Nonlinear Dyn (2007) 50:627–638

DOI 10.1007/s11071-006-9170-5

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

A numerical bifurcation study of friction effects in a

slip-controlled torque converter clutch
Firoz Ali Jafri · Amit Shukla · David F. Thompson

Received: 20 May 2006 / Accepted: 8 August 2006 / Published online: 24 January 2007

C Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007

Abstract Friction plays a key role in the efficiency
and stability of the slip-controlled torque converter
clutches. The effects of friction on the dynamics and
stability of a slip-controlled torque converter clutch
system using a bifurcation-analysis-based approach is
presented in this paper. A three degree-of-freedom non-
linear driveline model with integral feedback action to
control the clutch slip speed has been utilized for this
study. The clutch interface friction is dependent on the
slip speed and is a function of the static friction con-
stant, μ0 , the low velocity friction constant μ1 , and the
low velocity exponential rate, γ . Using one-parameter
numerical continuation, local Hopf bifurcations of the
subcritical type are observed as the friction parameters
μ1 and γ were varied at low slip speeds. The con-
tinuation results are verified using simulations of the
full nonlinear model. Stick-slip and undesirable oscilla-
tions of the model inertia elements are observed for cer-
tain parameter values. As the slip speed is increased, the
bifurcation instability occurs at an increasingly higher
value of μ1 signifying an improved tolerance of neg-
F. A. Jafri · D. F. Thompson
Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Nuclear
Engineering, University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box 210072,
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0072, USA
A. Shukla (
) based approach. Kremer and Thompson [14] applied
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing
Engineering, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056-3657,
USA
e-mail: shuklaa@muohio.edu
ative friction gradient at higher slip speeds. Smaller
exponential rates γ are tolerated at higher slip speeds
before the bifurcation instability occurs. For the range
of parameter values considered, no bifurcations occur
for a slip speeds higher than 3.4 and 4.5 rad/s with
μ1 and γ as the continuation parameters, respectively.
These values of slip speeds are much lower than the sys-
tem’s first mode of torsional vibration of 16 Hz (≈100
rad/s).
Keywords Slip-controlled torque converter clutch .
Local bifurcations . Friction . Equilibrium
continuation
1 Introduction
Friction is a nonlinear phenomenon, which leads to
nonsmooth dynamics and loss of stability. Nonlinear
systems can undergo changes (i.e., bifurcations) in
the qualitative structure of the equilibrium solutions
for changes in parameter values. Bifurcations detected
in a small neighborhood of the equilibrium, called
local bifurcations, signify change in stability of the
equilibrium. Dobson [7, 8] describe a methodology
to detect the closest bifurcation instability in a mul-
tidimensional parameter space using a continuation-
these closest bifurcation methods to design hydraulic
control systems for robustness with respect to Hopf
bifurcations.

