Numerical investigations into shift transients of a dual clutch transmission equipped powertrains with multiple nonlinearities

The purpose of this paper is to numerically investigate the influence of nonlinearities applied to vehicle powertrains equipped with a dual clutch transmission, including gear backlash, dual mass flywheel hysteresis, and torque pulses from the engine. To achieve this goal, a multi-body dynamic model of such a powertrain is constructed for transient vibration studies. Incorporated into this model is a combination of two nonlinear contact backlash models: for gear pairs a line-of-action force contact model is used to represent backlash in the mesh, and, for engaged synchronizer dog gears, a torsional nonlinear contact model is applied. This powertrain model is then used to study the response to shift transients under different conditions, including with and without engine torque harmonics, the variation of mesh damping and tooth clearance, and the impact of torsional vibration absorbers. Simulation results demonstrate that engine torque harmonics, mesh clearance, and external damping sources have a significant impact on duration of excitation, while the impact of mesh damping is less significant.