Application of Time-Optimal Strategy and Fuzzy Logic to the Engine Speed Control during the Gear-Shifting Process of AMT

Engine speed control is a crucial issue in the gear- shifting process of Automated Manual Transmission (AMT). In this paper, we proposed a combined strategy to control the engine speed in such process, which overcomes the shortcomings of time-optimal control and fuzzy control while maintains the advantages of both through a mode switching mechanism in a combined controller. When the deviation between the control target and the actual control output is relatively large, the controller switches to time-optimal control mode; while the deviation is small, the controller switches to fuzzy control mode. The proposed strategy has been applied to engine speed control in the automatic gear-shifting process of an AMT test vehicle, which is testified to be efficient to reduce fuel consumption, engine noise, shift jerk, and clutch friction work by means of decreasing engine speed undulation and shortening gear-shifting time.