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In this paper, a continuation-based approach for
studying the friction-induced bifurcations in continu-
ously slipping torque converter clutches is presented.
A torque converter is a hydrodynamic device present
in automatic transmission equipped vehicles that uses
transmission fluid to transmit and multiply power. A
pump is attached to the torque converter housing and
turns whenever the engine turns. The transmission fluid
flung by the vanes of the pump strike the vanes of the
turbine, causing it to rotate. The rotating turbine causes
the transmission to spin resulting in vehicle motion. Jo-
hanson and Duffy [12] provide a vivid description of
automotive torque converters and their operating mech-
anism.
The power loss in the torque converter can be sig-
nificant. To overcome this loss, a lock-up clutch was
introduced in the 1970s with the purpose of engaging
the engine to the transmission when the pump speed
was not much higher than that of the turbine. However,
when the clutch is fully locked up, the engine torque
fluctuations can be transmitted to the driveline causing
undesirable vibrations. Therefore, in recent times ef-
forts are being made to maintain a controlled amount
of slip speed between the engine and the transmission
to mitigate the vibrations and to improve fuel economy.
The friction at the clutch interface introduces sig-
nificant nonlinearity and has considerable influence on
the driveline dynamics. Friction is a nonlinear phe-
nomenon, which is difficult to describe by a single
general model. Several models have been proposed to
capture the static and dynamic friction effects. Fric-
tion effects on the torque converter clutches have been
studied by various investigators. Cameron et al. [3]
identified the negative friction gradient, i.e., dμ dv
< 0,
where μ is the friction coefficient and v is the slip
speed, as the main cause of shudder or friction-induced
self-excited vibrations. Duan and Singh [9] studied the
stick-slip motion in a torque converter clutch by con-
sidering engine torque irregularities, nonlinear friction
characteristics, and the effect of clutch inertia. Cameron
et al. [4] listed the engine speed, the friction coefficient
magnitude, the engine torque-speed slope, the trans-
mission fluid pressure, and the time constants of the
slip control system as the significant factors affecting
the steady sliding stability of the slipping clutch. Using
friction coefficient μ as a linear function of slip speed,
Yamada and Ando [20] conducted modal analysis of
a linearized driveline model to suggest an eigenvalue-
based approach for predicting the occurrence of shud-
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Nonlinear Dyn (2007) 50:627–638
der vibrations. Kugiyama et al. [15] studied and
recommended desirable friction characteristics of au-
tomatic transmission fluid for satisfactory performance
of the friction clutch and for preventing the un-
desirable behaviors such as shudder and resonance
vibrations.
In order to conduct a comprehensive stability anal-
ysis of the torque converter clutch system, a discontin-
uous system model such as by Crowther et al. [5] will
be necessary to capture the various dynamic behav-
iors including steady sliding, stick-slip, and shudder.
Since the main focus of this paper is to study the loss
of stability of the equilibrium position, intricate mod-
els capturing the entire possible dynamic events have
not been considered. Our system formulation models
the steady sliding motion. The model does not capture
very accurately the dynamics when a discontinuity oc-
curs, however, when the stability is lost, it demonstrates
possible occurrence of stick-slip motion between the
engine and clutch inertia. Undesirable oscillations of
turbine and clutch inertia are also seen.
Bifurcations are known to occur in systems with
friction. Several investigators have conducted extensive
studies on the friction-induced bifurcations including
Lim and Chen [17] and Elmer [10] who studied a sliding
mass system and pointed out the bifurcations induced
by the interface friction characteristics. These bifur-
cations are associated with change in stability of the
steady sliding equilibrium conditions and are shown
to cause oscillatory sliding, stick-slip, or chaotic mo-
tion of the sliding mass. Another study was conducted
by Putra and Nijmeijer [18] on the limit cycling in a
nonlinear system with friction using numerical meth-
ods. In our work, to study the qualitative behavior of
the steady sliding equilibrium position of a contin-
uously slipping torque converter clutch, we conduct
a bifurcation study using an equilibrium continuation
based approach. In the ensuing sections, we describe
the system model (in Section 2), the methodology (in
Section 3) with the corresponding results presented in
Section 4.
2 Model description
2.1 Physical description
The system model, based on the model by Thompson
and Kremer [19], is shown in Fig. 1. Ieng is the combined
Nonlinear Dyn (2007) 50:627–638 629

Fig. 1 Mechanism of T eng Tt

torque transmission through
automotive clutch Torque converter housing Damper Spring

