A novel calibration mechanism and the corresponding test bench for automotive clutch releasing fingers: Design, implementation, and verification

Abstract

The clutch releasing finger acts as a disengagement lever and a clamping spring in the clutch, which remains in contact with the releasing bearing. Thus, the run-out of releasing fingers could result in vibrations of the clutch pedal and affect the comfort of the driver. In this article, a novel calibration mechanism is proposed for automotive clutch releasing fingers with the corresponding test bench. Based on the structural material properties, the mathematical model of the releasing fingers is developed as well as the analytical equations for the calibration force, the limit point, and the deflections. To better calibrate the run-out of the releasing fingers, the calculations of the springback and the residual curvature are also considered. Moreover, a corresponding test bench is developed, and to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method, comparisons are conducted between the novel approach and the theoretical analysis and finite element analysis methods. The results of the calibration of the run-out of the releasing fingers demonstrate the significant improvements achieved by the proposed method, which could be further applied to the calibration of various relevant elastic elements.