Dynamics of torque control continuously variable transmissions

With the increasing concerns in the impact of automotive emissions of CO2 and NOx on the environment combined with today's speculation on oil crude supply, the need to find solutions reducing the fuel consumption and emission of tomorrow's cars is more than ever present. Although the first continuously variable transmissions (CVT) appeared over a hundred years ago, it is only with the recent technological improvements in material durability, lubrication oil as well as control related hardware and software, that these transmissions have proved their capabilities. Because of their ability to decouple the engine from the wheel speed, CVTs enable significant fuel gains by shifting the engine operating point for a certain power demand toward higher torque and lower speed. A CVT can be regarded as a system dedicated to converting the torque delivered by the engine to the wheels. Conversely, for the engine speed control, it can be seen as an actuator applying a load to the engine. Two control concepts of CVTs are recognized. First is the concept of ratio control, which is a natural extension to fixed gear ratio transmissions, enabling an actuation of the transmission ratio. Second and less conventional, is the torque control concept, which sets the torque to be transmitted. It is the particular mechanism of these variators that allows the transmission to automatically shift to the appropriate ratio. Torque control CVTs extend the benefits obtained with conventional ratio control CVTs as they provide a direct control of the load applied on the engine, resulting in a straightforward control of the powertrain. Moreover, when such CVTs are combined with an epicyclic gear train in a split torque arrangement to form an infinitely variable transmission (IVT), virtually no control is required for the operation at the geared neutral point (infinite or zero speed ratio depending on the definition). However, the extended ability of torque control CVTs to decouple the engine and the vehicle speeds causes strong internal interactions, which must be fully understood for their development. The objective of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive and coherent set of analytical tools for the development and operation of torque control CVT powertrains. The classical method of modeling, performance analysis and control is applied to the Torotrak IVT Series 3 and its torque control full toroidal variator. Each of these steps gives a different perspective of the dynamics involved within the variator, of the interactions of the variator with the surrounding subsystems (hydraulics and driveline) and of the powertrain control. The contribution of this work is threefold. Firstly, the most relevant dynamics involved in TC/CVT-based powertrains are described with an application to the Torotrak torque control IVT. The main technical achievements are the development and validation of a model for simulation of the full toroidal variator, an open-loop performance analysis of the powertrain and the development of a control strategy for the engine operating point based on the nonlinear input-output feedback linearization technique. Secondly, this work broadens the general theoretical knowledge base of the operation of CVT powertrains. The two control concepts are compared and formally defined resulting in a new and original classification of transmissions. Also, the problem of powertrain control is formalized with the development of high-level, low bandwidth models of the engine, the transmission and the vehicle featuring properties similar to those of the ratio control CVT powertrain model. Thirdly, the formal and progressive analysis made throughout this work shows how the classical method of modeling, performance analysis and control can be applied to complex systems. This relies most of all on the development of models of varying complexity adapted to the requirements of the system analysis, design and control.

