Clutch plate using woven hybrid composite

materials
A. Alavudeen*1, M. Thiruchitrambalam2 and A. Athijayamani3
In the last era, there has been an increasing interest in composite materials for application in
various industries, including medical, aerospace, sports and even household furniture. This paper
deals with the design and fabrication of hybrid woven fabric reinforced with polyester composite
for clutch plates. The objectives of this investigation are to assess the potential for manufacturing
a high quality clutch plate via hand lay-up technique. The wear resistances of the fabricated
composites were also tested against the rotating abrasive wheel.
Keywords: Hybrid composites, Woven fabrics, Clutch plate, Wear

Introduction than the coupled systems. The dynamic storage moduli of

The use of natural fibre composites for automotive
interior components is a phenomenon that has appeared
and developed only during the last 5 years. The first
known composite material in human history was clay
reinforced by straw, which was used in building
construction developed by the ancient Egyptians
y3000 years ago. In fact, this composite was a natural
fibre composite. The overall objective is to determine the
current status of knowledge and commercial use of bast
fibres on a pan-European basis and to identify current
constraints and future market opportunities.
Zampaloni et al.1 discussed the kenaf maleated
polypropylene composites manufactured, which have a
higher modulus/cost and a higher specific modulus than
sisal, coir and even E-glass, thereby providing an
opportunity for replacing existing materials with a
higher strength, lower cost alternative that is environ-
mentally friendly. Maldas et al.2 analysed the impact
strength of PS 201 based composites. Paul et al.3
investigated the effect of NaOH concentration on the
thermophysical properties of the composites. A 10%NaOH
treated banana fibre composite showed better thermophy-
sical properties than 2%NaOH treated banana fibre
composites. Mohanty et al.4 observed that the composites
prepared at 21 vol.-% of fibres with 1% maleic anhydride
grafted polypropylene (MAPP) concentration exhibit
optimum mechanical strength. The thermal properties of
the composites were analysed through differential scanning
calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis measurements.
Scanning electron microscopy investigations confirmed
that the increase in properties was due to the improved
fibre–matrix adhesion for ethylene–propylene copolymers;
the uncoupled systems had much higher Young’s moduli
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Arulmigu Kalasalingam College
of Engineering, Krishnankoil, Tamil Nadu 626190, India
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tamil Nadu College of
Engineering, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641659, India
3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Alagappa Chettiar College of
Engineering and Technology, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu 630 004, India
*Corresponding author, email athimania@yahoo.in
the uncoupled impact polymers were higher than the
coupled composites at temperatures up to y50uC. At
higher temperatures, the presence of the coupling agent
resulted in higher storage moduli.
The chemical modification of kenaf fibres was carried
out by Edeerozey et al.5 Different concentrations of
NaOH were used, and the morphological changes were
examined by SEM. The authors observed that the
treated kenaf fibres exhibited better mechanical proper-
ties than the untreated fibres. In addition, the optimum
concentration of NaOH was found to be 6%. A decrease
in the amount of surface impurities was observed in the
case of treated fibres. Fibre bundle tests were also
performed, and the strength of 6%NaOH treated fibre
bundles was found to be higher by 13%. Ochi6 reviewed
the biodegradability of kenaf/polylactic acid composites
that were examined for 4 weeks using a garbage
processing machine. Experimental results showed that
the weight of the composites decreased by 38% after
4 weeks of composting.
The authors observed that silane, NaOH and acetyla-
tion treatments improved the resistance of the banana/
PF composites on outdoor exposure and soil burial.
Idicula et al.7 investigated the thermophysical properties
of banana–sisal hybrid reinforced composites as a
function of chemical modification. The sisal and banana
fibres were subjected to mercerisation and polystyrene
maleic anhydride treatments. The authors observed that
chemical modification resulted in an increase of 43% in
thermal conductivity when compared with untreated
composites. Sapuan and Maleque8 used one-way analy-
sis of variance in three samples for identifying the
mechanical behaviour of the composites under different
tests. Boisse et al.9 discussed that the principal deforma-
tion mode of the woven fabrics is plane shear and could
be estimated by measurement of angle between yarns
during the process. In recent years, the natural fibre
woven fabrics have been attractive as reinforcements
since they provide excellent integrity and conformability
for advanced structural applications. When comparing
the woven fabric composites with the non-woven

