Razvoj sklopke s spremenljivim trenjem z uporabo delovnega sredstva

A new functional material known as electro-rheological gel (ERG) that shows variable surface friction according to an applied electric field has been developed. It was expected that ERG could be applied to a machine element to transfer force such as a clutch, because the frictional force of an ERG surface can be controlled electrically. The one-sided patterned electrodes, which arrange anode and cathode alternately on the insulating base, are proposed in a recent study of electro-rheological fluid (ERF) to simplify the structure of the wiring. In this study, one-sided patterned electrodes are applied to an ERG, and the influence of the pattern of the one-sided electrode on the ERG effect is numerically and experimentally investigated. Based on the results of the electrode pattern evaluation, an ERG clutch element, using the one-sided electrodes with an optimum electrode pattern, is developed and the performance of the ERG clutch is experimentally evaluated. The ERG clutch shows excellent performance for static and dynamic characteristics in torque transfer, and an ERG clutch unit shows excellent performance for torque transfer. The transferred torque changes widely and smoothly in response to the variation of the applied electric field.