Characteristics of Fluid Coupling

Abstract

Fluid couplings are widely used today as a clutch which allows smooth slippage, and the characteristics of those with core-rings are well understood. On the other hand, very little work has been published on those of core-less type with different configurations and with partial filling of the working liquid. This paper describes the characteristics of an experimental fluid coupling of core-less type with variable rectangular cross-sections and secondly visual observations of flow patterns in the circuit of a transparent fluid coupling. From the first experiment, the effect of various parameters (width ratio and radius ratio of torus, percentage of working liquid to full capacity, etc.) on the transmitting torque and the resulting thrust load was studied systematically. The second experiment showed that there exist four kinds of flow patterns depending on the speed ratio. The correlation between the flow pattern and the characteristics was clarified both theoretically and experimentally.