ß W. S. Maney & Son Ltd. 2011

Received 9 October 2010; accepted 30 November 2010
DOI 10.1179/143307511X13018917925676 Materials Research Innovations 2011 VOL 15 NO 4 229

composites, they have excellent drapeability, reduced
manufacturing costs and increased mechanical proper-
ties, especially the interlaminar or interfacial strength.
Pothan et al.10 discussed the stress relaxation behaviour
of banana fibre reinforced polyester composites and
their characteristics. Tabiei and Ivanov11 reviewed the
modelling of process induced residual stresses in resin
transfer moulded composites with woven fibre mats.
Significant change in the elastic properties is observed as
a result of the scissoring effect and fibre reorientation in
the woven fabric composites. Yapici12 analysed the
elastic–plastic stress analysis of woven composites, and
also the effect of orientation angle and symmetric–
antisymmetric structure was investigated. The mechan-
ical performance of a composite laminated plate with
different loading conditions was investigated. Ahmed
et al.13 carried out research work on filament wound
cotton fibre reinforced for high density polyethylene
resin. Khalid et al.14 also studied the use of cotton fibre
reinforced epoxy composites along with glass fibre
reinforced polymers. Fuad et al.15 investigated the new
type wood based filler derived from oil palm wood flour
for bio based thermoplastic composites by thermogravi-
metric analysis, and the results are very promising.
Schneider and Karmaker16 developed composites using
jute and kenaf fibre and polypropylene resins and
reported that jute fibre provides better mechanical
properties than kenaf fibre. Pothan and Mai17 studied
the composites of woven sisal polyester matrix using
three different weave architectures (plain, twill and matt)
prepared using a resin transfer moulding technique with
special reference to the effect of resin viscosity, applied
pressure, weave architecture and fibre surface modifica-
tion. A complete study of the mechanical properties,
which includes tensile strength, compressive strength,
flexural strength, impact strength, in plane shear
strength, interlaminar shear strength and hardness of
jute woven fabric reinforced polyester composites, was
conducted by Gowda et al.18
In this research, a type of woven fabric having a count
of 20612 (for yarns of 245–302 tex) was used. The
20612 count indicates that 20 larger yarns in the warp
direction and 12 smaller yarns in the weft direction per
inch are used. The composites were made by hand lay-
up, and the fibre volume fraction was ,45%. Anderson
and Sparnins19 prepared flax fibre composites by resin
transfer moulding, while flax fibre mat/vinyl ester and
modified acrylic resin composites are manufactured by
resin transfer moulding. Rouison et al.20 carried out
finite element modelling of polymer curing in natural
fibre reinforced composites. Plant based fibres have been
selected as suitable reinforcements for composites due to
their good mechanical performances and environmental
advantages. This article describes the development of a
simulation procedure to predict the temperature profile
and the curing behaviour of the hemp fibre/thermoset
Table 1 Properties of polyester resin
Sample no. Properties Value
1 Appearance Colourless to pale yellow liquid
2 Specific gravity 1.12¡0.01
3 Viscosity 450¡50
4 Tensile strength 22
5 Flexural strength 40
Alavudeen et al. Clutch plate using woven hybrid composite materials
1 Typical weave type selected for fabric to be used as
reinforcement
composite during the moulding process. The use of fibre
fabrics in transportation industries is increasing because
it gives the possibility to reach complex shapes for a
lighter final product with the resin transfer moulding
(RTM) process; Potter21 analysed the fabric process and
the testing characteristics. The position of the yarn
during the process is another important parameter for
the simulation fact to apply the mechanical law be-
haviour in tension along their direction (warp and weft).
Lai and Mariatti22 investigated betel palm woven hybrid
composite characteristics and testing features. It was
found that the alkaline treatment of fibres effectively
cleaned the fibre surface and increased the fibre surface
roughness. In general, mechanical properties of the
woven composites made from alkali treated fibres were
superior to the untreated fibres. Pothan et al.23 fa-
bricated a woven fabric from banana and glass fibre
reinforced with unsaturated polyester composites. In
their woven fabric, banana yarn was used as weft and
glass fibre was used as warp. However, none of the
above researchers have studied the use of woven
banana–kenaf hybrid composites in the development
of clutch plate design. Therefore, a novel study with the
aim of design and fabrication of a household telephone
stand using banana and kenaf woven fabric reinforce
polyester composite is presented in this paper.
Experimental
Materials
Banana (Musa sepentium)/kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus)
was reinforced with unsaturated polyester matrix
material. The properties of the resin/matrix used are
listed in Table 1.
Unit
g cm23
Cp
MPa
MPa
Materials Research Innovations 2011 VOL 15 NO 4 230
 Alavudeen et al. Clutch plate using woven hybrid composite materials

