Optimal Clutch Pressure Control in Shifting Process of Automatic Transmission for Heavy-Duty Mining Trucks

Abstract

The optimal control of automatic transmission plays an important role in the shifting smoothness and fuel economy of heavy-duty mining trucks. In this paper, a dynamic model of the powertrain system is built to study the clutch pressure control during the shifting process. A linear-quadratic optimal regulator is used to achieve the optimum control pressure of clutches, where shifting jerk and clutch friction loss are chosen to a form quadratic performance index function. Besides, a detailed solution of the linear-quadratic problem with the disturbance matrix in the state equations is provided. This paper also carries out a software simulation and verification of the normal condition (no load without slope) and the extreme condition (full load with maximum slope). Compared with the preset reference trajectory control, the simulation results show that the proposed optimal clutch pressure control can effectively reduce jerk and friction loss during the shifting process and has good robustness to different operating conditions.