The mechanism of a hydro-viscous soft start is of great importance in the design of a hydro-viscous clutch and its control system. To explain the mechanism of a hydro-viscous soft start, the startup process of a belt conveyor was numerically analyzed with the modified Reynolds equation, an energy equation and a temperature-viscosity equation. The effect of temperature and grooves of the friction disk surface on torque transfer and load capacity of the oil film have also been analyzed. The results show that 1) the grooves are the basis of forming dynamic pressure but they may reduce the capacity of torque transfer to a certain extent, 2) during the startup process, temperature has little effect on torque transfer and load capacity and the variation in load capacity of the oil film is very small, indicating that it is preferable to use the flow rate as a control object than the pressure of the feed cylinder. The results have been verified by an experiment.
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