Td

Input pressure u

Beng Bcl Bl

Ieng Icl It

inertia of the engine, pump, and the torque converter Table 1 Parameter values for the driveline model
housing, driven by the engine torque Teng . Icl is the Parameter Value Description Units
combined inertia of the clutch and the piston, which
Ap 0.06 Piston plate projected area m2
is connected to the inertia It via a damper plate of
Bcl 0.05 Inertia Icl windage loss N m s/rad
torsional damping Bd and torsional stiffness kd . It is
Bcnv 2.50 Torque converter damping N m s/rad
the combined inertia of the turbine and the transmis- Bd 0.02 Damper plate damping N m s/rad
sion. When the clutch is slipping, the torque Tt is trans- Beng 0.05 Inertia Ieng windage loss N m s/rad
ferred to the transmission inertia It via two parallel Bt 0.05 Inertia It windage loss N m s/rad
torque paths: the clutch contact torque Tc and the vis- Icl 0.08 Torque converter clutch + kg m2
cous torque Tv due to the automatic transmission fluid piston plate inertia
(ATF). Beng , Bcl , and Bt represent the windage losses in Ieng 0.30 Engine + pump + torque kg m2
converter housing cover
the inertias Ieng , Icl , and It respectively. The equivalent
inertia
torque due to the rest of the driveline (drive shaft, dif- It 0.15 Turbine + transmission kg m2
ferential, axle, wheels) and the vehicle is represented inertia
as a drag torque Td acting on the output side of the Kd 1000 Damper spring stiffness N m/rad
transmission. Rm 0.15 Effective clutch friction ring m
The pressure acting on the piston controls the clutch radius
torque Tc , also known as the clutch torque capacity. Td 60 Drag torque Nm
In this work, the hydrodynamic torque converter char- Teng 100 Engine torque Nm
acteristic has been considered as a linear viscous link
Bcnv . The system parameters and their corresponding
x1 − x2 is described in Equation (1).
values considered for this analysis are listed in Ta-
ble 1. These values are representatives of the system
parameters of a full-size car for the North American μ(x1 , x2 ) = μ0 + μ1 e−γ Rm |x1 −x2 | (1)
market.
μ0 , μ1 and γ are constants governing the large velocity
behavior, low velocity behavior and rate of change of
2.2 Nonlinear system model friction with changes in relative velocity, respectively.
The friction model in Equation (1) represents the over-
In formulating the nonlinear state-space equations for all friction behavior at the clutch interface due to the
the system model, the angular velocities ωeng , ωcl and combined effect of the friction material and the ATF.
ωt of the three inertias Ieng , Icl , and It are denoted The friction coefficient μ for the nominal system is
using the state variables x1 , x2 , and x3 , respectively. shown in Fig. 2 with the values 0.11, 0.056, and 10
The friction at the clutch interface is considered to be chosen for the parameters μ0 , μ1 , and γ , respectively.
purely dependent on the relative velocity between the These values are chosen such that they closely match
engine and the clutch. The functional relationship of the friction coefficient of Equation (1) to the friction co-
the friction coefficient to the clutch slip speed ωs = efficient μb , also shown in Fig. 2, given by Berger et al.

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0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
Friction coefficient
-0.05
-0.1
-0.15
-0.2
-20 -15 -10 -5
Clutch slip speed ωs (rad/s)
Fig. 2 Behavior of friction coefficient with respect to clutch slip speed ωs
[8] for automotive clutches with wet friction interface.
The difference between the two models is most evident
in the low slip velocity regime. The torque transferred
due to the clutch is given as Tc = μ(x1 , x2 )Rm A p P,
where Rm is the mean clutch contact radius, A p is the
projected piston plate area, and P is the applied pres-
sure on the piston plate.
Efforts have been made by many researchers, includ-
ing Thompson and Kremer [19], Kono et al. [13], Hahn
and Lee [11], to devise effective techniques to control
the slip speed ωs of the torque converter clutch. We,
however, implement conventional closed-loop control
techniques, which are still widely used in practical slip
control applications. For our system, the open-loop
pressure Po required to obtain a desired slip speed
R can be computed from the equilibrium condition
using the formula Po = (Teng − Bcnv R)/(Rm A p μss ),
where μss is the steady-state friction coefficient given
as μss = μ0 + μ1 e(−γ Rm|R|) and Bcnv R is the steady
state viscous torque due to the ATF. The relatively
small windage effect due to Beng has been neglected
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Nonlinear Dyn (2007) 50:627–638
p p
μb
μ
0 5 10 15 20
in the computation of Po . In practical situations, it is
difficult to maintain the desired slip speed by simple
open-loop control. Engine torque fluctuations, changes
in road surface conditions, and sudden acceleration are
some of the events, which can cause considerable de-
viation from equilibrium condition. Closed-loop con-
trol action is necessary to monitor and maintain the
desired slip speed. Simple calculations to obtain the
open-loop transfer function of our system models re-
veal that the system is of Type 0. The steady-state error
present in Type 0 control systems can be eliminated
by integral feedback control action. For our system, in-
tegral feedback or I control is sufficient to obtain the
desired slip control performance. The piston plate pres-
sure P on the piston plate
 is regulated by adding the
control signal u = K i e dt to the open-loop pressure
Po , where e is the error signal, e = R − ωs , and K i is
the integral gain (K i = 104 N/m2 -rad. for this analy-
sis). The state variables x4 and x5 are used to denote
the angular deflection θd of the damper spring and the
time integral of the error e, respectively. Thus, P =
Nonlinear Dyn (2007) 50:627–638
R +
- s
Fig. 3 Closed loop system block diagram
Po ± K i x5 . The system described in Section 2.1 can
now be cast as a set of nonlinear ordinary differential
equations ẋ = f (x | α) given in Equation (2), where
x ≡ {x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 , x5 } and α ≡ {μ1 , γ }. The viscous
torque due to ATF effect is given as Tv = Bcnv (x1 −
x2 ). The closed-loop system block diagram is shown in
Fig. 3.
ẋ1
Teng − μ(x1 , x2 | μ1 , γ )Rm A p (Po + K i x5 ) − Beng x1 − Bcnv (x1 − x2 )
=
Ieng
ẋ2
μ(x1 , x2 |μ1 , γ )Rm A p (Po +K i x5 )−Bcl x2 +Bcnv (x1 −x2 )−Bd (x2 −x3 )−kd x4
=
Icl
Bd (x2 − x3 ) + kd x4 − Bt x3 − Td
ẋ3 =
It
ẋ4 = x2 − x3
ẋ5 = R − (x1 − x2 )
3 Stability and bifurcation analysis using
equilibrium continuation
3.1 Equilibrium continuation
For a continuous time system ẋ = f (x, α), α ∈ 1 ,
f : n+1 → n , the equilibrium curve is defined as
F(y) = f (x, α) = 0 with y = (x, α) ∈ n+1 . In a
continuation-based approach for bifurcation stabil-
ity analysis, the equilibrium xe is computed after
each parameter variation and checked for stabil-
ity by monitoring the eigenvalues of the Jacobian
J = ∂ f /∂ x evaluated at each computed equilib-
rium xe . In one-parameter equilibrium continuation
631
Po (R, Teng, μ )
+
e K u + System ωs
− i
for continuous systems, Kuznetsov [16] described
that the loss of stability can occur via one of the
two generic codimension-one bifurcation instabilities,
namely, the fold bifurcation and the Hopf bifurcation.
They can be classified based on the eigenvalues as
follows:
• A fold bifurcation occurs when a simple real eigen-
value crosses the imaginary axis, i.e., a simple real
eigenvalue becomes zero or positive.
• A Hopf bifurcation occurs when a complex eigen-
value pair crosses the imaginary axis, i.e., the real
parts of a complex eigenvalue pair become zero or
positive. Hopf bifurcations can be supercritical or
subcritical in nature.
In a supercritical Hopf bifurcation, a stable equilib-
(2) rium is rendered unstable and a stable limit cycle of
small amplitude is born at the bifurcation point. The
system remains in a neighborhood of the equilibrium
and we have a soft or noncatastrophic stability loss.
In case of a subcritical Hopf bifurcation, an unstable
limit cycle converges on a stable equilibrium and dis-
appears at the bifurcation point rendering the equi-
librium unstable. The system is pushed out of sta-
bility and we have a sharp or catastrophic stability
loss. Therefore, the knowledge of the type of Hopf bi-
furcation can be very vital for design and control of
nonlinear systems involved, including torque converter
clutches.
3.2 Continuation method
The analysis of the nonlinear system model is done by
identification and tracking of the bifurcation involved
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632 Nonlinear Dyn (2007) 50:627–638

