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Slope Shift Strategy for Automatic Transmission Vehicles Based on the Road Gradient

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Abstract

Motivated by the development of high-precision digital maps for advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) in recent years, this study provides a new approach to solve the problems of the conventional automatic transmission vehicle travelling on sloping roads. Based on vehicle dynamics, shift problems on hilly roads are analyzed. A novel intelligent shift strategy is proposed, which consists of a dynamic shift schedule for the uphill, a safety shift schedule for the downhill, and a comprehensive economical shift schedule for the gentle slopes. A set of driver-in-loop co-simulation tests was conducted in a driving simulator that is equipped with a MATLAB/Simulink dynamics simulation platform. The test results verified the effectiveness of the new intelligent shift strategy. With the road information provided by a high-precision digital map, busy shifting can be eliminated, and improved dynamic performance can be achieved for a vehicle travelling on the uphill roads; undesired upshift can be prevented, and engine traction resistance can be used to relieve the load of braking system when a vehicle travelling on the downhill roads; also, fuel consumption can be reduced for a vehicle travelling on a gently sloped road. Consequently, this novel intelligent shift strategy offers a reliable and effective solution for improving a vehicle’s driving performance on a hilly road.

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Abbreviations

F i :

road gradient force, N

F f :

rolling resistance, N

F w :

aerodynamic drag, N

F ft :

equivalent engine resistance, N

F j :

road gradient force, N

m :

vehicle mass, kg

g :

acceleration of gravity, m/s2

θ :

longitudinal road gradient, rad

f :

rolling resistance coefficient

C D :

vehicle drag coefficient

A :

front area of the vehicle, m2

v :

vehicle speed, km/h

T ft :

engine braking torque, N·m

i gi :

gear ratio for each gear position

i 0 :

final drive ratio

η :

transmission efficiency

R w :

radius of the tire, m

δ i :

correction coefficient of the rotating mass at different gear positions

I w :

moment of inertia of wheel, kg·m2

I f :

moment of inertia of flywheel, kg·m2

a :

acceleration of the vehicle, m/s2

F ex :

equivalent external driving force, N

T e :

output torque of the engine, N·m

α :

throttle opening

n e :

engine speed, rpm

a i :

fitting regression coefficient

ṁ s :

logarithm of the steady-state fuel consumption rate, cc/s

ṁ c :

transient correction for the steady-state fuel consumption rate, cc/s

ṁ f :

instantaneous fuel consumption, cc/s

β i,j :

model regression coefficient

m fpm :

per mile fuel consumption, cc/m

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Vehicle Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China

    Fanjing Meng & Hui Jin

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  1. Fanjing Meng
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  2. Hui Jin
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Correspondence to Hui Jin.

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Meng, F., Jin, H. Slope Shift Strategy for Automatic Transmission Vehicles Based on the Road Gradient. Int.J Automot. Technol. 19, 509–521 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-018-0049-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-018-0049-5

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