The Mechanisms of Wet Clutch Friction Behaviour
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The Mechanisms of Wet Clutch Friction Behaviour by Marc Philip Ingram A thesis submitted to Imperial College London for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and Diploma of Imperial College (D.I.C.) January 2010 Tribology Section Department of Mechanical Engineering Imperial College London Abstract Wet clutches are used in automatic transmissions to bring about gear changes and also to reduce energy loss in the torque converter. These friction devices are susceptible to stick-slip effects, which result in the vehicle giving an unsteady ride. Stick-slip effects can be avoided by ensuring the wet clutch and lubricant combination produces a friction coefficient that increases with sliding speed. This friction characteristic is achieved by using a specific material on one of the two clutch surfaces and by using certain surface active chemicals, which are added to the lubricant. Although wet clutches have been studied throughout the industry for many decades, the mechanism of the generated friction is still not fully understood. In this thesis the friction mechanisms are clarified by the experimental study of the wet clutch in terms of its real area of contact, its flash temperatures and the friction characteristics, which are measured over a broad range of conditions. These results are used along with theoretical calculations to first clarify the lubrication regime, which is found to be predominantly boundary due to the roughness of the friction material and the small size of the contact units formed. The generated friction is then attributed to surface active additives, which form solid-like films on the clutch surfaces. These friction characteristics can be modified by varying the nature of the solid-like film, and when a close-packed film is formed, this displays the friction increasing with speed characteristic due to an activated shearing mechanism, which is linked to the speed of molecular rearrangement at the surface. I Acknowledgments The author would like to express the greatest thanks to Prof. Hugh Spikes for his wonderful support and unwavering enthusiasm throughout this project. A grateful acknowledgement is offered to Infineum for the funding of this project, and I am particularly grateful to the supervisors, Ksenija Topolovec-Miklozic, Raymond Watts, Joe Noles, Steve Harris and Kerry Cogen for their support and encouragement. Special thanks are expressed to Mark Fowell for his assistance with writing a computer program used in Chapter 4, and Tom Reddyhoff for his assistance with the temperature measurements of Chapter 5. Richard Underwood, Connor Myant, Mark Torrance, Saverio Reina, Matt Smeeth and Chrissy Stevens are also acknowledged for their assistance during the course of this work. I would also like to express my thanks to all other lab members, past and present who together bring a wonderful array of cultures, personalities and skills, making the lab a wonderfully dynamic and fun place to work. A loving acknowledgment is shown to my family and Emily who have shown continual love and support, throughout my time as a student. II Table of Contents Acronyms and Abbreviations………...……………………………………………………………………VII List of Tables………………………………………………………………………………………….……….IX List of Figures……………………………………………….………………………………………………….X 1 Chapter 1 - Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 General introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Introduction to the problem .................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Wet clutch study .................................................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Thesis layout .......................................................................................................................................... 3 2 Chapter 2 - Background ............................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Automatic Transmission ........................................................................................................................ 4 2.1.1 Torque converter ............................................................................................................................... 6 2.1.2 Planetary Gear Set ............................................................................................................................. 7 2.1.3 Control valve assembly ..................................................................................................................... 8 2.1.4 Transmission Control Unit ................................................................................................................ 9 2.1.5 Bands and Clutches ........................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Wet Clutches .......................................................................................................................................... 9 2.2.1 Band Brakes ..................................................................................................................................... 10 2.2.2 Multi-plate clutch ............................................................................................................................ 10 2.2.3 Lock-up clutch ................................................................................................................................. 12 2.2.4 Slipping clutch ................................................................................................................................. 12 2.3 Friction Materials ................................................................................................................................. 13 2.3.1 Friction Material History ................................................................................................................. 14 2.3.2 Organic Friction Material Manufacture ........................................................................................... 15 2.3.2.1 Fibres ...................................................................................................................................... 16 2.3.2.2 Fillers ...................................................................................................................................... 17 2.3.2.3 Chemicals ............................................................................................................................... 18 2.3.2.4 Binders .................................................................................................................................... 18 2.3.2.5 Friction Material Mechanical Properties ................................................................................. 20 2.3.2.6 Channel Patterns ..................................................................................................................... 21 2.4 Wet Clutch Friction Characteristics ..................................................................................................... 21 2.4.1 Shifting Clutch ................................................................................................................................. 22 2.4.2 SAE No.2 Machine .......................................................................................................................... 22 2.4.3 Slipping Clutch ................................................................................................................................ 24 2.4.4 Low Velocity Friction Apparatus .................................................................................................... 26 2.4.5 Bench-top Friction Screeners .......................................................................................................... 27 2.4.6 Vehicle Testing ................................................................................................................................ 27 2.5 Summary .............................................................................................................................................. 28 3 Chapter 3 – Literature Review on Wet Clutch Friction .......................................................................... 29 3.1 Wet Clutch Operation Characteristics .................................................................................................. 29 3.1.1 Contact conditions and contact area ................................................................................................ 30 3.1.2 Lubrication Regimes ........................................................................................................................ 31 3.1.3 Lubrication Regime in Wet Clutches............................................................................................... 33 3.1.4 Engagement Regime in Wet Clutches ............................................................................................. 37 3.2 ATF Additives ..................................................................................................................................... 40 3.2.1 Friction Modifiers ............................................................................................................................ 41 III 3.2.2 Detergents