Control strategy optimization for a dual-clutch transmission downshift with a single slipping clutch during the torque phase

During the torque phase, appropriate coordination between two clutches is of vital importance to the dual-clutch transmission so that a high-quality shift is achieved without clutch interaction and engine flare, because a poor-quality shift definitely extends the shift time and increases the friction work. Concerning this problem, two different power flow conditions during the torque phase are discussed in detail, after investigation of the dual-clutch transmission downshift process and the design of an H_∞ robust controller for the inertia phase. The results obtained indicate that, if two clutches are slipping simultaneously during the torque phase, either power interruption or power circulation occurs. Thus, by optimizing the relationship between the two clutches, a novel control strategy is proposed for the dual-clutch transmission so that the downshift process is accomplished with only one slipping clutch, in order to obtain the highest system efficiency. The system model was established on the MATLAB/Simulink platform and used to study the variations in the torque and the speed output in response to different control strategies. The simulation results show that, with the smooth inertia phase guaranteed by the robust controller, the proposed control strategy not only can avoid power interruption or power circulation during the torque phase but also can shorten the shift time (from 1.1 s to 0.8 s) and reduce the jerk level (from 6.8 m/s³ to 5.7 m/s³) effectively, in comparison with the conventional control strategy. Finally, to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy, bench tests on a dual-clutch transmission were carried out, and the test data obtained show good agreement with the simulation results.