12Finite Element Analysis of an Automobile Clutch System

A pressure plate, a component of the clutch system, was analyzed by two-dimensional and three-dimensional finite element method under three major load conditions of thermal loading due to temperature distribution, centrifugal force and contact pressure of diaphragm spring. The results show that the effects of thermal loading and contact pressure of diaphragm spring are important, which suggests the direction of design improvement. A hub plate was also analyzed with finite element modeling. A stress concentration occurs around the fillet region around the window in the plate where the fracture analysis is executed to find the stress intensity factors. These results will be used as the fundamental data for design improvement of the shapes of pressure plates and hub plates.