Study on the groove area effects on the friction-wear properties of a Cu-based wet clutch

The numerical model is proposed to investigate the micro-contact characteristics of asperity summits; moreover, the influence of groove area on the friction-wear properties of a Cu-based wet clutch is explored by the bench test. With the increase of rotating speed or applied pressure, the differences of the thermodynamic characteristics of clutches with different groove areas gradually narrow. However, reducing the groove area can reduce the wear of friction disc but increase the carbon black. The thermal environment is the worst in the middle of clutch, where friction components are most likely to fail. Therefore, the groove area should be designed based on the axial position of friction discs to optimize the friction-increasing and wear-reducing performance of the clutch. •The numerical model is proposed to study the micro-contact of asperity summits.•The thermodynamic differences of clutches with different groove areas decrease as the operating parameters increase.•Reducing the groove area can reduce the clutch wear but increase the carbon black.•The friction components in the middle of clutch pack are more prone to failure.•The groove area should be designed based on the axial position of friction discs.