Physics of Snowmachine Clutches :: sport physics snowmobile clutch

* A snowmachine delay actually consists of two separate handle committed unneurotic by a rubber rush. o The primary cargo hold is connected to the engines crankshaft o The second-string clutch is mounted on the end of the jackshaft (which connects to the move shaft via a chain and gears). * The primary purpose of the clutch is to swimmingly transmit power from the engine to the jackshaft and to remove the connection when the engine is loafing so that the machine is not always rolling. * This type of system is excessively referred to as a continuously variable transmission. It is called this because as the engine invigorate increases the final drive ratio increases. That is, the difference between the engine fixedness and track speed up decreases. It is equivalent to an automatic transmission on a car with an infinite number of gears that you never felt shift. Lets take a look at how this infinite gearing process works 1. At idle the pr imary clutch just spins and does not grab onto the belt. As engine RPM (revolutions per minute) increases to engagement speed (the RPM where the snowmachine starts moving), the primary clutch begins to pull together and start squeezing the belt. 2. Now the belt is turning. This makes the secondary clutch turn, which causes the track to turn and the snowmachine to move forward. 3. As engine speed increases above engagement, the primary clutch squeezes together some more and pushes the belt so that it moves to a larger radius on the primary. Because the two clutches rotate about fixed points, the belt gets pulled into the secondary, spreading it farther asunder and moving the belt to a smaller radius. * Note that the primary clutch (on the left) never stops spinning, but the secondary (right) does stop spinning at idle speeds. * In case you are curious, the engine rpm got up to about 7000 rpm and the track speed got up to about 60 mph or more during this clip. I su pported the track with a stand and ran the throttle while an observer ran the camera.