Optimizing Welding Process Time for Wet Clutch Housings in Agricultural Machinery Using Electron Beam Welding

A wet clutch is used in agricultural machinery to transfer power or brake between the transmission and the axle, which requires high mechanical reliability. To reduce processing time and defect rates, flow forming is used in housing machining, and the shaft and housing, made of different steel grades, are joined using electron beam welding for enhanced stability. To compare welding process times, this study assumed identical power and process temperatures, with all input energy converted to heat without loss. A stress analysis was performed to optimize the process and meet design requirements of 170 kgf·m, 1 million cycles, and a safety factor of two. The variations in welding time based on weld radius and disk thickness were analyzed. The optimal conditions, with a weld radius of 61 mm and a disk thickness of 4 mm, resulted in a 51% reduction in welding time and a 2.1% decrease in mass compared with the initial model.