International Journal of Mechanical and Production

Engineering Research and Development (IJMPERD)

ISSN (P): 2249-6890; ISSN (E): 2249-8001
Vol. 9, Issue 3, Jun 2019, 53-60
© TJPRC Pvt. Ltd

DESIGN & ANALYSIS OF IMPROVISED CLUTCH PEDAL

LINKAGE MECHANISM USING CATIA V5

JEBAROSE JULIYANA. S & UDAYA PRAKASH. J

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr. Sagunthala
R&D Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India
ABSTRACT

In the contemporary world of nowadays uncountable innovations has embark within the automobile sectors
within the gift decades. The expected speed demand of the vehicle guides the foot pedal to interact or disengage the clutch
plate. The linkages of foot pedal are the important elements that connect and actuate the hydraulic cylinder that produces
the clutch plate to be engaged or disengaged. In serious vehicles because the foot pedal too removed from clutch plate the
foot pedal linkage mechanism occupies extra space and there's time delay in transmission. Within the existing system
because the linkages are too long the force applied is additional however the output force are less. During this improvised
linkage mechanism, the dimensions of the linkages and also the position of the hydraulic cylinder is changed and
analyzed with CATIA V5 software. The theoretical calculations also are disbursed to search out the force in each the

Original Article
changed and within the existing system.

KEYWORDS: Clutch Pedal, Linkages, CATIA, Driver’s Comfort & Torque

Received: Mar 02, 2019; Accepted: Mar 22, 2019; Published: Apr 10, 2019; Paper Id.: IJMPERDJUN20196

INTRODUCTION

The quality of the automobile design is reflected by the comfort of the drivers. The pedal motion and pedal
force have a direct effect on driver’s fatigue [Li, et al, 2013, Kyung, G. & Nussbaum, 2008]. Nima Jamshidi et al
(2016) investigated, how the torque actuated helps to control the break and clutch pedal which is used in
agricultural sectors. The farm tractor used in agriculture is impacting discomfort in the body of the drivers in many
aspects such as leading to neck, knee, arm, shoulder and leg dis-comforts. Romain Pannetier (2013) discussed the
clutching movements of pedal configurations for identifying the discomfort. Pedals in vehicles play a major role in
controlling the vehicles. Only limited research work is available for the comfort of pedal operations. Some clutch
pedal design recommendations provided in this study helps the engineers, where one wants to optimize its position.
C. R. Mehta (2006) elaborately explained how it strengthens the legs of the operator who involved in the operation
of tractor pedals. This literature concerns about how human strength was employed in the operation of the clutch
pedal control. This study highly quantifies the Indian operator’s human strength in the tractor pedal control.
Karthikeyan Rajendiran (2014) in his single pedal control, he has designed acceleration mechanism and clutch
mechanism that was integrated. The mechanical linkages were placed at the end of the pedal in his design and as a
result the acceleration mechanism is counter balanced. Due to the acceleration mechanism the rod extends and it
operates the clutch due to the generated torque. Purohit, et al, (2014) designed the friction clutch assembly by
solidworks. So in this research paper instead of fabricating a modified clutch pedal, to be cost effective an attempt
is made to design the modified clutch pedal by CATIA V5 software and the analysis is done by ANSYS software.

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54 Jebarose Juliyana. S & Udaya Prakash. J

The input and output torque of the present brake pedal is compared with the input and output of the modified clutch pedal
to check its feasibility.

CLUTCH PEDAL

The clutch linkage is a rendezvous of mechanical and typically hydraulic parts. A mechanical clutch linkage
usually consists of the clutch pedal, a series of linkage rods and arms, or a cable. A hydraulic clutch linkage typically
includes a clutch master cylinder and reservoir, a hydraulic line and a slave cylinder. Hydraulic linkages became more and
more common as a result of them offer the manufacturer the pliability to extend force at the clutch fork, with fewer space
constraints compared to mechanical linkages [Kolich, M., 2008]. The mechanism of clutch linkages have many rods and
levers that transfers the motion from the clutch pedal to the fork of the clutch. By giving the force on the pedal the clutch
fork moves forward by the bell crank that is activated by the pushrod. In Floor Mounted type, due to complexity of the
system the material cost is more and also driver must apply his full effort to actuate the clutch pedal. The human strength
was employed in the operation of the clutch pedal control [Wang, et al 2000, Gmurowski & Orr, 2003]. This study highly
quantifies the vehicle operator’s strength in the tractor pedal control. Therefore in this project we modified the existing
system and used simple mechanisms which will produce more output torque from the less torque. Figure 1 shows the
methodology of the research work.

