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A wet clutching/braking mechanism has been designed to operate as prescribed in a patent issued to R. A. Iverson in 1982 (1)*. A key element in this design is to allow high radial oil flow rates through the clutch plate stack to carry the heat generated during power absorbtion away from the clutch disks. A continuously variable transmission incorporating this new clutch was constructed and tested under contract to NASA in which the clutch assembly was found to absorb 5.78 × 10−3 KW/cm2 (0.05 HP/in2) of surface area with no supplemental oil cooling. As a result of the new design, an equal fraction of torque was transmitted through each of the disks in the clutch pack and no wear of the clutch plates was descernable after several hours of high energy rejection operation. As applied to transmissions, this design eliminates the need for torque convertors/fluid couplers and tolerates long duration of slippage.

The following describes the development of a wet disk brake for medium duty truck use. It was determined that the most important parameter to allow extended periods of energy absorption of a brake is the heat capacitance. This brake utilizes a hydrodynamic film of oil between interleaved stators and rotors to distribute the heat evenly throughout the entire mass thus effectively increasing the thermal mass of the brake. Tests also indicate that there may be as much as a 50% increase in fuel economy. Road wear tests project the present brake to have a life of 50,000 miles. If other friction materials used in bench tests were used, brake life could be as high as 150,000 miles.

A 3-wheeled All Terrain Vehicle's lateral stability and handling characteristics are due to the combinations of vehicle speed, ground surface, tire type, weight distribution, rider weight transfer, and the solid rear axle. The computer simulation was used to explore the various interactions. Simulation results were compared with field test vehicle data and expert rider observations. A modified two degree of freedom analytical model was also used to predict 3-wheeled ATV lateral stability and handling characteristics. Current and previous research done on ATVs and other 3-wheeled vehicles were used to formulate general handling and lateral stability characteristics. Initial stages of ATV turns are marked by severe understeer until the breakaway limit. It was found that the 3-wheel ATV has natural oversteer characteristics that are masked by the solid rear axle until the breakaway limit.