2 Orthographic view of clutch plate

Unsaturated polyesters are extremely versatile in Clutch plate design

properties and applications and have been a popular
thermoset used as the polymer matrix in composites.
The matrix material was mixed with curing catalyst at a
concentration of 0?01 (w/w) of the matrix for curing.
The woven (banana/kenaf) fibres are directly procured
from M/s. Jothi Banana Fibre Unit, Sholavanthan. Like
weaving, knitting is a technique for producing a two-
dimensional fabric made from a one-dimensional yarn
or thread. In weaving, threads are always straight,
running parallel either lengthwise (warp threads) or
crosswise (weft threads). By contrast, the yarn in knitted
fabrics follows a meandering path (a course), forming
symmetric loops (also called bights) symmetrically
above and below the mean path of the yarn (Fig. 1).
Chemical treatment
The fibres (banana and kenaf) were treated with
10%NaOH and 10% sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) for
30 min and then washed with distilled water and dried.
The properties of SLS are tabulated in Table 2.
Preparation of composites
The fibre contents were set at 50%, and the weight of the
matrix with the banana and kenaf is set as 1 : 1 weight
ratio. Unsaturated polyester was used as matrix. For a
proper chemical reaction, cobalt naphthenate and
methyl ethyl ketone were used as catalyst and accel-
erator respectively. An acrylic sheet coated with remover
of dimension 300630063 mm is used as mould where
the composite was poured. With the help of a roller, the
composites were pressed so that proper spreading of the
resin will take place and voids will be minimised. Then,
the mould was closed and kept for curing at room
temperature for 24 h. After curing, the composite
specimens were cut according to the ASTM standards.
A clutch is a mechanical device, which provides driving
force to another mechanism, typically by connecting
the driven mechanism to the driving mechanism. Its
opposite component is a brake, which inhibits motion.
Clutches are useful in devices that have two rotating
shafts. In these devices, one shaft is typically attached to
a motor or other power unit (driving member), and the
other shaft (driven member) provides output power for
work to be performed. In a drill, for instance, one shaft
is driven by a motor, and the other drives a drill chuck.
The clutch connects the two shafts so that they can
either be locked together and spin at the same speed
(engaged) or be decoupled and spin at different speeds
(disengaged). The clutch plate is the one that connects
the driving shaft with the pressure plate. The clutch plate
will get the wear on the surface of the clutch plate. The
clutch plate is normally made up of carbon fibre
(otherwise, asbestos). The clutch plate loses its surface
by wear on the outer surface first, and then it moves
inwards because of the centrifugal force acting on the
clutch plate. The clutch plate will get its temperature by
means of rotary motion and friction. The friction will

Table 2 Properties of SLS

Properties

Molecular formula NaC12H25SO4

Molar mass/g mol21 288.38
Density/ g cm23 1.01
Melting point/uC 206 3 Clutch plate using composite specimen

