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NORTHERN TECHNICAL COLLEGE
LECTURE NOTES: MECHANICS OF MACHINES II
(Lecturer: Musukuma Benard)
FRICTION CLUTCHES
Learning Outcomes: On completion of this unit, trainees will be able to:
• Identify types of clutches correctly.
• Provide a description and theoretical analysis of cone and centrifugal type clutches correctly.
• Calculate the maximum torque/power transmissible by clutches and belt drives correctly.
• Apply Uniform wear and pressure theories correctly.
INTRODUCTION
A friction clutch has its principal application in the transmission of power of shafts and
machines which must be started and stopped frequently. Its application is also found in cases in
which power is to be delivered to machines partially or fully loaded. The force of friction is used to
start the driven shaft from rest and gradually brings it up to the proper speed without excessive
slipping of the friction surfaces. In automobiles, friction clutch is used to connect the engine to the
driven shaft. In operating such a clutch, care should be taken so that the friction surfaces engage
easily and gradually brings the driven shaft up to proper speed. The proper alignment of the bearing
must be maintained and it should be located as close to the clutch as possible. It may be noted that
• The contact surfaces should develop a frictional force that may pick up and hold the load
with reasonably low pressure between the contact surfaces.
• The heat of friction should be rapidly dissipated and tendency to grab should be at a
minimum.
• The surfaces should be backed by a material stiff enough to ensure a reasonably uniform
distribution of pressure.
TYPES OF CLUTCHES
The friction clutches of the following types are important from the subject point of view:
1. Disc or plate clutches (single disc or multiple disc clutch),
2. Cone clutches, and
3. Centrifugal clutches.
We shall only discuss the cone and centrifugal clutches at this level.
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1. CONE CLUTCH
A cone clutch, as shown in Fig. 1.0, was extensively used in automobiles but now-a-days it
has been replaced completely by the disc clutch.
Fig. 1.0 Cone Clutch
It consists of one pair of friction surface only. In a cone clutch, the driver is keyed to the
driving shaft by a sunk key and has an inside conical surface or face which exactly fits into the
outside conical surface of the driven. The driven member resting on the feather key in the driven
shaft, may be shifted along the shaft by a forked lever provided at B, in order to engage the clutch by
bringing the two conical surfaces in contact. Due to the frictional resistance set up at this contact
surface, the torque is transmitted from one shaft to another. In some cases, a spring is placed around
the driven shaft in contact with the hub of the driven. This spring holds the clutch faces in contact
and maintains the pressure between them, and the forked lever is used only for disengagement of
the clutch. The contact surfaces of the clutch may be metal to metal contact, but more often the
driven member is lined with some material like wood, leather, cork or asbestos etc. The material of
the clutch faces (i.e. contact surfaces) depends upon the allowable normal pressure and the
coefficient of friction.
Intensity of pressure with which the conical friction surfaces are held
Consider a pair of friction surface as shown in Fig. 1.1 (a). Since the area of contact of a pair of
friction surface is a frustrum of a cone, the torque transmitted by the cone clutch may be determined
as follows:
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Fig. 1.1 Cone Clutch
Consider a small ring of radius r and thickness dr, as shown in Fig. 1.1 (b). Let dl is length
of ring of the friction surface, such that
We shall consider the following two cases:
i. When there is a uniform pressure, and
ii. When there is a uniform wear.
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Considering Uniform Pressure:
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Considering Uniform Wear
In Fig. 1.1, let pr be the normal intensity of pressure at a distance r from the axis of the
clutch. We know that, in case of uniform wear, the intensity of pressure varies inversely with the
distance.
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The forces on a friction surface, for steady operation of the clutch and after the clutch is
engaged, is shown in Fig. 1.2.
Fig. 1.2. Forces on a friction surface.
From Fig. 1.2(a) above, we find that
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The following points may be noted for a cone clutch:
• The above equations are valid for steady operation of the clutch and after the clutch is
engaged.
• If the clutch is engaged when one member is stationary and the other rotating (i.e. during
engagement of the clutch) as shown in Fig. 1.2 (b), then the cone faces will tend to slide on
each other due to the presence of relative motion. Thus an additional force (of magnitude
equal to μ.Wncos α) acts on the clutch which resists the engagement and the axial force
required for engaging the clutch increases.
• Under steady operation of the clutch, a decrease in the semi-cone angle (α) increases the
torque produced by the clutch (T) and reduces the axial force (W). During engaging period,
the axial force required for engaging the clutch (We) increases under the influence of friction
as the angle α decreases. The value of α cannot be decreased much because smaller semi-
cone angle (α) requires larger axial force for its disengagement.
Example 1
An engine developing 45 kW at 1000 r.p.m. is fitted with a cone clutch built inside the flywheel. The
cone has a face angle of 12.5º and a maximum mean diameter of 500 mm.
The coefficient of friction is 0.2. The normal pressure on the clutch face is not to exceed 0.1N/mm2.
Determine:
i. the axial spring force necessary to engage to clutch, and
ii. the face width required.
Solution
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i. Axial spring force necessary to engage the clutch
ii. Face width required
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2. CENTRIFUGAL CLUTCH
The centrifugal clutches are usually incorporated into the motor pulleys. It consists of a
number of shoes on the inside of a rim of the pulley, as shown in Fig. 2.1. The outer surface of the
shoes are covered with a friction material. These shoes, which can move radially in guides, are held
against the boss (or spider) on the driving shaft by means of springs. The springs exert a radially
inward force which is assumed constant. The mass of the shoe, when revolving, causes it to exert a
radially outward force (i.e. centrifugal force). The magnitude of this centrifugal force depends upon
the speed at which the shoe is revolving.
Fig. 2.1 Centrifugal clutch.
A little consideration will show that when the centrifugal force is less than the spring force, the shoe
remains in the same position as when the driving shaft was stationary, but when the centrifugal force
is equal to the spring force, the shoe is just floating. When the centrifugal force exceeds the spring
force, the shoe moves outward and comes into contact with the driven member and presses against
it. The force with which the shoe presses against the driven member is the difference of the
centrifugal force and the spring force. The increase of speed causes the shoe to press harder and
enables more torque to be transmitted.
In order to determine the mass and size of the shoes, the following procedure is adopted:
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1. Mass of the shoes
NOTE:
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2. Size of the shoes
Example 2
A centrifugal clutch is to transmit 15 kW at 900 r.p.m. The shoes are four in number. The speed at
which the engagement begins is 3/4th of the running speed. The inside radius of the pulley rim is
150 mm and the centre of gravity of the shoe lies at 120 mm from the centre of the spider. The
shoes are lined with Ferrodo for which the coefficient of friction may be taken as 0.25.
Determine:
i. Mass of the shoes, and
ii. Size of the shoes, if angle subtended by the shoes at the centre of the spider is 60º and the
pressure exerted on the shoes is 0.1 N/mm2.
Solution
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i. Mass of the shoes
ii. Size of the shoes
Example 3
A centrifugal clutch has four shoes which slide radially in a spider keyed to the driving shaft and
make contact with the internal cylindrical surface of a rim keyed to the driven shaft. When the clutch
is at rest, each shoe is pulled against a stop by a spring so as to leave a radial clearance of 5 mm
between the shoe and the rim. The pull exerted by the spring is then 500 N. The mass centre of the
shoe is 160 mm from the axis of the clutch. If the internal diameter of the rim is 400 mm, the mass
of each shoe is 8 kg, the stiffness of each spring is 50 N/mm and the coefficient of friction between
the shoe and the rim is 0.3; find the power transmitted by the clutch at 500 r.p.m.
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Solution
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