Principle of operation of the clutch

When driving a manual car, you may be surprised to know that there is at least one clutch in the car - or the taper. If you have learned about the working principle of an automatic transmission, you also know that there are some clutches in the automatic transmission of cars.

In fact, there are many types of clutches in our everyday objects that you must have seen every day. Some typical examples are: electric drill, chain saw, motorcycle thread, and even the bike bike also uses different types of clutches.

In this article we find out why cars need to have clutches and more specifically how clutches on your car work. There are certainly many interesting things waiting for us ahead.

Please click on the " Play " button to see the connection, disconnection and torque transfer of the clutch.

First of all, please understand: A clutch is a mechanism used in a device to connect and separate two rotating axes together. In these devices, one of the axes is usually driven by a motor or a pulley while the other drives the other. In an electric drill, for example, an inner shaft is driven by an electric motor and the outer shaft drives a handle to pair the drill. The clutch is used to connect the two axes together so that they can be joined together to rotate at the same speed or can be separated to rotate at different speeds.

On your car, of course, a clutch is needed because when the engine starts, the motor shaft always turns and the wheel doesn't always turn. In order for the car to stop following your control while the engine is still on the engine, it must disconnect the motor drive down the wheels. The clutch allows us to connect the motor's output shaft to the input shaft of the gearbox by controlling the alignment between them. To understand how a clutch works, we need to understand some basic knowledge about friction. In the picture below you will see the image of the flywheel connected to the engine and the clutch disc connected to the gearbox.

Please click on the table " Click here to put the Cluch Plate in place "
To see the assembly order the details of the clutch.

When your feet leave the taper pedal, the springs push the pressure plate to the clutch plates and squeeze them with the flywheel. This made the engine flywheel locked into the primary shaft of the gearbox making them rotate at the same speed. The magnitude of the torque that the clutch can transmit depends on the friction between the friction plates with the flywheel and the compressive force that the springs act on the friction plates.

When you press the taper pedal, a hydraulic or pneumatic piston acts on a lever (also called clutch clutch) a fairly large force, this force is transmitted to the blocking bearing of the clutch, also called is a T-ball (short for throw-out bearing) that makes the central disk spring (diaphragm spring) compressed. Thanks to the driving mechanical structure, the friction disc is released from the flywheel and clutch plate and thus the transmission shaft of the gearbox is released from the engine.

Please click on the table " Click here to engage / disengage cluch "
to monitor the operation of the press table, friction plate, ball " T " and flywheel during the jointing, disconnecting clutch.

Notice the springs in the friction plate. These springs have a damping effect, which helps to match the gearbox with a quieter engine.

Friction disc.

The most important problem with clutches is that the friction material on the surface is worn away. This friction material is like a brake pads material so after a period of use they wear out. When this friction material is worn to a certain extent, the clutch will slip, and this level of slipping will grow until it cannot transfer any of the engine's torque to the wheels.

Considering the cause of the problem, the clutch is worn only when the rotating friction discs are not at the same speed as the flywheel. When they lock together, the friction material is pressed against the flywheel and they spin at the same speed. Only when the friction plate slid against the flywheel does the abrasion happen. So if you control the car, your foot is always on the taper pedal or pedal several times, the clutch will wear very quickly.

Another type of failure of the clutch is bi T is worn, worn. When the ball wears, it will make a sound when it is under load acting on it, ie when you pedal the taper pedal.

In addition to mechanical clutch as mentioned above, there are many other clutches on cars as well:

1. An automatic transmission has a few clutches.They work to open and close several pairs of planetary gears that fit together.

Compressors in car air conditioning systems use electromagnetic clutches.

1. The air conditioner on your car also has several electromagnetic clutches. These clutches open and close the compressor while the engine is working. When the current flows through the coil in the electromagnetic clutch, they cause the clutch to close and vice versa when the current is disconnected, the clutch releases.
2. Most cars use a fan that uses a hydraulic clutch with a temperature sensor. This clutch is located in the middle of the shaft of the blower, where the air flow is received through the incoming radiator. This type of clutch is a special type of hydraulic clutch. The liquid in the closed space of the clutch will be thickened when the temperature rises, so it makes the fan spin faster, closer to the rotation speed of the engine. When the engine temperature is still low, the liquid flow in the clutch has a lower viscosity so the fan also rotates slower. This will result in a fast engine, reaching a faster working temperature.
3. The clutch is also used in the differential of the bridge, making the use of traction more optimal.
4. The applications of clutches in daily life are still many. Do you remember the string coil toys you used to play before - the yo-yo is also a classic clutch.

Ngoc Hai