Control-Oriented Modelling of the Transient Behaviour of Hydrodynamic Couplings: A State-Space Approach

Torsional vibrations are a troubling issue in many powertrain applications. To suppress them, a hydrodynamic steel spring coupling with suitable damping characteristics is often incorporated into the affected driveline. Its behaviour is commonly described by the so-called Kelvin-Voigt model, which is valid only for a fixed excitation frequency. Such a model proves to be unsuitable for use in most transient simulations or for model based control purposes. Therefore, this paper presents a novel control-oriented model for the coupling's transient behaviour. Starting from physical first principles, a second order state-space model is derived. Its validity is verified using experimental data obtained on a complex combustion engine test bed.