New slip synthesis and theoretical approach of CVT slip control

Yves Rothenbühler

Today's vehicle must be efficient in terms of gas (CO2, NOx) emissions and fuel consumption. Due to improvements in material and oil, the continuous variable transmission (CVT) is now making a breakthrough in the automotive market. The CVT decouples the engine from the wheel speed. CVT enables significant fuel gains by shifting the engine operating point for specific power demands. This optimization of the operating point enables a reduction of this fuel consumption. A CVT is constituted of two pulley sheaves, one fixed and the other one movable in its axial direction when subjected to an external axial force, in general hydraulic. The transition from the minimum to the maximum speed ratio is continuous and an infinite numbers of ratio is available between these two limits. An intermediate element (a metallic belt or chain) transmits the power from the input (the primary) to the exit (the secondary) of the CVT or variator. Further improvements of the fuel consumption and gas emission are still required for example by improving the variator efficiency. Increasing hydraulic performance or decreasing mechanical losses by reducing the axial forces are some solutions. The latter method is not without risks. The diminution of the clamping forces increases the slip between pulley sheaves and the intermediate element. If the axial forces decrease too much, high slip values can be reached and cause damage to the pulleys and the intermediate element. Control of the slip is an attractive solution to decrease the clamping forces in order to safely improve the variator efficiency. The objective of this thesis is to understand and model the slip of each pulley and establish analytic tools dedicate to the variator control. The slip study and the theoretical approach of the CVT variator is applied to the slip control of the variator with a chain. The contribution of this work is threefold. Firstly, the slip and the traction coefficient are analyzed for each pulley. The slip analysis of each pulley is then used to define a new slip synthesis as the summation of the slip of each pulley. It is demonstrated that the slip and the traction coefficient are different for each pulley and depend on the speed ratio of the variator. In low ratios, both the secondary pulley and the primary pulley slip, but only the primary reaches macro slip. For middle or higher ratios, only the secondary pulley slips and reaches high values of slip. Experiments show that the pulley with the smallest clamping force limits the system. Secondly, based on kinematics, force equilibrium, elastic deformations of the pulleys and the intermediate element, a detail model of the variator is proposed. The principal results are the estimation of the clamping forces, of the traction curve for each pulley and of the chain efficiency. These results are implemented in a simpler model that describes the variator dynamics. This last model considers the two pulleys and the intermediate element as free bodies. The hydraulic circuit and the actuators, which are important to take into account for control, are also modeled. Thirdly, the new slip synthesis and the results of the dynamic models are applied to the slip control of the variator in order to improve the efficiency. A pole placement law is applied to the actuators to control the flow that enters or exits the pulleys. With this law, the actuators are decoupled and the bandwidth is increased sufficiently for actuators dynamics to be neglected. The primary and the secondary pressures are decoupled and linearized by an input-output feedback linearization. The resulting system is linear and linear control theory can be applied to control the two pressures. The speed ratio is controlled by the primary clamping force. The secondary pressure is chosen as a function of the control mode of the variator: standard mode or slip mode. In standard mode, the intermediate element is overclamped by 30%, whereas in slip mode, the secondary clamping force is set as a function of the desired slip. By controlling the slip at 2%, the mechanical efficiency was increased by more than 2% and the clamping forces reduced by more than 30%. For the slip control, a proportional-integrator law and a model reference adaptive control (MRAC) are presented and the performances compared. The MRAC gives slightly better results.

EPFL2009

Active origami platforms for human-robot interactions

Frédéric Henri Vaskin Giraud

Robots are employed to assist humans in lengthy, challenging, and repetitive tasks. However, the fields of rehabilitation, haptics, and assistive robotics have shown a significant need to support and interact with people in their everyday life. To facilitate these further needs, robots must overcome constraints in compactness, degrees of freedom (DoF), and mechanical performance. However, developing a robot with these characteristics is challenging for conventional mechanics. First, creating a meso-scale device requires the assembly of small components, which is laborious and increases manufacturing cost, time, and complexity. In addition, devices with several DoF and functionalities also require more parts to create numerous links and joints, actuators, and thus space, affecting the compactness of systems. Finally, aiming for mechanical performance in terms of force, speed, and motion range requires transmissions or bulky actuators, which also influence the size of the system. This thesis attempts to overcome the limitations of conventional mechanics by using origami robots, an alternative design approach for creating meso-scale structures with numerous folding joints. It consists in stacking layers of functional material to achieve low-profile and scalable structures that fold into 3D. Using this method, we developed three hybrid robots combining the decades of experience of conventional mechanics with the advantages of origami robotics. First, to enhance the performances of robots at the meso-scale, the creation of compact low-profile compliant transmissions benefiting from origami's minimal assembly of functional layers was explored. The transmissions obtained can reproduce conventional kinematics or generate unconventional motions using materials properties. Second, the development of multi-DoF compact robots was studied using the aforementioned low-profile compliant transmissions to create a multi-functional structure. The resulting robot is a fingertip haptic device called Haptigami that can render vibrotactile and three-DoF force feedback without compromising bulkiness. Then, this study aimed at creating a meso-scale, multi-DoF, and mechanically efficient robot. We combined the previous device contributions and developed Flexure Variable Stiffness Actuators (F-VSA), a novel compliant actuator that uses the origami flexure hinges' inherent stiffness to avoid hindering mechanical simplicity. Finally, we developed a software architecture that enables high-level control of the human-robot hardware and is compatible with multiple simulation engines. We used this architecture to control our robots and provide feedback to the user, based on interactions in a virtual environment. These novel robots rely on non-conventional structures, actuators, and kinematics that require exploring and testing suitable control strategies. Hence, kinematic and stiffness models were developed and used to tune the position, force, and stiffness of the end-effector. Several characterization platforms and experimental protocols suitable for testing our unique robotic systems were also developed to assess their precision and efficiency. Consequently, the results of this study pave the way for the development of robots that adapt to multiple environments, interactions, and application scenarios, compatible with the human bandwidth without hindering the user's motion and comfort in everyday life.

EPFL2022

New slip synthesis and theoretical approach of CVT slip control

Yves Rothenbühler

EPFL2009

Active origami platforms for human-robot interactions

Frédéric Henri Vaskin Giraud

EPFL2022