F O C U S 1 3 calculation of several tens of thousands of variants takes several days. “However the simulation algorithms are defined in such a way that only meaningful combinations of measures are simulated and assessed. If the lists of measures are very long, DoE approaches might be applied too,” points out Erich Ramschak, Lead Engineer Simulation. IDEALLY BALANCED SELECTION Upon completion of the simulation, it is necessary to choose variants, which meet the defined specifications by achieving an ideal balance of costs, CO2 emissions, fuel consumption, longitudinal, lateral and vertical vehicle dynamic attributes. The method applied by AVL has the advantage that the large number of analyzed variants offers greater solution ranges, giving a much more precise representation of the balanced behavior. “With this selection procedure, AVL supports the OEM-specific targets definition for driving attributes including the detailed description of the technical measures that lead to the achievement of the goal,” Ramschak says. After the vehicle targets have been agreed, including the catalog of technical measures, the optimization concept is confirmed by means of simulations or prototype vehicles. And even here, AVL is able to deliver a valuable contribution – starting with the test of individual components on the test bed and the setup of prototype hardware with a focus on the powertrain system to the verification of CO2 reduction goals and driving attributes in the course of tests with AVL DRIVE 4.0. “Once the concept is confirmed, the OEM creates the requirement specifications for the complete vehicle including the defined technical measures. This might be done in the course of model year updates or in the case of new vehicle variants. In particular, AVL can carry out the full integration of powertrain systems; SOP (start-of-production) projects that concern other systems at the vehicle can be implemented by AVL in cooperation with partners,” Peter Schöggl explains. CO2 OPTIMIZATION WITH BALANCED DRIVING ATTRIBUTES All in all, the CO2 optimization method offered by AVL along with the employed tools AVL VSM and DRIVE 4.0, offer a vast number of benefits. The optimization may take place in a pure simulation environment, but also on advanced test beds or in the vehicle itself – a fact that allows assessing the effects of CO2 reduction measures on driving related attributes at a very early development stage. By achieving an ideal balance of CO2 measures, it becomes possible to develop energetically optimized and affordable vehicles which still deliver a large amount of driving pleasure. < > Simulation and assessment results of technical CO2 measures allowing balancing of vehicle targets.
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