Nonconstant Pitch

“…Recent works focus on testing new materials, such as springs made of memory alloys [6][7], composite springs [8] or nanoscale springs [9]. Other works are related to finding new spring geometries, such as for Belleville springs [10][11], wave springs [12] or non-linear springs [13][14]. Some works also try to improve knowledge of common springs.…”