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Procedia Engineering 96 (2014) 131 135

Modelling of Mechanical and Mechatronic Systems MMaMS 2014

Usage of finite element method for motion and thermal analysis of a

specific object in SolidWorks environment
Iveta Glodova*, Tom Liptkb, Jozef Bockoc
a, b, c

Department of Aplied Mechanics and Mechatronic, Faculty of mechanical engineering, Letna 9, 042 00 Koice

Abstract
In this paper, we used the SolidWorks to carry out motion and thermal analysis of a custom clutch. To carry out analyzes, the
finite element method was used. Analyzes were done to evaluate the suitability of two conventional and one non-conventional
material used in clutch production. Results shown that the non-conventional material (composite of aluminum matrix and
ceramic particles) should be at least tested in practice to study its reliability and efficiency in the clutch production because of its
good mechanical motion properties and promising thermal properties.
2014
Published
by Elsevier
Ltd. This
is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license

2014The
TheAuthors.
Authors.
Published
by Elsevier
Ltd.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Peer-review
under responsibility of organizing committee of the Modelling of Mechanical and Mechatronic Systems MMaMS
Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of the Modelling of Mechanical and Mechatronic Systems MMaMS 2014
2014.

Keywords: disc clutch, FEM, motion analysis, thermal analysis, SolidWorks.

1. Introduction
Nowadays, material engineering is an essential part of mechanical engineering. It serves for the outer, as well as
the mechanical design of the final product. In case of products, which are expected to perform well in difficult
mechanical conditions, stress analyzes of materials are necessary to provide certain level of reliability. One of the
products with such needs is a clutch. It connects two shafts, which transmit the rotary motion of the loading torque
from primary shaft to secondary shaft. The connecting component is usually made using different approaches (e.g.
rubber, tooth system, etc). It serves to protect the entire device from overload, as well as to prevent dangerous
torsion vibration. In this paper, we carried out motion simulations (using finite element analysis) on a specific clutch

* Iveta Glodov. Tel.: +421-55-602-2456;

E-mail address: iveta.glodova@tuke.sk

1877-7058 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of the Modelling of Mechanical and Mechatronic Systems MMaMS 2014
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2014.12.131

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Iveta Glodov et al. / Procedia Engineering 96 (2014) 131 135

(Fig. 1) to evaluate its reliability, depending on the material used. The results may be further used to design the
clutch with different quality properties (financial, technical efficiency, reliability and safety).
The disc clutch on Fig. 1 belongs to the uncontrolled, mechanically fixed category. It consists of two discs, fitted
on a shaft and bolted with screws. Leaf spring or wedge is used as the connection mechanism. The torque is
transmitted by the power connection, because the screws are not supposed to be stressed by shear. Both parts of the
clutch are axially aligned by the centering hole. The clutch is suitable for transmitting high performance and allows
the connection of shafts of different diameters. It is mainly used in the car industry (and possibly turbines) >1, 2@.

Fig. 1. Model of disc clutch.

2. Methodology
Finite element method (FEM) is currently one of the most common numerical methods used for simulations in
mechanical engineering. Modern software systems usually allow to use FEM, which enables solving mathematically
difficult and time consuming operations in a meantime. The basic idea of the FEM is simple, as it requires to split
the solution area to a finite number of sub areas - elements. It is necessary to create a network of finite elements on
the model. Density of the network fundamentally affects the quality of the results and amount of used computer
memory. FEM is used for solving problems of elasticity, dynamics, flow of liquids and gases, etc. >3, 4@.
SolidWorks Simulation is a software that allows the use of finite element analysis FEA. It enables user to analyze
the structural properties such as stress, displacement, natural frequency, etc. It also provides motion analysis, which
is used for accurate simulation and analysis of moving assemblies (effects of forces, springs, dampers and friction).
The analysis combines elements of kinetic studies and bonds in the motion calculation. Restrictions of the
movement, material properties, physical properties and the contact parts are also included in the calculation of the
kinematic solutions. Thermal analysis calculates the temperature, temperature gradient and heat flow based on the
heat source, lead etc. SolidWorks Simulation allows to view the results of FEM analysis including graphs and
animation >5, 6@. For the final evaluation, we used the upper mentioned method and calculated the motion and
temperature analyzes. We used different materials (described later) as the proof of concept.
3. Results
Based on the mechanical properties of materials (see Tab. 1), we have chosen three specific ones, which we
analyzed using FEA. The first material is a cast carbon steel which is commonly used in the manufacture of disc
clutches because of their relatively good mechanical and thermal properties >7@. The second one is Monel(R) 400,
which is of a high strength and has excellent corrosion resistance, good ductility and thermal conductivity >8@. The
last chosen material is a composite material with aluminum matrix and ceramic particles. We chose this material
based on its stiffness - weight and strength weight ratios, which allow to lower the weight of the product. Its main
advantages are the high mechanical properties when hot, low density, good corrosion resistance and good thermal
conductivity >9@. Mechanical properties of the first two materials are used from the stock SolidWorks database,
whereas the last material was added to the database.

