CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
• Light EVs is environment friendly transport for sharing vehicles in cities, or
for short trip in countryside and attractions.

• Generally light EVs adopt single transmission system, but it is limited

application due to torque speed characteristics of the traction motor and
battery feature.

• Automated manual transmission (AMT) is preferable over automatic

transmission (AT) due to ease of control system and low manufacturing cost.

• Most common AMT employs shift fork and synchronizer with the control of
motor speed for gear shifting. In these model there is no output torque during
gear shifting

• Without clutch the torque interruption is a serious problem which might leads
to shift fork and synchronizer are easy to destroy.

• A seamless gear shifting control EVs is introduced in journal by Qiong Liang

[2,3] to avoid torque interruption. It is a two speed transmission proposed
using torque compensation of clutch called I-AMT (inverse AMT).Gera
shifting is realized through inverse clutch and controlled using inverse clutch
and shift fork & synchronizer.

• This model is further improved by Hanqi Yue, Chenyi Zhu and Bingzhao Gao
[1] developed for smoother gear shifting and higher efficiency. In this model
synchronizer & shift fork are replaced with overrunning clutches.
• In this model the gear shifting is completely controlled by inverse clutch.

1
 CHAPTER 2

2.1 OVER VIEW OF TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

The transmission is made of:

• Gear train
• Controllable overrunning clutches
• Inverse dry clutch
• Inverse dry clutch actuator

Figure 2.1 Layout of I-AMT [1]

GEAR TRAIN

I AMT transmission gear train is made of three sets of gears such as first gear, second
gear and final gear. It also contains a set of control gear which controls one of the
overrunning clutches. The controllable overrunning clutch is controlled using control
gear using friction plate.

OVER RUNNING CLUTCHES

There is two overrunning clutches are such as overrunning clutch A and controllable
overrunning clutch B.

INVERSE DRY CLUTCH

2
Inverse dry clutch is located at the rear of the transmission. It helps in shifting gear
smoother without torque reduction.

INVERSE DRY CLUTCH ACTUATOR

A novel electro-mechanical clutch actuator is used to control inverse clutch in the

model to enhance the shift effect.

2.2 WORKING OF TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

The I AMT consist of first gear, second gear and reverse gear

FIRST GEAR

To get first speed the inverse dry clutch is disengaged while electric motor is running
in forward direction. The frictional plate is coupled with controllable overrunning
clutch B. As inverse dry clutch is disengaged thus controllable overrunning clutch B
is engaged and overrunning clutch A is overrun since ic > i1 .The power is transmitted
through input shaft, first gear, controllable overrunning clutch B, second shaft then to
wheels by final gear.

Figure 2.2 Transmission route of First speed [1]

SECOND GEAR

To get second speed the inverse dry clutch is engaged while electric motor is running
in forward direction. The frictional plate is coupled with controllable overrunning
clutch B. The overrunning clutch A is overrun since ic > i1 and controllable

3
overrunning clutch B is overrun since i1 >i2. Power is transmitted through input shaft,
inverse clutch, second gear, second shaft, final gear and to wheels.

Figure 2.3 Transmission route of Second speed [1]

REVERSE SPEED

To get reverse speed the inverse dry clutch is engaged while electric motor is running
in reverse direction. Since rotation is in reverse direction the frictional plate slips and
is not coupled with controllable overrunning clutch B. The overrunning clutch A is
engaged and controllable overrunning clutch B is overrun since the rotation is in
reverse. Power is transmitted through input shaft, inverse clutch, second gear, second
shaft, final gear.

Figure 2. 4 Transmission route of Reverse speed,[1]

4
GEAR SHIFTING PROCESS

The gear shifting in the transmission system is divided into two phases such as inertia
phase and torque phase. And there are two type of gear shifting namely upshifting
(that is first speed to second speed) and downshifting (that is second speed to first
speed)

Upshifting

The upshift begins with torque phase when the inverse dry clutch engages gradually
in the slipping state. This condition indicates that the torque transmitted by the
inverse dry clutch increases and that transmitted by the controllable overrunning
clutch B decreases. When the torque of controllable overrunning clutch B becomes
zero, the torque phase ends and inertia phase begins. During the inertia phase, the
state of inverse dry clutch changes from slipping to locking completely (Fig 2.5 (a)).

Downshifting

The downshifting begins with inertia phase when the inverse dry clutch disengages
gradually in the slipping state. The torque transmitted by the inverse dry clutch and
output torque decreases. After the rotational inertia is exhausted the torque phase
starts. In torque phase the output torque stops falling and increases while controllable
overrunning clutch B starts transmitting torque (Fig 2.5 (b)).

