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Wet multiple plate clutches consist of friction plates, on which a friction material is bonded, and mating plates that are plain metal plates. Since the frequency and the range of load in the field of forklift trucks vary widely and are more severe than those for passenger cars, the wet multiple plate clutches on forklift trucks are often damaged. Damaged clutches that were returned from the field typically had 3 types of symptoms: 1.Only the friction material was damaged, 2.Only the mating plates were deformed, 3.Both symptoms were observed. It was clear that the cause of these symptoms depended on the difference of the operating application and the strength criteria of each part. This showed that a design guide for wet multiple plate clutches considering the strength balance between the two parts according to the work application was required. The relevant flow chart of this design process was proposed.

Robust performance control of an autocruise system for a heavy-duty truck is described. The controller design is carried out employing a loopshaping method, considering dynamics variation caused by the gear shift, the load changes, the vehicle speed and also the vibrational characteristics of the propulsion system as the plant uncertainty. Thereby a robust-stable controller is obtained without sacrificing the response to disturbances. Finally, nonlinear simulations and real vehicle experiments prove that the steady-state performance and its robustness excel the conventional PID's.