On Dynamic Characteristics and Electronic Control of Chinese City Bus Powertrain Consisting of Hydro-dynamic Transmission with Lock-up Clutch

A newly developed GYB-100 hydrodynamic transmission consisting of DFZFB-323 torque converter with lock-up clutch and power shift gearbox for Chinese city bus has been put into operation. The locking-up process of the torque converter is a transient one, and it will bring great shudder to powertrain and thus reduce the lifespan of the clutch. Measures must be taken to eliminate the shudder. In this paper, the city bus powertrain is supposed to be a concentrated mode, i.e, a spring-mass system having multi-degrees of freedom. From analysis of dynamic characteristics of the lock-up clutch it gives that the friction characteristics of the lock-up clutch are of main importance for avoidance of shudder and the proper control of oil pressure operating the lock-up clutch and oil-filling time will lead to improved friction characteristics. The judgement of quality of the lock-up clutch is presented. Using modern control theory, we get optimal control schedule of the lock-up clutch. An electronic controller with high-speed solenoid valve is used here for lock-up control. Both the simulation and road test show the advantage of this newly developed hydrodynamic torque converter with lock-up clutch over manual operation in noise level and fuel economy.