Control of Integrated Powertrain With Electronic Throttle and Automatic Transmission

A process to design the control strategy for a vehicle with electronic throttle control (ETC) and automatic transmission is proposed in this paper. The driver's accelerator pedal position is interpreted as a power request, which is to be satisfied by coordinating the transmission gear shift and the throttle opening in an optimal fashion. The dynamic programming (DP) technique is used to obtain the optimal gear shift and throttle opening which maximizes fuel economy while satisfying the power demand. The optimal results at different power levels are then combined to form a gear map and a throttle map which governs the operation of the integrated powertrain. A control architecture concept is presented where the relationship between the accelerator pedal position and the power demand level can be adjusted according to the preference of the vehicle performance target. Simulation, vehicle test, and dynamometer test results show that the proposed integrated powertrain control scheme produces power consistently and improves fuel efficiency compared with conventional powertrain control schemes