A Benchmark on Hybrid Control of an Automotive Powertrain with Backlash

In automotive powertrains, the existence of backlash causes driveability problems, which to some extent are remedied by the engine control system. The control problem has a constrained, minimum-time character, and a powertrain model including the backlash nonlinearity will be of a hybrid character. This motivates an investigation of the usability of a hybrid control synthesis method for this problem. This document outlines a benchmark problem for this system, and a few simulation results are included to indicate how a solution may look. These simulations were produced with an explicit MPC controller.