Vibration Suppression of Automotive Drivetrains Based on Tire-Speed Observer and Backlash Compensation

This paper proposes a novel vibration suppression control method, which suppresses the torsional resonance of the drive shaft caused by motor torque change in the general drivetrain structure of automobiles. For realizing the method in the simplest and most prospective way, the proposed method calculates the feedback torque from the difference between the motor speed and the tire speed multiplied by a proportional gain, with estimating the tire rotation speed by an observer. In addition, a backlash compensation method is developed to reduce noise and vibration in gear retightening in the backlash region. The method observes the fluctuation of the motor speed after the torque zero-crossing and determine the motor torque so that the motor rotation speed returns to the speed at the entrance of the backlash. The effectiveness of the proposed methods is verified by simulation and driving test on the experimental vehicle.