Figure 2.5 (a) Upshift process (b) Downshift process.[1]

5
 CHAPTER 3

GEAR SHIFT CONTROL SYSTEM

The gear shifting is controlled by controllable overrunning clutch system and inverse
dry clutch actuator.

3.1 CONTROLLABLE OVERRUNNING CLUTCH SYSTEM

The controllable overrunning clutch system is made of two overrunning clutch,

friction plate and control gear (Fig 3.1).

If the I-AMT only uses one simple overrunning clutch between the first driven gear
and the second shaft, then the vehicle can drive forward but not backward. If the
inverse dry clutch separates and the motor rotates reversely, then the overrunning
clutch will be in the overrunning state and the motor will rotate freely. If the dry
clutch engages as the motor rotates reversely, the overrunning clutch will engage, and
the power of motor will transmits through the first and second gear sets
simultaneously. Consequently, traction interference occurs because

𝜔𝑚 𝑖1 ≠ 𝜔𝑚 𝑖2 (3.1)
The controllable overrunning clutch system is proposed to prevent traction
interference during reverse gear driving.

Figure 3.1 Controllable overrunning clutch system [1]

6
Controllable overrunning clutch system includes overrunning clutch A, controllable
overrunning clutch B, control gear set and friction plate, which are shown in Fig. 6.
Overrunning clutch A connects the control driving gear and the input shaft.
Controllable overrunning clutch B connects the first driven gear and the second shaft.
The friction plate (contact with cage of controllable overrunning clutch B) is installed
between the controllable overrunning clutch B and the control driven gear. The
control driven gear is idling on the second shaft. The gear ratio of the control gear set
ic is larger than that of the first gear set i1 .

The controllable overrunning clutch B has two modes which controlled by cage of
overrunning clutch through friction plate and control gear. The two modes are:

 Unidirectional Engaging Mode: Unidirectional Engaging Mode (Fig 3.2 (a)),

the cage is free. The springs take the rollers against the wedge surface formed
by the inner and outer races. The controllable overrunning clutch B can
overrun in one direction and engage in another direction. This mode is used
for first and second speed.
 Bidirectional Disengaging Mode: In Bidirectional Disengaging Mode (Fig. 3.2
(b)), the cage moves the rollers against the spring, so the inner and outer races
are unlocked. The controllable overrunning clutch B can overrun in both
directions. This mode is used for reverse gear.

Figure 3.2 Controllable overrunning clutch B (a) Unidirectional Engaging Mode (b)
Bidirectional Disengaging Mode [1]

In first gear the controllable overrunning clutch B is in unidirectional engaging mode

and friction plate locked. The gear ratio of the control gear set is larger than the first
gear ratio thus rotation speed of control driving gear is larger than that of the input

7
shaft. The overrunning clutch A overruns (Eq. 3.2). Thus, the control gear set rotates
freely. The friction plate does not generate any unwanted friction work.

In the second gear the controllable overrunning clutch B overruns. Friction plate
locks too. The overrunning clutch A also overruns (Eq.3.2). Thus, the control gear set
is still free. Controllable overrunning clutch system does not lose energy in both
states.
𝜔 𝑚 𝑖𝑐
𝜔𝑐 = > 𝜔𝑚 (3.2)
𝑖1

In reverse gear the motor rotates reversely. Since ic > i1 the rotational speed of the
control driving gear has the tendency to be faster than that of the input shaft in reverse
direction. This leads the overrunning clutch A to engage and limits the speed of the
control driving gear to be same as the input shaft. It causes, speed difference between
the first driven gear and the control driven gear. The friction plate between them slips
and generates torque. This makes the cage of controllable overrunning clutch B rotate
against the spring. Friction torque is larger than the spring force (Eq. 3.3). As a result,
the rollers move away from the wedge side (Figure 8).

Figure 3.3 States of controllable overrunning clutch B during Reverse Gear.[1]

𝐹𝑝 𝜇𝑅𝑝 > 𝐿𝑘 𝑁 (3.3)

Due to above movement, the inner and outer races of the controllable overrunning
clutch B can rotate freely. The controllable overrunning clutch B becomes
Bidirectional Disengaging Mode. Consequently, the traction interference problem is
eliminated.

