  This paper deals with an audible disturbance known as automotive clutch
squeal noise from the viewpoint of friction-induced mode coupling instability.
Firstly, an auto-coupling model is presented showing a non-conservative
circulatory effect originating from friction forces. Secondly, the stability of
an equilibrium is investigated by determining the eigenvalues of the system
linearized equations. The effects of the circulatory and gyroscopic actions are
examined analytically and numerically to determine their influence on the
stability region. Separate and combined effects are analysed with and without
structural damping and important information is obtained on the role of each
parameter and their interactions regarding overall stability. Not only is
structural damping shown to be of primary importance, as reported in many
previous works, this article also highlights a particular relationship with
gyroscopic effects. A method of optimizing both the stability range and its
robustness with respect to uncertainty on system parameters is discussed after
which practical design recommendations are given.
