Physics of Snowmachine Clutches :: sport physics snowmobile clutch

* A snowmachine clutch actually consists of two separate grasp connected together by a rubber belt. o The first clutch is connected to the locomotives crankshaft o The secondary clutch is mounted on the end of the jackshaft (which connects to the drive shaft via a chain and gears). * The primary figure of the clutch is to smoothly transmit power from the engine to the jackshaft and to remove the federation when the engine is idling so that the machine is not always rolling. * This emblem of system is also referred to as a continuously variable transmittance. It is called this because as the engine speed increases the final drive ratio increases. That is, the difference mingled with the engine speed and track speed decreases. It is equivalent to an automatic transmission on a car with an infinite number of gears that you never matte up shift. Lets take a look at how this infinite gearing touch works 1. At idle the primary clutch just spin s and does not grab onto the belt. As engine revolutions per minute (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. at present 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 nearly 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, bed covering it farther apart and moving the belt to a smaller radius. * brand that the primary clutch (on the left) never embarrasss 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 durin g this clip. I back up the track with a stand and ran the throttle while an observer ran the camera.