Friction power loss of the friction plate during reverse gear can be calculated using
Eq. 3.4

8
 𝑖𝑐 −𝑖1
𝑃𝑝 = 𝑇𝑝 𝜔𝑚 (3.4)
𝑖𝑐 𝑖1
This frictional loss doesn’t contribute much to the entire transmission efficiency loss.

3.2 INVERSE DRY CLUTCH ACTUATOR

Using the controllable overrunning clutch system gear shifting in I-AMT simplified.
Thus instead of two actuator for synchronizer & shift fork and inverse clutch only one
actuator is used for controlling inverse actuator.

The inverse dry clutch control remarkably influences the shift quality and friction
loss of dry clutch. Dry clutch actuator usually adopts electro-hydraulic, electro-
pneumatic, or electro-mechanical systems. In the I-AMT transmission system
introduced by Hanqi Yue introduced a novel electro-mechanical clutch actuator,
which is shown in Fig. 3.4, is proposed to enhance the shift effect.

Figure 3.4 Inverse dry clutch actuator [1]

It consists of camshaft which pushes the clutch release bearing, which separates or
engages the clutch. The camshaft is actuated by a DC motor through a worm gear. An
angle sensor is installed on the camshaft to detect the cam’s position. This actuating
system is self-locking due to use of worm gear which reduces battery consumption.

The DC motor is controlled by a feedforward-feedback controller to facilitate

smoother gear shifting (Fig 3.5)

Fig 3.5.Control diagram of inverse dry clutch actuator [1]

9
After testing the proposed camshaft it is seen that it has good performance in
clutch position tracking. The clutch can separate or engage completely in 0.7 s .The
inverse dry clutch actuator could satisfy the demand of clutch control.

10
 CHAPTER 4

SIMULATION AND PROTOTYPE DESIGN

4.1 SIMULATION MODEL

To evaluate the performance of the proposed model and evaluate the shift quality,
simulation of I-AMT with overrunning clutch is made using software AMESim. The
model with transmission and a light EV is shown in Fig.4.1. The parameter for
simulation is taken as in Table 4.1

Figure 4.1 Simulation model with light EV and transmission system.[1]

Table 4.1 Parameters of the I-AMT simulation models.[1]

Symbol Parameter Value Unit

VEHICLE
m Vehicle mass 820 kg
ρ Air density 1.226 kg/m3
Aa Front area 1.8 m2
Cd Aerodynamic drag coefficient 0.36
θg Road grade 0 Deg
TIRE
Rw Tire radius 0.266 M
Iw Inertia of tyre 0.42 kg m2
f Rolling resistance coefficient 0.0106

11
 MOTOR
Ie Motor inertia 0.0103 kg m2
Pmax Motor peak power 11 kW
nmax Motor maximum speed 7000 Rpm
Tmax Motor maximum torque 72 Nm
TRANSMISSION
i1 First gear ratio 3.54
i2 Second gear ratio 1.84
ic Control gear ratio 3.86
i0 Final drive ratio 4.29

For simulation of controllable overrunning clutch B, a dog clutch is used which can
work as overrunning clutch by judging its speed and torque. During the upshift
process as the torque phase ends, the torque of the dog clutch reduces to zero, and the
dog clutch unlocks immediately. Then, the inertia phase begins. During the downshift
process as the inertia ends, the 2-side speed of the dog clutch equals, and the dog
clutch locks immediately. Then, the torque phase begins.

Due to slipping of inverse dry clutch friction work is dissipated, it can be calculated
using the following equation Eq 4.1
𝑡
𝑊 = ∫𝑡 1 𝑇𝐶 ∆𝜔𝑑𝑡 (4.1)
0.

4.2 PROTOTYPE DESIGN

For performance analysis prototype of I-AMT with overrunning clutch is made as

shown in Figure 4.2 is manufactured and installed on a front-wheel light EV.

12
 Figure 4.2 (a) Test vehicle (b) I-AMT with overrunning clutch

Fast 3D print technology is applied in the manufacturing process. Thus,

the development cycle is shortened and the development cost is decreased.

The output torque of I-AMT is measured by a wireless torque sensor, which can be
simply installed on the half axle and send signals wirelessly.

For evaluating the benefits of the proposed model I-AMT and single-speed
transmission are installed in the light EV separately to compare energy consumption
and power performance

13
 CHAPTER 5

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 SIMULATION RESULTS

Gear upshift and downshift simulation results are shown in Fig 5.1.

