Modeling and simulation of the engagement dynamics of a wet friction clutch system subjected to degradation: An application to condition monitoring and prognostics

• Engagement dynamics of a degrading wet clutch system is modeled and simulated.
• Simulation results are qualitatively in agreement with the experimental results.
• Developed models can be employed for verification of clutch condition monitoring and prognostic algorithms.

In this paper, a friction model appropriate for wet friction clutches based on the extension of the Generalized Maxwell Slip (GMS) friction model is integrated to a four-DOF lumped-mass-spring-damper system which represents a typical SAE#2 test setup. Degradation models expressing the evolutions of the friction model parameters are also proposed, where the structure of the degradation models is inspired from experimental results obtained in the earlier work. This way, the engagement dynamics of the clutch system during the useful lifetime can be simulated. It appears that the previously developed pre-and postlockup features extracted from the simulated signals obtained in this study are qualitatively in agreement with the experimental results. Those features show their predictive behaviors that confirm their feasibility to be used for clutch monitoring and prognostics. Furthermore, the models and simulation procedure discussed in this paper can be employed for developing and evaluating prognostics algorithms for wet friction clutch applications.