An approach for the simulation of the wedge freewheel clutch as a frictional multibody dynamic system

Abstract

This paper describes a comprehensive freewheel clutch (FWC) modeling approach. Such an approach can be utilized for the analysis and synthesis of a wide range of FWCs. The proposed approach consists of a multi-leveled mathematical model and an output dashboard. The multibody model considers the components’ inertia, internal forces distribution, and the velocity and the deformation of the contacts. To efficiently analyze the results, the simulation output was assembled as a sub-plots dashboard. The dashboard shows a number of output parameters, such as the theoretical speed of the FWC components, transmitted torque, friction coefficient variation, and normal and frictional forces distribution. The validation of the gained theoretical data took place on a custom testing machine equipped with a generic wedge FWC, which confirmed the robustness of the proposed modeling approach.