For upshifting initially vehicle is driving under the first gear. The motor speed is
5408 rev/min and the throttle opening is 62%, when transmission shifts up. As in Fig
5.1 (a) ,at 5 s, the dry clutch is forced to be engaged and slips. The torque transmitted
through the dry clutch increases but decreases gradually through the controllable
overrunning clutch B. At about 5.22 s, the torque transmitted through the controllable
overrunning clutch B becomes zero. This condition indicates the end of the torque
phase and the beginning of the inertia phase. During the inertia phase, the dry clutch
is forced to be engaged completely. At 5.71 s, the synchronization of the dry clutch is
accomplished.

Figure 5.1 Simulation results (a) Upshift process (b) Downshift process.[1]

14
Meanwhile, the downshift begins with the inertia phase followed by the torque phase,
as shown in Fig 5.1 (b). The gear shift happens when the motor speed is 1867 rev/min
and the throttle opening is 24%.

From the simulation we can see that upshift and downshift have smooth change in
rotation speed and output torque is continuous without torque interruption. The jerk is
less than  ± 6 m/s3.

The friction work of the dry clutch is evaluated as 2458 J for upshift process and
nearly 1194 J for downshift process.

5.2 PROTOTYPE PERFORMANCE

The proposed prototype is made analysis is done. From the comparison of I-AMT and
single-speed transmission at different driving conditions as in Table 5.1 it is seen that
the output power of battery is low, especially at high speed. And the vehicle
acceleration time of 0–40 km/h decreases by 1.2 s from 7.8 s to 6.6 s. Maximum
speed obtained by the proposed model is 75 km/h.

Table 5.1 Energy consumption at different cruise speeds (kW) [1]

One of the problem EVs face is overheat of motor due to high current which increases
with output torque. The proposed prototype reduces output torque due to large gear
ratio. The output torque of motor will decrease in the process of climbing. Table 5.2
shows the alternating current of motor when the vehicle travels on the slope of
30%. It is seen from the Table 5.2 that the proposed prototype has better gradability

Table 5.2 Motor current (AC) during climbing a slope [1].

Slope 30% Single speed The proposed prototype

Current 98.2 69.5

15
The performance of the prototype during upshift and downshift are shown in Fig 5.2
and Fig 5.3 respectively

The upshift happens when the motor speed is 3461 rev/min and the throttle opening is
47%.Down shift happens when the motor speed is 1345 rev/min and the throttle
opening is 22%.

The entire process of either upshift or downshift takes about 0.7 s to complete. During
the entire gear shifting, the transmission can output torque continuously without
torque interruption. The dry clutch actuator using worm gear and camshaft achieves
the expected control effect. The vehicle jerk is sufficiently small and guarantees the
drive comfort. Smooth and continuous gear shifting ensures the safety of vehicle by
avoiding backward sliding in mountain areas.

Figure 1.2 Upshift process

16
Figure 5.3 Downshift process

17
 CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSIONS AND SCOPE FOR FUTURE WORK

6.1 CONCLUSIONS.

 Simulations and experimental tests on light EVs shows that I-AMT can obtain
smooth and continuous gear shifting without torque interruption and avoid
backward sliding on the slope.

 I-AMT performs better in energy saving and acceleration compared single

speed transmission.

 The proposed design also decreases the motor current on the slope and is
suitable for mountain areas.

 The experimental results show that the actuator can control the clutch position
accurately

 The proposed transmission system may help in expanding the usage of light
EVs

6.2 SCOPE OF FUTURE WORK

For further improvement of the proposed model we could focus on improving the
actuating system. Main improvement can be made in control of DC motor to improve
gear shift quality and use better cam material to decrease it effect of cam wear.
Another direction of study that can be done by developing the transmission to higher
gear to expand the application of EVs using similar overrunning clutches and inverse
clutches

18
 REFERENCES

MAIN REFERENCE

[1] Hanqi Yue., Chenyi Zhu., Binzhao Gao., “Fork-less two-speed I-AMT with
overrunning clutch for light electric vehicle,” Mechanism and Machine Theory, Vol.
130 pp. 157-169, December 2018

OTHER REFERENCES

2] Bingzhao Gao., Qiong Liang., Yu Xiang., Lulu Guo., Hong Chen “Gear ratio
optimization and shift control of 2-speed I-AMT in electric vehicle.” Mech. Syst.
Signal Process.,Vol 50 pp. 615-631,2015

[3] Qiong Liang., Nana Tang.,Bingzhao Gao., Hong Chen.,“The Seamless Gear
Shifting Control for Pure Electric Vehicle with 2-speed Inverse-AMT.” IFAC
Proceedings.,Vol 46(Issue2) pp 507-511, 2013

19