Industrial Lubrication and Tribology

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reveal the effect of working oil temperature, load and starting time on hydro-viscous drive speed-regulating start.

Design/methodology/approach – The authors developed an experimental equipment and carried out a number of experiments under different temperatures, load and starting time.

Findings – The results show that both the temperature rise of working oil and the increase of load can induce fluctuations in output speed, but the effect of the working oil temperature rise is more serious; also the longer the starting time is, the more perfectly the output speed can trace the given speed.

Practical implications – It indicates that the working oil temperature should be kept in a certain range by using a cooling device in practical application; and that under this experimental condition, kinematics viscosity of the working oil should be greater than 45?mm²/s under rated working temperature, and the relatively suitable starting time should range from 90 to 120?s.

Originality/value – The paper explains the effect of various factors on speed-regulating start, and provides the basis for the design and the application of hydro-viscous drives.