Table 2 Results from continuation analysis using low velocity friction constant μ1 as the continuation parameter

Equilibrium xbe position at bifurcation xbe ∈ n , n = 5

Slip speed Value of μ1 First lyapunov
(R) at bifurcation x1be (rad/s) x2be (rad/s) x3be (rad/s) x4be (rad) x5be (rad) coefficient (l1 )

2.30 0.0746 268.1667 265.9167 265.9167 0.0733 1.3241 12.8175

2.65 0.1274 268.4333 265.7833 265.7833 0.0733 1.3251 12.8307
3.00 0.2180 268.6667 265.6667 265.6667 0.0733 1.3259 12.8318

Bifurcation type: Subcritical Hopf

as the associated friction parameters change. To ation parameter can be related to the controller de-
conduct this study, a continuation method was uti- sign variable as well, which can be tuned to eliminate
lized. The result of this method provides informa- the loss of stability of the steady sliding equilibrium
tion about changes in the equilibrium condition as condition.
the system parameters are varied. A brief overview Due to the complex and nonlinear nature of the
of this method is presented next. Interested read- system described in Equation (2), it can be difficult
ers are encouraged to refer to Allgower and Georg analytically to evaluate the equilibrium, to compute
[1] for further details about this method and its the related Jacobian, and to classify the associated
implementation. bifurcations. We, therefore, utilize a numerical ap-
A parameterized family of nonlinear system model, proach for the equilibrium continuation and bifurca-
as given in Equation (2), can be represented as ẋ = tion analysis. Also, a normal form coefficient a is
f (x, α), where α is the parameter of interest. In our evaluated at each detected fold bifurcation, which sig-
case, α can be one of the parameters related to the nifies a generic fold bifurcation if a = 0. The first
friction model. It should be noted that this continu- Lyapunov coefficient l1 is evaluated at each detected

