Clutch and release system

A rational alternative to the CSA would be, for
example, a pump driven directly via the accessories.
The benefit of this would be the elimination
of the electric motor and electronics, making
it possible to, amongst other things,
significantly lower the system costs. The disadvantages
include higher interface demands on
other systems and the lack of functionality when
the engine is not running.
Clutch-by-wire
In modern engines, the gas pedal is no longer
mechanically linked to the throttle valve or the
injection system. Instead there is just a sensor
on the gas pedal that forwards the driver's commands
to an actuator via a control device (electric
gas pedal). This creates the possibility to
adapt the engine characteristic as required to
the driving situation. This is now a basic prerequisite
for making optimal use of the potential of
today's engines and ensuring a comfortable
drive.
A clutch-by-wire system promises comparable
potential for the clutch (CBW, Figure 30). This
is the entry-level version of the family of
automated shift transmissions and represents
the most complex version for clutch
operation for the manual shift transmission.
The CBW system eliminates the release system
as a fixed connection between the clutch
and clutch pedal and uses a pedal travel sensor,
a controller and an actuator to operate the
clutch (Figure 30). The pedal operating load
Figure 30 Clutch-by-wire (CBW)
LuK SYMPOSIUM 2006
Clutch and release system 2
Figure 31 Development of the full load characteristic of a
2.0 liter diesel engine
can be chosen freely using a pedal spring or
comparable mechanism. This makes an optimal
layout possible regardless of the engine
torque.
In order to justify the high expenditure on
hardware and software, a CBW system offers
numerous possibilities for improving driving
comfort. These include, in particular, slip control
for vibration isolation between the engine
and transmission, which is dealt with in the
article “Software for Automated Transmissions”
[1].
In a similar manor to how the electric gas pedal
adapts the engine characteristics, CBW can be
used to adapt the torque characteristic of the
clutch to the specific driving situation. An
important example in this context is a launch
process, which is influenced by the combination
of engine torque and clutch torque. Figure
31 shows how the full-load curve of a 2.0 liter
diesel engine has changed over the years. In
the idle speed range, the engines operate both
then and now in induction mode, with the maximum
engine torque practically unchanged at
low speeds. By contrast, the maximum engine
torques, and therefore also the clutch torques,
have tripled over the years (see also Figure 1).
As a result, a weak engine is combined with a
strong clutch at low engine speeds (red area in
Figure 31).
This circumstance can be rectified with a CBW.
Using information such as the engine and
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