Driveline oscillation attenuation through Clutch Micro-Slip and Model Predictive Control

This paper considers a Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach to micro-slip clutch control for driveline shuffle attenuation and longitudinal acceleration oscillation reduction in vehicles with an Automated Manual Transmission system. We introduce an original MPC formulation to consider the performance tradeoff between the clutch slip regulation, the torsional oscillation attenuation and the jerking reduction. A particular problem to be considered is handling saturation constraints on the transmitted torque. We employ a piecewise-affine linear model of the actuator-driveline system to take care of special manoeuvres that cause inversions in the transmission motion. On the methodological side, we present a switching MPC approach where the underlying optimization problem is a quadratic programme for a fast online controller implementation on real-world transmission control unit platforms. To show the effectiveness of the proposed approach, we present extensive simulation results and experimental tests performed on a prototype vehicle.