Equilibrium continuation with increasing μ1

0.4
o: Subcritical Hopf bifurcation

0.35
μ1: Constant governing low velocity friction

0.3

0.25
Unstable region

0.2

0.15

0.1 Stable region

0.05

0
2 2.5 3 3.5
Desired slip speed: Control input R (rad/s)
Fig. 4 Bifurcation boundary using numerical continuation with low velocity friction constant μ1 as the continuation parameter

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Nonlinear Dyn (2007) 50:627–638 633

Hopf bifurcation point, which signifies a nondegen-
erate Hopf bifurcation if l1 = 0. The value of l1 > 0
implies a subcritical Hopf bifurcation while the value
of l1 < 0 implies a supercritical Hopf bifurcation.
Kuznetsov [16] vividly describes the methodology of
numerical equilibrium continuation and the compu-
tation of associated coefficients. CL MATCONT, a
continuation toolbox in MATLAB, by Dhooge et al.
[6], implements these methodologies for numerical
continuation and bifurcation analysis. The ODE rep-
resentation in Matlab is supported by CL MATCONT,
which has been implemented for the purpose of this
analysis.
4 Analysis and results
The friction coefficient μ is governed by the param-
eters μ, μ1 , and γ , as described in Equation (1). At
low clutch slip speeds [νs (m/s), ωs (rad/s)], the friction
gradient dμ/dνs is negative for positive values of μ1
and is positive for negative values of μ1 . The parameter
γ controls the exponential rate at which the friction co-
efficient μ attains the steady-state value of μ0 at higher
clutch slip speeds from an initial value of μ0 + μ1 at
zero slip speed.
In this analysis, we study the effect of change in
the parameters μ1 and γ on the stability of the steady
sliding equilibrium condition of the slipping torque
converter clutch. For each of the parameters μ1 and
γ , a one-parameter numerical equilibrium continua-
tion analysis has been conducted. All the other sys-
tem parameters are kept fixed at their nominal values
described in Table 1. CL MATCONT by Dhooge et al.
[6] has been used for the continuation analysis and
to identify the associated bifurcations. Time response
simulations have been conducted using MATLAB vari-
able step solver ODE113, which provided a better ac-
curacy in simulation results as compared to other ODE
solvers of MATLAB.

Large perturbation of initial condition from equilibrium condition

272
Angular velocity (rad/s)

270

268

266

264
ωeng (rad/s)
262 ωcl (rad/s)
ωt (rad/s)
260
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Time (sec)

Slight perturbation of initial condition from equilibrium condition

268.5
Angular velocity (rad/s)

268

267.5
ωeng (rad/s)
267 ωcl (rad/s)
ωt (rad/s)
266.5

266

265.5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Time (sec)
Fig. 5 Time response (R = 2.3 rad/s, μ1 = 0.074). (Top): Initial engine speed ωeng perturbed by 1 rad/s from its equilibrium value.
(Bottom) Initial engine speed ωeng perturbed by 0.1 rad/s from its equilibrium value

