1 5 F o c u s Ideal component dimensioning For the development of new electrified powertrains, components can be dimensioned smaller due to the more highly efficient control capability. This primarily concerns the size of the battery, which constitutes one of the major cost factors in electrification. It also has an influence on the size of the e-machine, yet to a lesser extent. “If the components remain the same size, the Connected Powertrain allows us to give drivers of hybrid vehicles an extended range of up to 15 percent. The driver’s behavior is still the decisive factor though. The greatest improvements can be achieved with a mixture of electrically powered and combustion engine-powered driving, as purely electric driving is not as technically complex and thus less easy to optimize,” says Günter Fraidl. If the vehicle happens to be an electric car that has a range extender, the ideal point in time can be chosen for activating it – via the Connected Powertrain. “Due to the accuracy of the predicted energy requirements, it becomes possible to ideally dimension the range extender’s power output. There is always a certain amount of power reserve left in the battery to be able to cover the power peaks. As a result, the range extender may be designed only to meet mean power requirements – and not the driving motor’s peak power,” Günter Fraidl explained. Optimized real driving emissions Due to the statutory requirements, emissions have to be measured in real-world driving conditions from 2017 onward. The Connected Powertrain can make an essential contribution towards reducing realworld emissions. Klaus Küpper: “As the operating mode is continuously optimized online to suit the current and future driving situation, which is about to occur several 100 or 1000 meters later, it is possible to reduce the emissions in real-world driving conditions. Even with the communication and safety systems already available in modern vehicles, as much as half of the consumption and emission reduction potential can be harnessed. For the other half to be used too, the previously mentioned c2x communication is needed, the majority of which is still in the development stage.” AVL Connected Development Mastering the increasing complexity of the Connected Powertrain requires a multitude of new development and validation methods. “Without state-of-the-art simulation tools and testing environments, which are also capable of simulating modern driver assistance and cruise-control systems, it will not be possible to develop a drive system this complex. We at AVL, however, are in an ideal position: Both the simulation tools and the required test systems are developed by AVL. In the context of Connected Development, we can exploit a great many synergies – for the benefit of our customers all over the world,” says Günter Fraidl, summing up the advantages of having AVL as a development partner for connected drive solutions. < > The Connected Powertrain requires new development methods: driver assistance systems like, for example, an adaptive cruise control (ACC) can be simulated on the test bed with AVL InMotion.
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