Bench Test of an Electro-pneumatic AMT System

To achieve a rapid and smooth gear-shifting operation through the pneumatic servo control, an electro-pneumatic AMT system was established. A non-model based sliding mode control algorithm was applied to realize automation of gear selecting and shifting. And, a compound sliding mode control strategy with globally-stable pressure observers was adopted to perform rapid disengagement and smooth engagement of clutch. Particularly, stiffness-maximizing control is introduced in the engaging process of clutch to resist disturbance from force to motion well. Furthermore, basing on the above control methods in each phase, the hierarchic control method was proposed and the corresponding servo controller of the AMT system was designed to ensure that the whole gear-shifting target can be completed under the cooperative control between clutch and gear. Finally, extensive experiments demonstrate that the pneumatic servo controller of the AMT system is feasible and effective.