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4.1 Analysis with μ1 as the continuation parameter
For the analysis with μ1 as the continuation parameter,
the value of μ1 was incremented in steps of 0.0015
from an initial value of −0.05 upto a value of 0.4.
Most often, instabilities occur for positive μ1 values,
i.e., negative friction gradient, and therefore, a small
negative initial value of −0.05 for μ1 is sufficient for
beginning the analysis with a stable equilibrium con-
dition. In most practical situations, the slip speed is
varied between 20 and 100 rpm (≈2–10 rad/s) depend-
ing upon performance requirements. Thus, the range
of input slip speed R of 2–10 rad/s was chosen for
this analysis and incremented in steps of 0.05 rad/s.
This range of R is much lower than the frequency
of the first mode of torsional vibration, 16 Hz (≈100
rad/s), of the system. Therefore, there are no signifi-
cant influences of the vibration modes on the system
response. If bifurcation instability occurred as the pa-
rameter μ1 was increased, the type of bifurcation and
the associated coefficients were recorded. If a bifurca-
tion occurred or if μ1 reached the value of 0.4, the slip
271
Slight perturbation of initial condition from equilibrium condition
270
269
Angular velocity (rad/s)
268
267
266
265
264
263
262
261
0 1 2 3
Fig. 6 Time response (R = 2.3 rad/s, μ1 = 0.075). Initial engine speed ωeng perturbed by 0.1 rad/s from its equilibrium value
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Nonlinear Dyn (2007) 50:627–638
speed R was incremented and the continuation analysis
repeated.
Figure 4 shows the result from the continuation anal-
ysis with increasing μ1 values. The loss of stability
occurs via the occurrence of subcritical Hopf bifurca-
tions. This was confirmed by checking that the first
Lyapunov coefficients l1 evaluated at the bifurcation
points were positive. Some sample results are tabulated
in Table 2. At lower slip speeds, the bifurcations occur
at relatively lower values of μ1 than those at higher
slip speeds. In other words, there is a better tolerance
of negative friction gradient at higher slip speeds than
at lower slip speeds. No bifurcation instability occurs in
the considered range of μ1 for slip speeds higher than
3.4 rad/s.
The occurrence of subcritical Hopf bifurcation in-
dicates a catastrophic mechanism of stability loss
wherein an unstable limit cycle converges to the equi-
librium and renders it unstable. In Figs. 5 and 6, time
response simulations are shown for different values of
μ1 at a slip speed of R = 2.3 rad/s. At this slip speed,
the bifurcation occurs at μ1 = 0.0746. For a value of
ωeng (rad/s)
ωcl (rad/s)
ωt (rad/s)
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (sec)
Nonlinear Dyn (2007) 50:627–638 635

Equilibrium Continuation with decreasing

γ γ
10

o: Subcritical Hopf bifurcation

9

8
γ: Low velocity exponential rate constant

7
Stable region
6

Unstable region
3

0
2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
Desired slip speed: Control input R (rad/s)
Fig. 7 Bifurcation boundary using numerical continuation with decay rate constant γ as the continuation parameter

μ1 = 0.074, lying in the stable region close to the bifur-
cation value, two simulations comparing the effect of
different initial conditions has been shown. In the upper
plot of Fig. 5, the engine speed ωeng is perturbed by 1
rad/s while it is perturbed by 0.1 rad/s from its equilib-
rium value in the lower plot of Fig. 5. The response is
clearly unstable in the upper plot of Fig. 5. Brief peri-
ods of sticking and slipping of the engine and the clutch
are seen. However, our system model does not cap-
ture stick-slip very accurately. Via a numerical stability
and bifurcation analysis of a discontinuous system, the
loss of stability is clearly seen as the parameter μ1 is
varied. Considerable fluctuations of the clutch and the
turbine rotational speeds, ωcl and ωt , respectively, are
observed. This also indicates torsional oscillations of
the damper spring kd , often referred to as windup. The
undesirable vibrations can be transmitted to the drive-
train. The response in the lower plot of Fig. 5 is stable.
This indicates the presence of an unstable limit cycle
separating the stable and unstable regimes. Figure 6
shows the response at μ1 = 0.075, slightly larger than
the bifurcation value, with initial engine speed ωeng
perturbed by 0.1 rad/s from its equilibrium value. We
see that the response is unstable even for such a small
perturbation and thus confirming the occurrence of the
bifurcation.
4.2 Analysis with γ as the continuation parameter
In the analysis with γ as the continuation parameter,
the value of γ has been decreased from an initial value
of 10 to 1 with decrementing steps of 0.03. The smaller
the value of γ , the slower is the exponential rate at
which the friction coefficient of Equation (1) attains its
steady-state value. The slip speed range considered and
the analysis conducted are similar to that done with μ1
as the continuation parameter.
Figure 7 shows the result from continuation analy-
sis with decreasing γ as the continuation parameter.
Considerably, slower exponential rates are tolerated

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636 Nonlinear Dyn (2007) 50:627–638

Table 3 Results from continuation analysis using decay rate constant γ as the continuation parameter

Equilibrium xbe position at bifurcationxbe ∈ n , n = 5

Slip speed Value of γ First lyapunov
(R rad/s) at bifurcation x1be (rad/s) x2be (rad/s) x3be (rad/s) x4be (rad) x5be (rad) coefficient (l1 )

2.15 9.7509 268.1000 265.9500 265.9500 0.0733 1.3232 12.2116

3.50 4.2872 269.0000 265.5000 265.5000 0.0733 1.2878 2.3381
4.45 2.3611 269.6333 265.1833 265.1833 0.0367 1.2305 0.6986

