Design of an optimal clutch controller for commercial trucks

Abstract

This paper describes a procedure to determine the parameters of well established driveline models using signals that are readily available on the vehicle data bus. Experimental results performed on a class 6 commercial truck are provided and the quality of the model fidelity is discussed. Two control strategies based on LQR technique are discussed to illustrate automatic selection of controller structure and controller parameters. The first technique permits large initial torque which may be desirable when launching up a slope. The second technique enforces smooth clutch-torque profile to ensure driver comfort. The parameter estimation procedure can be easily incorporated as part of regular maintenance to ensure the controller performance do not deteriorate over a period of time. Thus, when the procedure described in the paper is implemented, the driver will have the ability to select the quality of the launch described by features such as power dissipation, longitudinal acceleration etc. Simulation results, using the described procedure taking into account the torquespeed characteristics of the engine and the typical load on the vehicle, are presented and discussed.

Driveaway and braking control of vehicles with manual transmission using a robotic driver

“…Several controls for driveaway have been discussed before, e.g. [3], [4] or [5]. These controls are used for clutch engagement and driveaway for one specific vehicle with an automatic manual transmission (AMT).…”

Identification and control of a motorcycle electro-hydraulic clutch

“…These works are mainly tailored to cars, while [4] focuses on trucks and [5] on agricultural tractors.…”

Study of control for the automated clutch of an automated manual transmission vehicle based on rapid control prototyping

“…Sanada and Kitagawa [7] applied a proportional reducing valve to an automotive automatic transmission system to control shift operation, and a feedback controller was designed on the basis of m synthesis, which is also a controller design method using conventional control theory. David and Natrajan [8] described a procedure to determine the parameters of well-established driveline modes using signals that are readily available on a vehicle data bus. Two control strategies based on the linear quadratic Gaussian technique were discussed.…”