Visualizaion of Cavitation Phenomena in Wet Clutch Engagement Process

Abstract

The primary purpose of the present paper is to investigate the behavior of bubbles all over a porous friction facing in a wet clutch, since this behavior might affect the performance of the wet clutch significantly. There in still much to be learned about the extent and location of occurrence of cavitation phenomenon in actual coupling systems, and it is one of the most important unknowns in the study of the wet clutch engagement mechanism. The observed features of bubbles arising from a oil film were recorded, and provided considerable insight into the possibility of occurrence of cavitation. Moreover, the relationship between the cavitation phenomena and frictional torque was elucidated and is discussed. The effect of friction paper porosity and applied load on the cavitation development were also experimentally studied.