Modeling and experimental validation of lever-based electromechanical actuator for dry clutches

Abstract

A new motor-driven lever-based servo actuator is proposed for automatic manipulation of dry clutches. The dynamic model considering the negative stiffness of the diaphragm spring is built. The characteristics of torque-saving and power-saving are analyzed. Moreover, the stability addressing the negative stiffness is analyzed. The simulation results are verified by the experimental results. The results from quasi-steady experiments show the proposed actuator reduces the motor torque up to 23.9%, the motor power loss up to 38.7%, and the motor output power up to 21.9% compared to the ordinary lever-based actuator. As a whole, the energy consumption during a usual clutch engagement is reduced by 30.1%. In addition, the proposed actuator can track the desired displacement well under the negative stiffness case, and thus overcomes the weakness of the “Luk-like” actuator.