How does AWD torque splitting work?

Under hard acceleration the weight of the car shifts to the rear as the torque causes the front end to rise. If you don't limit the torque to the front wheels the front tires will break loose. Since many AWD systems use the brakes to control wheel spin, preventing it in the first place by shifting torque to the rear wheels will allow for harder controlled acceleration. Still, having both axles applying torque allows more rubber to grip the pavement.  How this is accomplished depends on the specific vehicle. Some now drive one axle with electric motors, some use viscous coupling and some use electro-mechanical means to shift torque front or rear. 

AWD systems apply power to the axles and wheels with the most traction.

Most are FWD only with 100% power to the front wheels until they encounter slip.

They can then apply power to the real axle i whatever percentage needed.

And many now have preset torque split settings to give better traction in certain conditions.

My Jeep for example has a sport mode that has a 60/40 rear bias

A snow mode that has a 60/40 front bias,

And a sand/mud mode with a 50/50 split.

It also has the ability to apply 100% power to the rear axle if needed.

Wheel speed is 100% computer controlled on a 4 wheels as is braking.

50/50 at all times is a compromise in performance and handling compared to a modern AWD system.

AWD is clearly the king of ON ROAD traction and handling.

4WD is still the king of OFF ROAD and likely will be for some time

The amount of torque distribution has nothing to do with the speed of the tires being different.

It's NOT that the wheels are going faster, they just have more torque available. Please don't pretend to know more than Automotive Engineers. Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean they're wrong. Torque Vectoring is the latest and most people don't understand how it works. But it's still the best traction advance in a decade if not longer.

Torque is force, not speed. SMH!