<p>This study proposes an accelerated engagement strategy for hydraulic wet clutch (HWC) systems used in high-tonnage industrial presses, integrating an auxiliary hydraulic actuator with a&#xa0;two-stage pressure control mechanism. The strategy initiates piston movement via the auxiliary actuator prior to the main pressure buildup, thereby reducing mechanical impact, suppressing pressure spikes, and improving overall system responsiveness and stability. A&#xa0;physics-based lumped-parameter model is developed to simulate the dynamic behavior of piston displacement, chamber pressure buildup, valve-regulated flow transitions, and accumulator-assisted flow compensation, and is analyzed using a&#xa0;system-level dynamic simulation approach. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy, a&#xa0;high-resolution test platform is constructed, and experiments are conducted on an 800-ton industrial press.</p><p>Results indicate that the early activation of the auxiliary actuator reduces clutch engagement time by up to 81.48% and significantly suppresses transient pressure spikes, with simulation errors maintained within 3.20%. The key contributions of this work include: (1)&#xa0;the proposal and validation of an application-driven engagement enhancement strategy for HWCs; (2)&#xa0;the establishment of an integrated simulation–experiment validation framework for engagement dynamics; and (3)&#xa0;the provision of quantitative insights for intelligent control and predictive maintenance in heavy-duty hydraulic systems.</p> Graphic abstract <p></p>