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Project

Automated Concept Design for Automatic Automotive Transmissions

Introduction / Objective

The design of early stage concepts has a crucial impact on all following developments and optimization of a product. Generative engineering aims to support designers in discovering and choosing these concepts through computational means. A methodology for the generative discovery of planetary transmission designs is presented which supports efficient architecture (i.e. concept) generation, an automated synthesis approach of transmission designs from generated architectures, and a proof-of-concept application showcasing the synthesis of novel 2- and 4-stage transmissions.

 

Research Methodology

As a reference an analysis of over 1000 patented transmission designs was performed, to define the necessary steps for the synthesis of (patentable) transmission designs. For the generation of transmission architectures a synthesis model and constraints were developed, which allow the designer to add their engineering knowledge to the generation process. The architecture generation is performed by an iterative solving of a constraint satisfaction problem, where each solution defines an abstract transmission system of connected planetary gear sets, clutches and brakes. The generated architectures are evaluated to determine uniqueness and assemblability, as well as available transmission ratios. Finally an optimization is performed using simple 1D and 3D simulations to evaluate and compare performance indices of the synthesized transmission designs.

 

Results & Conclusions

The presented work successfully applied the developed methodology to the synthesis of complex transmission designs. Here is a summary of the results of the presented work: 

*  Efficient architecture generation through advanced constraint definitions, use of state-of-the-art boolean satisfiability solvers, automatic definition of symmetry breaking constraints, and a novel cube-and-conquer approach

*  Automated transmission design synthesis through the use of a novel transmission design graph representation for the analysis of uniqueness and assemblability in combination with a kinematic analysis for transmission ratios and hybrid modes

* Synthesis of novel 2-stage transmission designs using 1D and 3D simulation results for the optimization of novel transmission designs

* Synthesis of novel 4-stage transmission designs by an expanding search starting from an existing (patented) transmission design

Date:10 Nov 2016 →  2 Jun 2020
Keywords:Computational Design Synthesis, Mechanical Engineering
Disciplines:Control systems, robotics and automation, Design theories and methods, Mechatronics and robotics, Computer theory
Project type:PhD project