Design of Self-Energizing Clutch Actuator for Dual-Clutch Transmission

A novel dry clutch actuator for the dual-clutch transmission (DCT) using self-energizing principle is suggested. A mathematical model of the actuator and the inclusive DCT driveline is developed. The magnitude of torque amplification obtained by the self-energizing effect is studied, and it is verified via experiments by comparing the calculated and the empirical gains. Also, by analyzing the characteristics of the energy consumption in actuator motors during the vehicle launch and gear shifts, the application potential for the self-energizing clutch actuator is examined. Such work is done both through simulation and dynamometer experiments. The simulation is conducted by using the driveline and self-energizing actuator model developed by using MATLAB/Simulink. The hardware-in-the-loop experiments are conducted with the driveline dynamometer that is designed and constructed exclusively for the self-energizing clutch actuator and DCT to experimentally demonstrate the suitability of the suggested actuator for DCT.