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The topology of an EDS, defined by the routing paths and by the location of the distribution boxes and the inline connectors, has a strong impact on weight and required amount of material, especially of copper, as well as on the manufacturing- and assembly time. Although a good part of the routing and packaging is fixed due to technical reasons and carry-over situations, in general there are enough optional paths and locations to allow up to several thousand alternative topologies. For these reasons, an optimization is possible as well as important. For such an optimization, in this paper a method is presented to concurrently minimize predefined criteria, e.g. the required copper, length of the wires, and the overall length of the wire bundles. It is based on designated algorithms for the variation of the topology, the routing, and the calculation of the optimization criteria as mentioned above.

Both the electrical portion of the powertrain and the rising number of auxiliary systems will considerably increase the electrical power requirements in future vehicles. In addition, multiple voltage supply levels will enhance the complexity of the electrical distribution system (EDS), while strict cost, weight, packaging, and safety constraints must be upheld, posing serious design challenges in terms of robustness, reliability and energy efficiency. Currently, a self-contained integral test or evaluation of the EDS is normally not applied. For such a purpose, quantitative quality criteria are introduced here which allow a comparative assessment of an EDS by addressing the dynamic and static stability of the supply voltage, the reliability of the fusing system, and the ability to provide the required electrical power. The presented approach uses both precisely-defined test scenarios and a comprehensive EDS test bench.

The power requirements of future vehicle electrical distribution systems will increase considerably. Consequently, electrical energy has a major impact on the overall vehicle energy balance, so its generation and storage must be as efficient as possible. The presented concept is based on a voltage-controlled alternator in combination with super capacitors and a corresponding energy management system. The focus is energy efficiency, recuperation, and the use of standard components. A specific hardware in the loop based test set-up was built that allows the control and monitoring of the mechanical and electrical energy flows. Besides the theoretical description, the paper presents first experimental data and results followed by a discussion of the next steps and future potentials.

The integration of safety-critical and major power-consuming electrical systems presents a challenge for the development of future vehicle power nets. Reliability and performance of the electrical network must be enhanced in order to guarantee the power supply to essential electrical consumers at a sufficient degree of power quality. This paper presents a test bench for automotive electrical networks based on a hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) platform. The test bench is used to assess the power and temperature behavior of the wiring harness and the connected power consumers. This characterisation facilitates the development of new tailored automotive electrical networks to meet the increased requirements while efficiently using the available resources.

The paper presents a simulation environment for the test of driver assistance systems. It covers software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop test capabilities. In the hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) configuration, real components such as electronic control units (ECUs) and actuators are embedded in the system. First, requirements for a virtual environment are defined. They build the basis for the entire simulation. Special emphasis is given to the interaction between the simulated vehicle under test and its traffic environment. A virtual environment was developed in which the simulated vehicle can drive on a road together with the surrounding traffic. The simulation environment is composed mainly of a traffic scenario generator and a simulation of sensor behavior allowing the recognition of the vehicle's surroundings. Appropriate critical traffic scenarios are generated depending on the tested driver assistance system.

The optimum design of an electrical distribution system (EDS) is based on the profound understanding and measurement of its thermal behavior, because this determines wire diameter and insulation material, has a major impact on the fusing strategy, and enables minimizing technical risk. Current methods of calculation require an extensive database, whereas the temperature measurements at selected points with normal sensors allow neither the precise rating of the actual insulation temperature within a wire bundle, nor the determination of the thermal impact of load currents. The presented approach is based on both a new measurement method and on a related evaluation algorithm. A common automotive wire is applied as a sensing device using its resistance temperature coefficient as the measurement principle.

Both the integration of safety-critical electrical systems and the increasing power requirements in vehicles present a challenge for electrical distribution systems in terms of reliability, packaging, weight, and cost. In this regard, the wire protection device is a key element, as it determines the reliability of the short circuit detection, the immunity against false tripping, and the wire diameters. Currently, in most cases, thermal fuses are used, due to their low cost and robust design. However, the description of their tripping behavior based only on steady-state currents is insufficient for the increasingly complex current profiles in vehicles. Thus, to achieve an optimum dimensioning of a fuse-wire combination, a profound understanding of the thermal behavior of both components under dynamic load conditions is mandatory. However, the FEM tools used for the thermal design of fuses are relatively slow, require huge calculation resources, and must be well-parameterized.

In the research project “New Exhaust Emission Concept”, supported by the Minister of Research and Technology of the Federal Republic of Germany, the main goal was the minimization of the raw exhaust emission of a gasoline engine by operating the engine in its (HC +NOx)-minimum, as well as the improvement of its fuel economy. With respect to these goals it was necessary to develop new control strategies. To preadjust the appropriate electronic control systems already in the laboratory, a real time simulator was developed, to reproduce the sensor signals of a gasoline engine under steady state, but also under dynamic conditions. The paper gives a survey over the technical specifications of the simulator, the method of mathematical engine modelling, the simulation algorithms and the used hardware solution. Some characteristic results show the performance and the adventages of the use of the simulation system.

