Design, Control and Validation of Two-Speed Clutch-less Automatic Transmission for Electric Vehicle

Two-speed or multiple-speed automatic transmissions can obviously improve the overall manipulating performance in terms of shifting quality and energy efficiency when equipped in electric vehicles (EVs). This study details the design of a two-speed clutch-less automatic transmission (2AT) for EVs and the motor controlled shifting mechanism. Firstly, a novel two-speed clutch automatic transmission is devised with a motor-controlled shifting mechanism, which enables the shift motions and the speed control of the driving motor for synchronization during shifts. Secondly, a coordinated control strategy of the driving motor and controlling motor for shifting is detailed during different shifting processes to achieve fast and smooth shifting. The torque trajectory optimization during synchronizing process is attained by applying the Pontryagin's minimum principle. The simulation and experimental results verify the shifting mechanism design and the shift control algorithm in terms of shift response and smoothness for the designed 2AT

THE ABILITY OF THE CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE TRANSMISSION TO CONTROL THE ENGINE AT MAXIMUM POWER: LITERATURE REVIEW

Good ride performance is one of the most important key attributes of a passenger vehicle. One of the methods to achieve this is by using Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). This is because a CVT can provide an almost infinite ratio within its limits smoothly and continuously. The flexibility of a CVT allows the driving shaft to maintain a constant angular velocity over a range of output velocities. New developments in gear reduction and manufacturing have led to ever more robust CVTs, allowing them to be applied in more diverse automotive applications. As CVT development continues, costs will be reduced further, and the performance will continue to improve, making further development and application of the CVT technology desirable. This cycle of improvement will offer CVT a solid foundation in the world's automotive infrastructure. This paper aims to provide some background and relevant information that is necessary for this study. Specifically, a brief description of CVT, advantages and their brief history is presented. This paper also evaluates the current state of CVT, investigate the technology frontline of drivetrain control and the development of CVT. The stepless transmission is able to maintain the engine running at its maximum power

From fly-by-wire to drive-by-wire: Safety implications of automation in vehicles

The purpose of this paper is to critically review the current trend in automobile engineering toward automation of many of the functions previously performed by the driver. Working on the assumption that automation in aviation represents the basic model for driver automation, the costs and benefits of automation in aviation are explored as a means of establishing where automation of drivers' tasks are likely to yield benefits. It is concluded that there are areas where automation can provide benefits to the driver, but there are other areas where this is unlikely to be the case. Automation per se does not guarantee success, and therefore it becomes vital to involve Human Factors into design to identify where automation of driver functions can be allocated with a beneficial outcome for driving performance

Dynamic Analysis and Control of the Clutch Filling Process in Clutch-to-Clutch Transmissions

Clutch fill control in clutch-to-clutch transmissions influences shift quality considerably. An oncoming clutch should be applied synchronously with the release of an offgoing clutch to shift gear smoothly; therefore, the gap between the piston and clutch plates should be eliminated when the torque capacity is near zero at the end of the clutch fill phase. Open-loop control is typically implemented for the clutch fill because of the cost of pressure sensor. Low control precision causes underfill or overfill to occur, deteriorating shift quality. In this paper, a mathematical model of an electrohydraulic clutch shift control system is presented. Special dynamic characteristic parameters for optimal clutch fill control are subsequently proposed. An automatic method for predicting initial fill control parameters is proposed to eliminate distinct discrepancies among transmissions caused by manufacturing or assembling errors. To prevent underfill and overfill, a fuzzy adaptive control method is proposed, in which clutch fill control parameters are adjusted self-adaptively and continually. Road vehicle test results proved that applying the fuzzy adaptive method ensures the consistency of shift quality even after the transmission’s status is changed

A Business Process Management System based on a General Optimium Criterion

Business Process Management Systems (BPMS) provide a broad range of facilities to manage operational business processes. These systems should provide support for the complete Business Process Management (BPM) life-cycle (16): (re)design, configuration, execution, control, and diagnosis of processes. BPMS can be seen as successors of Workflow Management (WFM) systems. However, already in the seventies people were working on office automation systems which are comparable with today’s WFM systems. Recently, WFM vendors started to position their systems as BPMS. Our paper’s goal is a proposal for a Tasks-to-Workstations Assignment Algorithm (TWAA) for assembly lines which is a special implementation of a stochastic descent technique, in the context of BPMS, especially at the control level. Both cases, single and mixed-model, are treated. For a family of product models having the same generic structure, the mixed-model assignment problem can be formulated through an equivalent single-model problem. A general optimum criterion is considered. As the assembly line balancing, this kind of optimisation problem leads to a graph partitioning problem meeting precedence and feasibility constraints. The proposed definition for the "neighbourhood" function involves an efficient way for treating the partition and precedence constraints. Moreover, the Stochastic Descent Technique (SDT) allows an implicit treatment of the feasibility constraint. The proposed algorithm converges with probability 1 to an optimal solution.BPMS, control assembly system, stochastic optimisation techniques, TWAA, SDT

Operation Simulation and Control of a Hybrid Vehicle Based on a Dual Clutch Configuration

Today, the world thrives on making more fuel-efficient vehicles that consume less energy, emit fewer emissions and have enhanced overall performance. Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) offer the advantages of improved fuel economy and emissions without sacrificing vehicle performance factors such as safety, reliability and other features. The durability and performance enhancements of HEVs have encouraged researchers to develop various hybrid power-train configurations and improve associated issues, such as component sizing and control strategies. HEVs with dual clutch transmissions (HDCT) are used in operation modes to improve fuel efficiency and dynamic performance for both diesel engines and high-speed gas engines. Dual clutch transmissions (DCTs) are proved to be the first automatic transmission type to provide better efficiency than manual transmissions. DCTs also provide reduced shift shocks and shift time that result in better driving experience. In addition, advanced software allows more simplistic approaches and tunable launch strategies in HDCT development. In this dissertation, an innovative approach to develop a desired mode controller for a HDCT configuration is proposed. This mode controller allows the driver to select the desired driving style of the vehicle. The proposed controller was developed based on adaptive control theory for the overall HDCT system. The proposed Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC) was applied to a parallel hybrid electric vehicle with dual clutch transmission (HDCT), and yielded good performance under different conditions. This implies that the MRAC is adaptive to different torque distribution strategies. The current study, which was performed on adaptive control applications, revealed that the Lyapunov method was effective and yielded good performance. The MRAC method was also applied to the mode transition of an HDCT bus. The simulation results confirmed that the MRAC outperformed the conventional operation method for an HDCT with reduced vehicle jerk and the torque interruption for the driveline and with improved fuel efficiency.Ph.D.College of Engineering & Computer ScienceUniversity of Michigan-Dearbornhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145173/1/Final Dissertation Elzaghir.pdfDescription of Final Dissertation Elzaghir.pdf : Dissertatio