15th Triennial World Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control
  Barcelona, 21–26 July 2002 
FLATNESS–BASED CLUTCH CONTROL FOR AUTOMATED MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS
Joachim Horn* Joachim Bamberger* Peter Michau**
Stephan Pindl**
* Siemens AG, Corporate Technology
Information and Communications
CT IC 4
D–81730 München, Germany
** SiemensVDO Automotive AG
AT PT DTS FDC 2
D–93055 Regensburg, Germany

Control of the clutch position is a crucial point for automating manual transmissions. Here, an electrohydraulic clutch position control system is considered. Based on the flatness approach, a nonlinear feedforward control is designed, which is combined with a linear feedback control and implemented on a standard transmission control unit. Experiments with a Mercedes–Benz Sprinter and a Mercedes-Benz CLK prove that this new control system is significantly superior to conventional control concepts, and provides an accurate trajectory tracking of the clutch position.
Keywords: Automotive Control, Nonlinear Control, Inverse Dynamics Control, Hydraulic Actuators, Position Control
Session slot T-We-M05: Control of Automotive Powertrains/Area code 8b : Automotive Control