Clutch

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For other uses, see Clutch (disambiguation).

Clutch for a drive shaft: The clutch disc (center) spins with the flywheel (left). To disengage, the lever
is pulled (black arrow), causing a white pressure plate (right) to disengage the green clutch disc from
turning the drive shaft, which turns within the thrust-bearing ring of the lever. Never will all 3 rings
connect, with no gaps.
Rear side of a Ford V6 engine, looking at the clutch housing on the flywheel

Single, dry, clutch friction disc. The splined hub is attached to the disc with springs to damp chatter.

A clutch is a mechanical device which provides driving force to another mechanism,

typically by connecting the driven mechanism to the driving mechanism. Its opposite
component is a brake, which inhibits motion.

Clutches are useful in devices that have two rotating shafts. In these devices, one shaft is
typically attached to a motor or other power unit (the driving member), and the other shaft
(the driven member) provides output power for work to be done. In a drill, for instance, one
shaft is driven by a motor, and the other drives a drill chuck. The clutch connects the two
shafts so that they can either be locked together and spin at the same speed (engaged), or be
decoupled and spin at different speeds (disengaged).
Contents
[hide]

 1 Multiple plate clutch

 2 Vehicular
o 2.1 Wet vs. dry
o 2.2 Automobiles
 2.2.1 Non-powertrain in automobiles
o 2.3 Motorcycles
o 2.4 Centrifugal
 3 Other clutches
 4 See also
 5 External links

[edit] Multiple plate clutch

This type of clutch has several driving members interleaved with several driven members. It
is used in motorcycles, automatic transmissions and in some diesel locomotives with
mechanical transmissions. It is also used in some electronically controlled all-wheel drive
systems.

[edit] Vehicular

There are different designs of vehicle clutch, but most are based on one or more friction
discs, pressed tightly together or against a flywheel using springs. The friction material varies
in composition depending on whether the clutch is dry or wet, and on other considerations.
Friction discs once contained asbestos, but this has been largely eliminated. Clutches found in
heavy duty applications such as trucks and competition cars use ceramic clutches that have a
greatly increased friction coefficient. However, these have a "grabby" action and are
unsuitable for road cars. The spring pressure is released when the clutch pedal is depressed
thus either pushing or pulling the diaphragm of the pressure plate, depending on type.
However, raising the engine speed too high while engaging the clutch will cause excessive
clutch plate wear. Engaging the clutch abruptly when the engine is turning at high speed
causes a harsh, jerky start. This kind of start is necessary and desirable in drag racing and
other competitions, where speed is more important than comfort.

[edit] Wet vs. dry

A 'wet clutch' is immersed in a cooling lubricating fluid, which also keeps the surfaces clean
and gives smoother performance and longer life. Wet clutches, however, tend to lose some
energy to the liquid. A 'dry clutch', as the name implies, is not bathed in fluid. Since the
surfaces of a wet clutch can be slippery (as with a motorcycle clutch bathed in engine oil),
stacking multiple clutch disks can compensate for the lower coefficient of friction and so
eliminate slippage under power when fully engaged.

The Hele-Shaw clutch was a wet clutch that relied entirely on viscous effects, rather than on
friction.
[edit] Automobiles

This plastic pilot shaft guide tool is used to align the clutch disk as the spring-loaded pressure plate is
installed. The transmission's drive splines and pilot shaft have an identical shape. A number of such
devices fit various makes and models of drivetrains

In a car the clutch is operated by the left-most pedal using a hydraulic or cable connection
from the pedal to the clutch mechanism. On older cars the clutch would be operated by a
mechanical linkage. Even though the clutch may physically be located very close to the
pedal, such remote means of actuation are necessary to eliminate the effect of vibrations and
slight engine movement, engine mountings being flexible by design. With a rigid mechanical
linkage, smooth engagement would be near-impossible, because engine movement inevitably
occurs as the drive is "taken up." No pressure on the pedal means that the clutch plates are
engaged (driving), while pressing the pedal disengages the clutch plates, allowing the driver
to shift gears or coast.

A manual transmission contains cogs for selecting gears. These cogs have matching teeth,
called dog teeth, which means that the rotation speeds of the two parts have a synchronizer, a
device that uses frictional contact to bring the two parts to the same speed, and a locking
mechanism called a blocker ring to prevent engagement of the teeth (full movement of the
shift lever into gear) until the speeds are synchronized.

[edit] Non-powertrain in automobiles

There are other clutches found in a car. For example, a belt-driven engine cooling fan may
have a clutch that is heat-activated. The driving and driven elements are separated by a
silicone-based fluid and a valve controlled by a bimetallic spring. When the temperature is
low, the spring winds and closes the valve, which allows the fan to spin at about 20% to 30%
of the shaft speed. As the temperature of the spring rises, it unwinds and opens the valve,
allowing fluid past the valve which allows the fan to spin at about 60% to 90% of shaft speed
depending on whether it's a regular or heavy-duty clutch. There are also electronically
engaged clutches (such as for an air conditioning compressor) that use magnetic force to lock
the driving and driven shafts together.

[edit] Motorcycles

On most motorcycles, the clutch is operated by the clutch lever, located on the left handlebar.
No pressure on the lever means that the clutch plates are engaged (driving), while pulling the
lever back towards the rider will disengage the clutch plates through cable or hydraulic
actuation, allowing the rider to shift gears. Motorcycle clutches are usually made up of a
stack of alternating plain steel and friction plates. One type of plate has lugs on its inner
diameter that key it to the engine crankshaft, while the other type of plate has lugs on its outer
diameter that key it to a basket that turns the transmission input shaft. The plates are forced
together by a set of coil springs when the clutch is engaged. Racing motorcycles often use
slipper clutches to eliminate the effects of engine braking, which, being applied only to the
rear wheel, can lead to instability.

