In this paper, the clutch actuator system with rack and pinion

mechanism as wedge mechanism is proposed to provide reinforcement

of engagement force by self-energizing effect without
slip and excessive force amplification to solve the problem
described earlier.
This paper is organized as follows. In Section II, the design
of an efficient clutch actuator incorporating self-energizing
structure comparable to conventional clutch systems with a dryfriction
disk is proposed. In Section III, the modeling of a mechanical
clutch actuator is suggested to address the essential
dynamics, which will be used for control design and system
analysis. Section IV presents passivity analysis of the mechanical
actuator system to avoid it being stuck resulting from excessive
force amplification by virtue of self-energizing effect. In
addition, a feedback controller is designed to control the motion
of the actuator for clutch engagement. In Section V, experimental
results are illustrated to validate and evaluate the torque
transmissibility and the engagement performance. Section VI
summarizes the conclusions and future works for this research.