Figure 1: Research Methodology

DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF THE SYSTEM

Mild steel is one in all the foremost common materials within the world, representing an associate degree business
that produces one 3 billion tons a year, and it's a cloth used throughout the development of the many subject fabrications.
There are several sub-categories of steel and reckoning on the assorted qualities and characteristics of a specific build, the
selection of steel elite might vary. The properties that fluctuate the foremost between steel sorts are strength, ductility,
hardness, aesthetics, and cost. Reckoning on your scope of labour, choosing the correct steel kind for the task will profit

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Design & Analysis of Improvised Clutch Pedal Linkage Mechanism using CATIA V5 55

the standard of the project and price.

Existing Model of Viking System

Figure 2 shows the Existing model of Floor mounted type. In this system when the clutch pedal is pressed it first
moves the arc to 19 mm inner and slide the first linkage to 90 degree. When the first slide moves its automatically slides
another slide which is attached to the piston. When the piston moves 40 mm inner side of the hydraulic cylinder it actuates
the clutch pedal.

Due to this time delay a driver need to apply his full torque to actuate the clutch pedal to change the gear. So we
focused our project in this area. At the end of pedal by having mechanical linkage, acceleration mechanism is neutralized
and a further torque extends the rod which operates the clutch. Specification of the Floor Mounted Viking System is given
in Table 1.

Table 1: Specification of the Floor Mounted Viking System

Modified System
Sl. No. Specifications Existing System (mm)
(mm)
1 Width of the Frame 280 280
2 Length of the Pedal 120 120
3 Width of the Pedal 25 25
4 Length of the arc 185 185
5 Length of the Major Link 380 160
6 Distance of the major link from arc 140 230
7 Length of the Connecting Rod 100 100
8 Length of the Piston 90 50
9 Length of the Piston when actuated 60 20
10 Distance of the piston from frame base 90 433
11 Length of the hydraulic Cylinder 120 100
12 Width of the Hydraulic cylinder 35 35
13 Distance of the cylinder from the base 72.5 283
14 Length of the Spring 150 70

Due to now delay and material value was additional and additionally a driver got to apply his full force to actuate
the foot pedal to alter the gear. Therefore, we have a tendency to target our research during this space.

Figure 2: Existing 2D Diagram

Figure 3 shows the three dimensional diagram of the existing Viking model

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56 Jebarose Juliyana. S & Udaya Prakash. J

Figure 3: Existing 3D Diagram

Modified Model of Viking System

In this modified system, when the clutch pedal is pressed it directly actuate the hydraulic cylinder through piston.
Due to this system the time delay is reduced and material usage also gets reduced. The modified system is shown in figures
4 & 5.

Figure 4: Modified 2D Diagram

Figure 5 shows the three dimensional diagram of modified system

Figure 5: Modified 3D Diagram

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Design & Analysis of Improvised Clutch Pedal Linkage Mechanism using CATIA V5 57

The Analysis of modified system is done by CATIA V5 work bench. Generative structural analysis is beneficial
to accumulate the varied structural characteristics of elements and product in a very 3D atmosphere. Victimization these
tools permits you to investigate parts or product to see their structural qualities before they're factory-made. The Generative
Structural Analysis workbenches utilize the Finite part technique of numerical approximation. This technique works by
approximating the model by breaking it down into smaller, a lot of simplified items. These lessened items are remarked as
elements. CATIA V5 Analysis provides the flexibility design simulations inside the CATIA design atmosphere, permitting
constructors to directly analyze their main reference model in CATIA. Since there's no transfer of pure mathematics, issues
with information integrity are avoided.

