The investigation of stress distribution on the tractor clutch finger mechanism by using finite element method

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for tractor usage for agricultural activities in the world. Tractors are an integral part of mechanization and have a crucial role to play to enhance agricultural productivity. They are used for many kinds of farm work, under various soil and field conditions. It provides agricultural activities in challenging conditions by using several farming equipment. During the operations, tractors have to efficiently transfer power from the engine to the drive wheels and PTO through a transmission. Tractor clutch is the essential element in this system. During the torque transmission, loads which occur on the clutch components cause damages. In many cases, especially PTO clutch finger mechanism is fractured under the torque transmission. In this study, finger mechanism, which used in tractor clutch PTO disc, is investigated. Finite element analyses were performed for two different thicknesses (3.5 and 4 mm) of the finger mechanism. Stress and deformation values which occur during the transfer of power in a safe manner are investigated for these thicknesses. The finger mechanism CAD models were created using CATIA V5 and then imported into ANSYS for static finite element analyses. As a result of the analyses, approximately 13% stress decreasing was observed with the increment of the 0.5 mm for the finger thicknesses. Results from the analyses provide an accurate prediction of the material yielding and load path distribution on the PTO clutch finger. To verify the analyses results prototype PTO finger mechanism was manufactured and was conducted bench tests. Consequently, a good correlation was achieved between finite element model and test results.