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Iveta Glodov et al. / Procedia Engineering 96 (2014) 131 135

Tab. 1. Mechanical properties of chosen materials disc clutch.

Properties

Cast carbon steel

Monel(R) 400

Composite of aluminum
matrix and ceramic particles

Units

Elastic modulus

200 00

180 00

100 00

N/mm2

Poissons ratio

0.32

0.34

0.36

NA

Shear modulus

76 000

67 000

Mass density

7800

8800

2900

kg/m3

Tensile strength

482.55

448.08

365

N/mm2

N/mm2

N/mm2

Compressive strength
Yield strength

248.55

220.59

324

N/mm2

Thermal expansion coefficient

1.2e-005

1.4e-005

1.5e-005

Kelvin

Thermal conductivity

30

22

100

W/(m-K)

Specific heat

500

430

900

J/(kg-K)

Hardening factor

NA

NA

NA

NA

Fig. 2 presents the properties of cast carbon steel on the right side of disc clutch (a) motion analysis and (b)
thermal analysis. As shown in (a) the critical value is 4007736.500 N/m2, (b) the critical value is 9.634e+002K.
a

Fig. 2. Cast carbon steel on the right side of the disc clutch (a) motion analysis, (b) thermal analysis.

Fig. 3 shows simulation results using material Monel(R) 400 on the right side of disc clutch (a) motion analysis
and (b) thermal analysis. As shown in (a) the critical value is 4 338512.000 N/m2, (b) the critical value is
1.188e+002K.
a

Fig. 3. Monel(R) 400 on the right side of the disc clutch (a) motion analysis, (b) thermal analysis.

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Iveta Glodov et al. / Procedia Engineering 96 (2014) 131 135

Fig. 4 shows simulation results of the composite of aluminum matrix and ceramic particles on the right side of
disc clutch (a) motion analysis and (b) thermal analysis. As shown in (a) the critical value is 552437.375 N/m 2, (b)
the critical value is 4.714e+002K.
a

Fig. 4. Composite of aluminum matrix and ceramic particles on the right side of the disc clutch (a) motion analysis, (b) thermal analysis.

To carry out the kinetic analysis in SolidWorks, we used a single rotor, by which we loaded the shaft on the
secondary member - left disc clutch. Torque was transmitted from primary member - left disc clutch on the
secondary member - right disc clutch. In Fig. 2 (a), 3 (a) and 4 (a) we may see the secondary member - right disc
clutch and places of the highest load during the motion analysis, which are located on the coupling point screws on
right disc clutch.
In case of the thermal analysis in SolidWorks, we exposed connecting places of the secondary member - right
disc clutch of temperature load. In Fig. 2 (b), 3 (b) and 4 (b) we may see the places, where the temperature is the
highest.
Based on the results, the most suitable material appears to be the composite with aluminum matrix and ceramic
particles. Its results in motion analysis reached lower values than results of analyzes of other materials. The
outcomes of the thermal analysis showed also sufficient values. According to results of the simulations, we may
only derive the actual level of reliability and efficiency of the final product. This is why, we suggest that the
composite of aluminum matrix and ceramic particles should be tested in real practice to prove or disprove the
results.
4. Conclusion
In this paper we created a model of a clutch for which we carried out motion and thermal analyzes. The clutch
was designed from different materials to test their properties and to determine the suitability of the specific material
to be used in real production. First two materials were chosen because they are generally used in clutch production.
On the other hand, depending on the material properties we have chosen a different material and carried out
simulation on the same object. The third material reached better values in the motion simulation, which means better
mechanical properties. Its thermal properties were not the best but were sufficient to provide reliability of the final
product during thermal conditions that are normal for clutches of this type.
Acknowledgements
Research, which is presented in this paper has been financially supported by VEGA 1/1205/12 "Numerical
modeling of mechatronic systems." This support is highly acknowledged.
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