Experimental Test Rig for Electo-Mechanical Friction Clutch Actuator

With the introduction of clutch-by-wire technology, electro-mechanical Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) has comes into existence. This leads the Drivetrain Research Group, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia to design and developed an indigenous drive-by-wire transmission for the future; which is the electro-mechanical dual acting pulley (EMDAP) continuously variable transmission (CVT). The group then designed and developed an indigenous drive-by-wire clutch, i.e. the electro-mechanical friction clutch (EMFC) to be integrated with the EMDAP CVT. However, to effectively electro-mechanically control the friction clutch, the relationship between motor current and clutch torque and normal force need to be fundamentally studied and established. The purpose of this paper is to set-up an experimental test rig to study electro-mechanical friction clutch actuator behavior and evaluate the correlation between the DC motor current, clutch torque and normal force of the friction clutch. Results from the correlation study will allow researchers not only to measure but also to later control the clutch clamping force using current sensor which relatively would be much simpler and less expensive than using force sensor.