A Methodology for the Early Diagnosis of Vehicle Torque Converter Clutch Degradation

Torque converters (TC) are widely used in automatic transmissions and continuous variation transmissions (CVT) to transfer the engine power to the transmission through fluid and mechanical coupling. The degradation of the TC Clutch (TCC) may result in excessive vibrations in the TC and driveline, elevated transmission temperature, and transmission shudder. The present study develops a systematic approach to detect TCC system degradation utilizing both machine learning techniques and domain expertise. The validation using vehicle data demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach. The early detection of TCC degradation may help to prolong the lifespan of TC, protect transmission components from further damage, and avoid limp-home and walk-home incidents.