Active engine control for gearshifting in automated manual transmissions

The problem of automating the gearshift process of a manual transmission without synchronizers is considered in this paper. The application is very interesting from an integrated powertrain control point of view, since it includes many different control tasks and encourages the use of modem control theory and,the use of the engine as an actuator to the rest of the powertrain. The powertrain controller will have a supervisory function, coordinating the control of the engine and the transmission. The control laws for the gearshifting controller will include transmission torque control and engine speed control. The derived control laws are designed based on backstepping, a nonlinear model-based control design methodology. Simulations have shown good results for the gearshift controller.