Flexible Powertrain Research Articles

Highest efficiency and ultra low emission – internal combustion engine 4.0

In the future, the simultaneous reduction of pollutant and CO2 emissions will require significantly enhanced powertrain functionalities that cannot only be adequately represented by the ICE (internal combustion engine) alone. Both automated transmissions and especially powertrain electrification can help to meet efficiently those extended requirements. The extended functionalities are no longer applied exclusively with the ICE itself ("Fully Flexible Internal Combustion Engine"), but distributed across the entire powertrain ("Fully Flexible Powertrain"). In addition, the powertrain will be fully networked with the vehicle environment and thus will utilize all data that are useful for emission and consumption-optimized operation of the ICE. Combustion engine and electrification often complement each other in a synergetic way. This makes it extremely sensible for the combustion engine to evolve in future from a "single fighter" to a "team player". If one compares the requirements of such an ICE with the definition of Industry 4.0, then there are extensive correspondences. Thus, it seems quite opportune to call such a fully networked combustion engine designed to meet future needs as “Internal Combustion Engine 4.0 (ICE 4.0)”. This even more so, as such a name can also be derived from the history: e.g. ICE 1.0 describes the combustion engines of the first mass-produced vehicles, ICE 2.0 the combustion engines emission-optimized since the 1960s and ICE 3.0 the highly optimized "Fully Flexible Combustion Engine", which currently offers a high torque and performance potential combined with low fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. In addition to further improvements in fuel consumption, the "Combustion Engine 4.0" offers such a low level of pollutant emissions that can best be described as "Zero Impact Emission". This means that such future ICE´s will no longer have a negative impact on the imission situation in urban areas. With the e-fuels topic, the ICE also has the potential to become both CO2- and pollutant-neutral in the medium and long term. This means that the ICE – also in passenger cars – will continue to be an essential and necessary cornerstone for future powertrain portfolios for the next decades.

A Double-ended Converter System with Two Different DC-buses Using Open Winding Permanent Magnet Machine for Traction Applications

In hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), there are usually several different DC-buses of different voltage levels to handle different loads. DC–DC converters are used to transfer energy between different DC-buses. This paper proposed a double-ended converter for two different DC-buses with large voltage ratio. The high-voltage DC-bus is 600 V for the traction motor drive, while the low-voltage DC-bus is 48 V for the electronic devices on the vehicle. By using the proposed system configuration, energy could be transferred freely between the generator and the two loads, forming a very flexible powertrain. In addition, the weight, volume, and cost of power electronics components could be reduced. This paper introduced the operation principal and control algorithm of the proposed system. Simulations verified the functionality of the proposed system. The proposed system configuration is not only suitable for automotive applications, but can also be implemented in other applications, such as aerospace, marine, and industrial, where multiple DC-bus voltage levels are required.

Flexible powertrain for electric cars

Flexible powertrain for electric cars

Cross-synthesis of Observer and controller for a two-mass uncertain system

AbstractThe industrialists want a minimum of sensors to improve reliability and cost. Performances are then decreasing for systems with variable parameters or direct-drive. Moreover, such a flexible power train leads to a two-mass system which can become unstable. This paper proposes a solution to quickly and accurately tune an observer and a state feedback with a lower computer time consumption and lower conception time. A Linear Quadratic optimized state feedback and a Kalman observer both with special rating matrices are implemented. An evolutionary algorithm optimizes the observer and the controller degrees of freedom all over the variations underlining the benefits of a crossed synthesis. Experiments show that the stability and the performance are effectively maintained.

Application of Evolutionary Computation in Automotive Powertrain Mount Tuning

Engine mount tuning is a multi‐disciplinary exercise since it affects Idle‐shake, Road‐shake and power‐train noise response. Engine inertia is often used as a tuned absorber for controlling suspension resonance related road‐shake issues. Last but not least, vehicle ride and handling may also be affected by mount tuning. In this work, Torque‐Roll‐Axis (TRA) decoupling of the rigid powertrain was used as a starting point for mount tuning. Nodal point of flexible powertrain bending was used to define the envelop for transmission mount locations. The frequency corresponding to the decoupled roll mode of the rigid powertrain was then adjusted for idle‐shake and road‐shake response management.A TRA decoupling procedure, cast as a multi‐objective optimization problem, was applied to a body‐on‐frame sport‐utility vehicle powertrain system. In addition to a standard gradient based optimization algorithm, available in commercial finite element software, an evolutionary computation paradigm known as Evolutionary Strategies (ES) was used to solve the optimization problem. The primary advantages of evolutionary computation over gradient based algorithms are as follows: i) They are less likely to get trapped in local minima and less dependent on initial values of the design parameters and therefore able to handle multi‐modal optimization problems unlike gradient based algorithms, ii) They produce a population of viable solutions, unlike gradient based algorithms which yields a single solution. The second advantage is very attractive in a production environment since packaging and other multi‐disciplinary constraints often require multiple quality solutions for the same problem. The process outlined in this work was verified by exercising a full‐vehicle finite element model. The process produced a set of production feasible powertrain mount parameters for acceptable idle and road shake performance.

First robotized assembly line for multivalve cylinder heads in Europe

Outlines the development of new automated assembly methods for the automotive industry currently being undertaken by ABB Flexible Powertrain Assembly GmbH based in Langenfeld, Germany. Describes the application of these jointed‐arm robots in Audi’s plant in Györ, Hungary and illustrates the benefits of the new system.