Development of Ultrasonic Clutch Module with Piezoelectric Vibrators

This paper investigates the design, construction and performance test of an ultrasonic clutch module which includes two piezoelectric vibrators, two support frames, a preload control unit, a carbon brush unit and a base. For the vibrators, one vibrator acts as a driving frictional member connected to a driving motor, and the other vibrator acts as a driven frictional member connected to a driven load. In doing so, the design and construction of the clutch module are first expressed. Then, operating principle of the clutch module based on near-field acoustic levitation is expressed. Moreover, a test system, including the clutch module, the driving motor, the driven load and an AC power supply unit, is constructed to evaluate the performance of the clutch module. The AC power supply unit comprises two AC power supplies and two control switches. Finally, effects of electrical conditions on the performance of the clutch module are measured and discussed.