[edit] Centrifugal

Some cars and mopeds have a centrifugal clutch, using centrifugal effects to automatically
engage the clutch, when the engine is accelerated above certain rpm, see Saxomat and
Variomatic.

Mopeds also use centrifugal clutches. On the flat they may be pedalled manually, on
approaching a hill the engine speed is increased, engaging the clutch to assist with the climb.
Centrifugal clutch
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A chainsaw clutch. The chain wraps around a sprocket behind the clutch that turns with the
outer drum.

A centrifugal clutch is a clutch that uses centrifugal force to connect two concentric shafts,
with the driving shaft nested inside the driven shaft.

The input of the clutch is connected to the engine crankshaft while the output may drive a
shaft, chain, or belt. As engine RPM increases, weighted arms in the clutch swing outward
and force the clutch to engage. The most common types have friction pads or shoes radially
mounted that engage the inside of the rim of a housing. On the center shaft there are an
assorted number of extension springs, which connect to a clutch shoe. When the center shaft
spins fast enough, the springs extend causing the clutch shoes to engage the friction face. It
can be compared to a drum brake in reverse. This type can be found on most home built karts,
lawn and garden equipment, fuel-powered model cars and low power chainsaws. Another
type used in racing karts has friction and clutch disks stacked together like a motorcycle
clutch. The weighted arms force these disks together and engage the clutch.

When the engine reaches a certain RPM, the clutch activates, working almost like a
continuously variable transmission. As the load increases the rpm drops, disengaging the
clutch, letting the rpm rise again and reengaging the clutch. If tuned properly, the clutch will
tend to keep the engine at or near the torque peak of the engine. This results in a fair bit of
waste heat, but over a broad range of speeds it is much more useful than a direct drive in
many applications.

Centrifugal clutches are often used in mopeds, underbones, lawnmowers, go-karts,

chainsaws, and mini bikes to:

 keep the internal combustion engine from stalling when the blade is stopped abruptly
 disengage loads when starting and idling

Thomas Fogarty, who also invented the balloon catheter, is credited with inventing a
centrifugal clutch in the 1940s, only three months after a Canadian boy named Andrew
Wilson drew up the first recognized design.[1] That being said, automobiles were being
manufactured with centrifugal clutches as early as 1936

What is a CVT transmission?

How is a CVT transmission different from a regular automatic? What cars come
with it?

From the archives

A regular automatic transmission has a fixed number of gears. The

number of gears, or speeds, is what gives a transmission the designation
of four-speed automatic, five-speed automatic, etc. In contrast, a
continuously variable automatic transmission has an infinite number of
gears, made possible by a system of variable pulleys and belts. If it
sounds complicated, that’s probably because it is. After viewing a video of
how one of these things works, we can best describe its operation as
“magic.”

So, what do the variable pulleys and belts mean to you? In a car equipped
with a CVT there are no noticeable gear shifts like you would feel with a
regular transmission. Anyone who has driven a regular automatic
transmission knows that engine speed drops during the shift from first to
second, third to fourth, etc. That drop in rpm during shifts can put the
engine below the rpm range where it makes power; an engine makes its
peak power at a certain rpm — 5,000 rpm, for example. In a CVT-
equipped car, the drop in rpm never happens.

When you punch the accelerator on a CVT-equipped car, the rpm will rise
to where the engine makes the most power, let’s say 5,000 rpm, and it
stays there while the vehicle accelerates. Some people are put off by
CVTs because it almost feels as if there’s something wrong with the car —
like the transmission is slipping, even though everything is fine. After a
couple of runs around the block, that initial feeling disappears.

CVTs can be found in most hybrids, like the Honda Civic, Toyota Camry,
Nissan Altima and Ford Escape hybrids, as well as cars like the Nissan
Maxima, Altima and Sentra. The CVT started off in small cars only, but
advancements in technology have made it strong enough to handle the
demands of heavier, more powerful cars. 

Below are driving impressions from Cars.com’s reviewers about CVTs.

Kelsey Mays, review of 2007 Nissan Maxima with CVT:

“On the highway, passing response is more or less immediate, with

virtually none of the delay it sometimes takes for conventional automatics
to find a lower gear. The tachometer needle simply jumps to 3,500 rpm or
higher, and off you go.”

Dave Thomas, review of 2007 Jeep Compass with CVT:

“The three-lettered transmission option might be a mystery to car buyers,

but it shouldn't be. Just think of it as an advanced automatic transmission
that transitions between gears very smoothly — so smoothly that most
people wind up missing the jolts a standard automatic delivers when
shifting from one gear to the next.”

Joe Wiesenfelder, review of 2007 Nissan Sentra with CVT:

“The CVT, also used in Nissan's Versa subcompact, seems to let the
engine rev higher and make more noise, even under comparably gradual
acceleration. There's a little rubber-band effect between the pedal and the
speed increase, but it responds reasonably to demands for more power.”

Cars.com staff, summary of 2007 Audi A4 with CVT:

“Audi's ultra-smooth multitronic CVT works masterfully and subtly. After

slight hesitation during takeoff, the car moves ahead with some haste.
Passing attempts at low speeds, however, sometimes yield a shortfall of
response. You hear a little engine noise while accelerating with the CVT,
but not much.”