The displacement, stress, and strain diagrams are plotted in solid works (Figures 6, 7 & 8) by choosing the
material as steel and analysis was done on the three dimensional model of the modified clutch pedal. From the figures it is
clear that, the maximum stress is within yield stress.

Figure 6: Displacement of Modified System

Figure 7: Stress of Modified System

Figure 8: Strain of Modified System

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58 Jebarose Juliyana. S & Udaya Prakash. J

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Theoretical calculations are carried out to find the torque generated in both the existing and modified system. The
obtained results show that by applying identical force to each of the system more output is obtained in modified system
than the existing system. The graph represents the variation within the output. The reason for the enhancement of the
system is reduction of the length of the linkages, which in turn reduces the driver’s fatigue and enhances the comfort of the
driver. A graph is drawn between torque input and output and is shown in figure 9.

Figure 9: Torque applied Vs Output Torque

Table 2: Torque applied Vs Output Torque

Torque Applied in Torque Output in Existing Torque Output in
N-mm System in N-mm Modified System in N-mm
55000 35970 51810
62000 40548 58404
65000 42510 61230
70000 45780 65940
76000 49704 71592

CONCLUSIONS

• More output torque was yielded for the same input torque by modifying the linkage mechanism.

• This design can be implemented, while designing heavy vehicles in the near future.

• The mechanism is simple and the material cost is reduced.

• Clutch efficiency is increased.

REFERENCES

1. Gmurowski, W. W. and Orr, B. N., Delphi Technologies Inc, 2003. Adjustable pedal assembly. U. S. Patent 6, 571-660.

2. Jamshidi, N., Abdollahi, S. M., & Maleki, A., (2016). A survey on the actuating force on brake and clutch pedal controls in
agricultural tractor in use in Iran. Polish Annals of Medicine, 23(2), 113-117.

3. Jebarose Juliyana, S, Udaya Prakash, J, Karthik, K, Pallavi, P & Saleem, M 2017, ‘Design and Analysis of NACA4420 Wind
Turbine Aerofoil using CFD’, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 8(6), 403-410.

Impact Factor (JCC): 7.6197 SCOPUS Indexed Journal NAAS Rating: 3.11
Design & Analysis of Improvised Clutch Pedal Linkage Mechanism using CATIA V5 59

4. Pinninti, R. R. Design and Structural Analysis of Disc Brake in Automobiles.

5. Jebarose Juliyana, S, Udaya Prakash, J, Pallavi, Paturu & Divya Sadhana, A 2017, ‘Finite Element Analysis of Mono
Composite Leaf Spring of Varying Thickness and Varying Width used in Automotives’, International Journal of Mechanical
and Production Engineering Research and Development, 7(6), 247-254.

6. Karthikeyan Rajendiran, & Mohammed Sameer H. M. (2014) Clutch Pedal Acceleration. International Journal of Science and
Research, 3(10), 414-419.

7. Kolich, M., (2008). A conceptual framework proposed to formalize the scientific investigation of automobile seat comfort.
Applied Ergonomics, 39(1), 15-27.

8. Kyung, G., & Nussbaum, M. A., (2008). Driver sitting comfort and discomfort (part II): Relationships with and prediction from
interface pressure. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 38(5-6), 526-538.

9. Li, J., Deng, F., Liu, S. & Hu, H., (2013). Analysis of the influence of clutch pedal to vehicle comfort. Proceedings of the
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10. Mehta, C. R., Tiwari, P. S., Rokade, S., Pandey, M. M., Pharade, S, & Yadav, S. B., (2007). Leg strength of Indian operators in
the operation of tractor pedals. International journal of industrial Ergonomics, 37(4), 283-289.

11. Kumar, M., & Singh, B. Ergonomic Analysis Of Electric Auto Rickshaw Using Catia.

12. Pannetier, R., & Wang, X., (2014). A comparison of clutching movements of freely adjusted and imposed pedal configurations
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13. Purohit, R., Khitoliya, P., & Koli, D. K., (2014). Design and finite element analysis of an automotive clutch assembly.
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14. Wang, X., Verriest, J. P., Lebreton-Gadegbeku, B., Tessier, Y., & Trasbot, J., (2000). Experimental investigation and
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