The effect of circlip induced contact pressure on the temperature distribution in multi-disc clutches

The phenomenon of non-uniform pressure distribution among multi-disc friction pairs is investigated focusing on the effect produced by the circlip using a theoretical model and a 3D FEM model. A temperature field computational model of the discs is established based on the non-uniform pressure distribution. Sliding experiments are conducted to investigate the influence of circlip on non-uniform pressure distribution among the discs in the multi-disc clutches, and the temperature simulation results are verified by the experimental results. The obtained results show that the concentrated circlip constraint leads to the non-uniform pressure distribution in both the radial and axial directions, and in turn affects the temperature fields of discs. Unlike uniform pressure, the non-uniform pressure caused by the concentrated circlip constraint will lead to different temperature fields in different discs. Furthermore, the highest temperature and the maximum radial temperature difference both occur on the disc next to the circlip. Besides, the ratio coefficient of temperatures can effectively represent the pressure transfer coefficient among discs.