Review Paper doi:10.5937/jaes13-7727 Paper number: 13(2015)1, 313, 51 - 59 MODERN DESIGN AND CONTROL OF AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION AND THE PROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT Dejan Matijević The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of Applied Studies, Belgrade, Serbia Ivan Ivanković* University of Belgrade, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Belgrade, Serbia Dr Vladimir Popović University of Belgrade, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Belgrade, Serbia The paper provides an overview of modern technical solutions of automatic transmissions in auto- motive industry with their influence on sustainable development. The objective of the first section is a structural view of specific constructions and control systems of presently used automatic transmis- sions, with emphasis on mechatronics implementation. The second section is based on perspectives of development, by integrating some branches of soft computing, such as fuzzy logic and artificial neural networks in order to create an optimal control algorithm for obtaining a contribution to fuel economy, exhaust emission, comfort and vehicle performance. Key words: Automatic transmission, Mechatronics, Automotive industry, Soft Computing INTRODUCTION which is depended by coefficient of friction and normal load on the drive axle. Lower limitation Almost all automobiles in use today are driven by is defined by maximal speed that vehicle can internal combustion engines, which are charac- reach. Shaded areas between traction forces terized by many advantages, such as relatively through gears are power losses. To decrease good efficiency, relatively compact energy stor- power losses and to be as closely as possible age and high power – to – weight ratio [07]. to the ideal traction hyperbola, the gearbox with But, fundamental disadvantages are: enough gear ratios is needed. • Incapability to produce torque from rest (zero engine speed) and relatively low torque at small engine rpm ; • an internal combustion engine only produces maximum power at a certain engine speed; • fuel consumption is strongly dependent on the operating point in the engine’s perfor- mance map; It is not hard to conclude that speed charac- teristic of internal combustion engine is not the most appropriate for the vehicle movement with Figure 1: Traction diagram for a vehicle with for four speed gearbox [06] a high efficiency. The desired characteristic is “ideal traction hyperbola” which can be obtained Besides characteristics of drivability, which should only by maximum available engine power Pmax be satisfied by certain type of transmission for through all vehicle speeds [07]. specified vehicle, there are also requirements re- The area below the ideal traction hyperbola in lated to the fuel consumption, installation space, the traction diagram, shown on Figure 1 for vehi- comfort, convenience and product costs. It is not cle with a four speed gearbox, could be used for easy to fulfill all these demands, but because of vehicle movement. Upper limitation is related to high competition, great efforts have been made in maximum traction force between tires and road, the field of research and development. * University of Belgrade, Faculty of mechanical engineering, Kraljice Marije 16, Belgrade, Serbia.; 51 [email protected] Dejan Matijević- Modern design and control of automatic transmission and the prospects of development It was reflected on automatic transmissions too, But even today, when benefits of control systems because from the beginning of series vehicle and mechatronics utilization are clearly evident, production, it has been tended to processes au- many people especially in Europe (where percent tomatization. Gear changing automatization has of sold passenger cars with AT is only 15 to 20 crucial impact on traffic safety, because driver percent, while in North America and Japan this gets much less tired than with manual transmis- percentage goes up to 80 to 90 [02]) believe that sion, where is demanded constant changing of automatic transmission are too much expensive gear ratio according to the road conditions and for maintenance and that are less reliable be- traffic situations. This is especially important for cause of their complexity and connections with city driving. other electronic systems in the vehicle, without Despite higher complexity, there are less nega- deep understanding of their advantages. But, tive effects on gearbox sustainability and reliabil- automatic transmission utilization differs through ity caused by driver’s unprofessional handling vehicle segments, and it is shown on Figure 2. with automatic over manual transmission. Of course, the highest percentage of their appli- Utilization of planetary gear sets enabled much cation is in Luxury segment. Small and Mini seg- greater number of gear ratios than it is possible to ments are economically unsuitable for installa- obtain with manual transmission (for commercial tion of automatic transmissions. It is important to vehicles up to 18). Continuously variable trans- notice a positive grade in automatic transmission missions have theoretically an infinite number of usage in Sports segment in the last few years gear ratios, what leads to maximal approxima- and the reasons for that are decreasing of gear tion of ideal traction hyperbola. shifting time (especially with DCT transmissions) and better utilization of engine performance. Figure 2: Market share of vehicles with automatic transmissions (in %) through years ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION CONTROL CAN communication as it is shown on Figure 3. It leads to reduction of costs and complexity while Electronic control of automatic transmissions increasing diagnostic functions and reliability. represents an integration of electrics, electronics Basic automatic transmission control systems and hydraulics. The basic functions are achieved are: by use of sensors, actuators and appropriate • Automated manual transmission (AMT); software in the transmission control unit (TCU). • Hydrodynamic mechanical transmission Advanced functions include networking of the (HMT); control units into one global system, what en- • Continuously variable transmission (CVT); ables information exchange between them, by • Dual clutch transmission (DCT); 52 Journal of Applied Engineering Science 13(2015)1, 313 Dejan Matijević- Modern design and control of automatic transmission and the prospects of development Figure 3: Communication between electronic control units by CAN protocol [06] AUTOMATED MANUAL TRANSMISSION process, but it also enables faster gear shifting. (AMT) It is achieved because the clutch torque is only marginally above the engine torque. The regula- The automated manual transmission combines tion process enables dropping the clutch torque the advantages of manual transmissions with at the moment when the driver takes his foot off function of automatic transmission [01]. The the accelerator pedal, Figure 5. greatest advantage of this transmission is high efficiency which is characterized for manual transmissions. Their automatization leads to low- a. ECM er specific fuel consumption over manual trans- b. AST mission controlled by average driver. It enables lower level of CO2 emission, which is one of the 1. Available signals most important global issues. Also, by avoiding 2. Clutch actuator with an installation of the clutch pedal, the increasing integrated ECM ECU safety with operating comfort and convenience 3. Gear recognition are achieved. 4. Shift-intention Two basic types of this kind of transmission are: recognition on shift lever • Electric-motor clutch management (ECM); 5. Clutch actuator with • Automated shift transmission (AST); integrated AST ECU The basic difference between these two types of 6. Transmission actuator transmissions is higher level of automatization of 7. Selector lever the AST because there is no mechanical connec- tion between the selector lever and the transmis- sion, as it is shown on the Figure 4. Examples of application ECM systems are: Mercedes A – Class, Figure 4: Review of ECM and AST systems [01] Fiat Seicento and Hyundai Atoz. Examples of ap- plication AST systems are: VW Lupo, MCC Smart and Opel Corsa Easytronic [01]. In conventional systems of manual transmissions, the maximal clutch torque must be 50% to 150% higher than defined maximal engine torque. The reasons for that are strong fluctuations of the torque on the flywheel, especially with modern diesel engines, and the requirement that the clutch must trans- fer engine torque under all extreme conditions. To decrease these negative effects, function of torque correction during gear shifting is imple- mented in the control system of AST. This meth- od not only that achieves smoother control of the Figure 5: Review of clutch and engine torque control Journal of Applied Engineering Science 13(2015)1, 313 during gear shifting 53 Dejan Matijević- Modern design and control of automatic transmission and the prospects of development HYDRODYNAMIC MECHANICAL The most important basic functions of Hydrody- TRANSMISSION (HMT) namic mechanical transmission control are the shift point control, the lockup converter clutch The main component of hydrodynamic mechani- control and engine torque control during shifting cal transmission is a torque converter. The torque [02]. The basic shift point control, which is related converter is a power take-up element, which also for other transmission control types, uses works as an additional gear in the start-up range shift maps which are stored in the unit memory. and also serves to damp