Bifurcation type: Subcritical Hopf

at higher slip speeds as compared to those at higher
slip speeds. Here again, we see that stability is lost via
subcritical Hopf bifurcations since the first Lyapunov
coefficients l1 , evaluated at the bifurcation points are
positive. Some sample results are presented in Table
3. No bifurcation instability occurs in the considered
range of γ for slip speeds higher than 4.5 rad/s.
Time response simulations at γ = 4.3 and
R = 3.5 rad/s located in the stable region for differ-
ent initial conditions are shown in Fig. 8. In the upper
plot of Fig. 8, we see an unstable system response when
initial engine speed ωeng is perturbed by 1 rad/s from
its equilibrium value. Stick-slip between the engine and
the clutch occurs and considerable fluctuations of the
clutch and the turbine rotational speeds, ωcl and ωt , re-
spectively are observed. The lower plot of Fig. 8 shows
a stable response when the initial engine speed ωeng is
perturbed by 0.1 rad/s from its equilibrium value. This
indicates an existence of unstable limit cycle, which
eventually converges to render the equilibrium unsta-
ble at γ = 4.2872. Figure 9 shows an unstable time
response at γ = 4.27, lying in the unstable region after
the occurrence of bifurcation, for initial ωeng perturbed
by 0.1 rad/s from its equilibrium value.

Large perturbation of initial condition from equilibrium condition

272
Angular velocity (rad/s)

270

268

266

264
ωeng (rad/s)
262 ωcl (rad/s)
ωt (rad/s)
260
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Time (sec)

Slight perturbation of initial condition from equilibrium condition

270
Angular velocity (rad/s)

269

268 ωeng (rad/s)

ωcl (rad/s)
267 ωt (rad/s)

266

265
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Time (sec)
Fig. 8 Time response (R = 3.5 rad/s, γ = 4.3). (Top) Initial engine speed ωeng perturbed by 1 rad/s from its equilibrium value. (Bottom)
Initial engine speed ωeng perturbed by 0.1 rad/s from its equilibrium value

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Nonlinear Dyn (2007) 50:627–638
272
Slight perturbation of initial condition from equilibrium condition
270
Angular velocity (rad/s)
268
266
264
262
260
0 5 10
Time (sec)
Fig. 9 Time response (R = 3.5 rad/s, γ = 4.27). Initial engine speed ωeng perturbed by 0.1 rad/s from its equilibrium value
5 Conclusion
In this paper, we have presented the use of numeri-
cal continuation analysis as an effective approach to
conduct continuation-based stability and bifurcation
analysis in a system where analytical closed form so-
lutions of the equilibrium and Jacobian are difficult
to obtain. The continuation software CL MATCONT
by Dhooge et al. [6] is a useful tool to assist in such
analysis.
For the slip-controlled torque converter clutch sys-
tem studied in this analysis, it was observed that an ini-
tially stable system can lose stability when the parame-
ter μ1 is increased or the parameter γ is decreased. The
stability is lost via the occurrence of subcritical Hopf
bifurcations. Stick-slip can occur. Fluctuations in the
turbine and clutch rotational speeds take place indicat-
ing considerable windup of the damper spring and can
cause transmission of undesirable vibrations to the driv-
etrain. Since the range of slip speed R (2–10 rad/s) stud-
637
ωeng (rad/s)
ωcl (rad/s)
ωt (rad/s)
15 20 25 30
ied is much lower than the first natural frequency of the
system (16 Hz 100 rad/s), there are no significant influ-
ences of vibration modes on the system response. Better
tolerance of negative friction gradient, i.e., higher
μ1 value tolerance, is seen at higher slip speeds than
at lower slip speeds. For μ1 -based continuation anal-
ysis, no instability occurs for slip speeds higher than
3.4 rad/s in the range of increasing μ1 (−0.05 to 0.4)
considered. Bifurcation instabilities occur at smaller
exponential rates γ , of the slip-speed dependent fric-
tion coefficient μ, for higher slip speeds as compared
to those at lower slip speeds. For γ -based continuation
analysis, no instability occurs for slip speeds higher
than 4.5 rad/s in the range of decreasing γ (10–1)
considered.
Acknowledgements The authors of this paper would like to
thank Dr. George Bailey, Dr. Yang Liang and the other engi-
neers of the Product Development Department at LuK USA LLC,
Wooster, OH, for their valuable contributions toward this work.
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