As discussed above, shifting from one speed ratio to another includes an active fill phase

while an oncoming clutch is filled with pressurized fluid in preparation for torque
transmission. The pressurized fluid compresses the return spring for stroking the clutch
piston. Since the clutch chamber is sufficiently filled, the pressure force will eliminate
the free gap between the clutch plates and friction plates. Thereafter, the clutch
assembly may transmit torque in relation to a clutch apply pressure, and the entire shift
event may be completed using various control strategy and methodologies [1], [16], [17].
However, the clutch fill control is influenced by clutch actuation system, the oil
temperature and engine speed, etc. [18], [19]. An improper clutch fill process can result
in either an under-fill or an over-fill [20], [21]. Many works [22], [23], [24] on clutch
control mainly focused on dynamic models during the clutch engagement process. In
[7], the authors have successfully solved the clutch fill control problems by a new
customized numerical Dynamic Programming method with pressure sensors. Typically,
there are two main challenges for the clutch fill control. First, the clutch fill pressure and
fill time should calculate precisely to prevent over-fill or under-fill, which will adversely
impact the shift quality. Second, considering the cost and the space in the transmission,
the pressure sensor cannot mount on the clutch chamber, thus a pressure feedback
control loop could not be formed. Therefore, it is necessary to design an open loop
pressure control profile, which should be optimal in the sense of peak flow demand and
also robust in terms of clutch fill time [25].

In this paper, an integrated clutch filling phase control for gearshifts on wet clutch
transmissions is developed for improving the shifting performance during the fill phase.
In order to deal with the complexity and uncertainty caused by the electro-hydraulic
clutch actuation system and the variation of the load, the feedforward-feedback control
strategy is implemented. The control parameters are optimized according to the oil
temperature and engine speed.

The outline of this paper is as follows. The dynamic models of the electro-hydraulic
actuator for the transmission of interest are introduced in Section 2. The following
section that introduces the control strategy based on the control parameters correction
is designed. Validation against simulation data is then presented and conclusions are
given at the end of the paper.