Materials Research Innovations 2011 VOL 15 NO 4 231


4 Load versus displacement
5 Stress versus strain plot of composite specimen
happen by the engagement and disengagement of the
clutch. The clutch plate designed has 10 slots on its outer
diameter, and the outer diameter is 95 mm. The inner
circle diameter is 56 mm. The thickness of the clutch
plate is 4 mm. The orthographic view of the clutch plate
is shown in Fig. 2. A fabricated view of the clutch plate
is shown in Fig. 3.
Testing of mechanical properties
Load versus displacement
The tensile test was performed on a Shimadzu AG-IS
50 kN autograph universal testing machine according to
6 Test report of abrasion resistance test for 1 kg load
Alavudeen et al. Clutch plate using woven hybrid composite materials
the guidelines of ASTM D638. For statistical purpose,
a total of six samples for each test were carried out
at room temperature. Figure 4 shows the load versus
displacement results of the banana/kenaf hybrid woven
composite, and Fig. 5 shows the stress versus strain plot
of the specimen. Figure 4 depicts that when the load is
applied above 4 kN, the composites begin to deform. As
the load increases, the deformation begins to increase.
The fluctuations in the figure are due to the breaking of
fibre particles, and the composite material breaks at the
point of breaking load. The results of the tensile strength
test of the woven hybrid reinforced polyester composites
showed the ultimate stress of 137?221 MPa in Fig. 5.
The fibres starts to enter the breaking mode at the point
where the curve deviates from linearity.
Determination of amount of wear
Before conducting the test, the pin and the disc surfaces
were polished with emery papers so that the contact will
be smooth. All the wear tests were carried out as per
ASTM G-99 standard under unlubricated condition in a
normal laboratory atmosphere at 50–60% relative
humidity and a temperature of 28–320uC. Each test
was carried out for 6 h run. Constant loads of 1 and
2 kg were applied during the wear test for the samples.
The weight loss was measured for the specified time
intervals. The weight loss in the specimen after each test
was estimated by measuring the weight of the specimen
before and after each test using an electronic weighing
machine having an accuracy of up to 0?01 mg. Care has
been taken so that the specimens under test are
continuously cleaned with woolen cloth to avoid the
entrapment of wear debris and to achieve uniformly in
experiential procedure. The testpieces are cleaned with
tetra-chloro-ethylene solution before and after each test.
Abrasion loss is found as 0?6 g for 1 kg applied load
(Fig. 6). Abrasion loss is found as 0?8 g for 2 kg applied
load (Fig. 7).
Load is applied through a dead weight loading system
to press the pin against the disc. The frictional force
arising at the contact can be read out from the controller.
The speed of the disc or motor (rev min21) can be varied
through the controller. For a particular type of compo-
site, 27 sets of testpieces were tested. Each set of test was
carried out for a period of 6 h run. After each hour, the
Materials Research Innovations 2011 VOL 15 NO 4 232
 Alavudeen et al. Clutch plate using woven hybrid composite materials

7 Test report of abrasion resistance test for 2 kg load

a before deformation; b after deformation

8 Specimen that underwent thermal deformation test

testpieces were removed from the machine and weighted Result: the material fibre deformation
accurately to determine the loss in weight. Observation: total hours, 80 h/10 days
Thermal deformation test (i) fourth day: 32 h, the colour changed
The purpose of the thermal deformation test was to find (ii) fifth day: 40 h, material twisted
out the deformation of the material with the tempera- (iii) sixth day: 48 h, fibre transmitted
ture. The material will be tested from room temperature (iv) tenth day: 80 h, fibre transmitted.
to 600uC. Because the application of the composite Figure 9 shows the composite specimen prepared
material will be a clutch plate, the working temperature clutch plate using the composite material discussed
is from 300 to 600uC. The temperature of the clutch earlier.
plate will be created by the rotary motion of the drive. Figure 10 shows the assembled view of the clutch
Its starting temperature will be 300uC as room plate in TVS CHAMP. The 10 slots of the clutch plate
temperature; when it reached its maximum speed, its were plate straight to the slots on the driving clutch
temperature will be up 600uC. To test the thermal
deformation, the specimen will be fitted to the deforma-
tion test equipment with a shape and size of
11062065 mm. In addition, the heat was generated
on the specimen by the furnace. The furnace has the
capability of temperatures up to 2000uC. The tempera-
ture was created by means of the electrical resistance.
When current flows through any material, if it resists the
flowing current, then it means that it will generate heat
on the material, which will be utilised in this test to
measure the temperature deformation. The deformation
will be measured using a dial gauge. Figure 8 shows the
specimen after thermal deformation.
The following observations are made during the 9 Assembled view of clutch plate made by composite
thermal deformation test: material

Materials Research Innovations 2011 VOL 15 NO 4 233


10 Plain woven banana/kenaf clutch plate in TVS 50
assembly
mechanism. The surface of the clutch plate is rough to
get friction.
Conclusions
On the basis of the experimental evidence, the conclu-
sions of this study are as follows. The results of the
tensile strength test of the woven hybrid reinforced
polyester composites showed the ultimate stress of
137?221 MPa. A high wear resistant material created
using banana/kenaf woven hybrid composite matrix
could successfully develop a beneficial clutch plate
composite, particularly in terms of strong and rigidity.
This composite material will increase the life of the
clutch plate and reduce the energy loss during power
transmission and also exhibits high machinability.
Banana and kenaf fibre is a feasible reinforcement to
form a reinforced composite as an alternative and new
material for clutch plate applications at low cost.
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