SI engines are dynamic systems with highly nonlinear characteristics which are controlled by ECUs performing complex control algorithms. Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation is an important tool to support test and verification during the development phase. The simulation model has to accurately reflect the dynamic behavior of the SI engine in the whole operating area. This paper describes a neural network approach to identify, i.e. to model a nonlinear dynamic system, the SI engine, represented only by I/O measurement data. The neural models have advantages with respect to robustness and measuring extent. They can be used as stand alone models or as sub-models integrated in a global model based on a physical structure. Measurements from a test bench compared to real-time simulation results prove the performance of the proposed modeling strategy.

Advanced passenger car control is based on multiple electronic control units (ECUs), performing complex control algorithms and diagnostic functions for the different power train components like combustion engine, automatic transmission, brakes or chassis. For research and development the engineers need tools to test and verify either the reliability of new control strategies implemented in the ECUs or the interaction of different ECUs in a car. These tests should be done to the highest extent in the laboratory to reduce costs and risks which are involved in test stands or experimental cars. Therefore the optimal solution is the operation of the ECUs in a real-time closed loop environment.

Today diesel engines are controlled by electronic control units (ECU's), performing complex functions. New developed control algorithms should already be tested under real-time conditions in the laboratory before they are applied to the real engine. Hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HIL) is a powerful tool for development and test of the control algorithms implemented in the ECU's. Modern diesel ECU's are able to react to rotary oscillations of the crankshaft within a work cycle in order to control idling and running smoothness by a cylinder-individual variation of the start of delivery and the injection time. As a consequence also the simulator has to be able to generate torque oscillations with a resolution adapted to the sample rate of the ECU. The paper describes a high resolution real-time model which was designed by expanding a steady state model by a parallel thermodynamic model with a simplified structure.

Advanced automatic transmissions are controlled by electronic control units (ECUs) which perform the gear change and furthermore a lot of complex control and diagnostic functions. Hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HIL) is a powerful tool to develop and test the control algorithms implemented in the ECUs. The simulation is based upon mathematical models of the different power train components, adapted to the real-time requirements. In this paper an improved real-time model of an automatic transmission with a Ravigneaux planetary gear train is presented. This transmission contains among other components numerous clutches and brakes. The time-variant states of these nonlinear elements (sliding and static friction) lead to numerical problems with respect to real-time simulation. In the suggested model the transferred torques of the different clutches and brakes are calculated using the methods of multi-variable control.

Within the scope of the development of autonomous vehicles, the mandatory reliability requirements of the electrical power supply, and consequently of the electrical distribution system (EDS), are increased considerably. In addition, the overall rising number of electrical functions leads to significantly higher electrical power demands, while strict cost, weight and packaging constraints must be upheld. Current developments focus on adding redundancies, enhancing physical robustness, or dimensioning critical components. New approaches address predictive power management, better diagnostic capabilities, and, the subject of this paper, alternative topologies and architectures [1]. These are derivations of the conventional tree structure, as well as ring- or linear-bus-based zonal architectures, which feature in part distributed storage devices or semiconductor switches that rearrange the power paths in case of a fault [2,3].

Common rail fuel injection is the latest breakthrough in diesel engine technology. For research, development and quality control of the used electronic control units (ECU's), hardware-in-the-loop-simulation (HIL) is a useful tool for test and verification. The paper describes a high resolution real-time model of pump, rail, control valve and injectors which results in a reliable approximation of the dynamic characteristic of pressure and mass flow of the fuel. In respect to computing time and system resources this model is combined with a steady state model of a Diesel engine. It describes mainly the effects of the input variables start of injection and injection time on the engine torque at the operating point of the engine, defined by its speed and intake manifold pressure. The theoretical deduction will be completed by simulation results of the transient behavior of a Common Rail engine which are simulated by the real-time simulator CARTS(1) (Figure 1) connected to a Diesel-ECU.

The paper presents a new method based on neural networks to model the dynamic behavior of combustion pressure in SI engine cylinders, represented only by conventional input-output data. The approach is based on a functional representation of the pressure curve. The function parameters are adjusted by training a static neural network (SNN) for each working cycle. These parameters resp. “weights” are used in the following as reference pressure feature sequences. The sequences are simulated using time delay neural network (TDNN) as functions of engine speed, manifold pressure, ignition time and A/F ratio. The developed models can be used as stand alone models or as submodels within a global structure. It can be integrated as a real-time model in a HIL simulator to stimulate an ECU or implemented within an ECU for torque estimation. Performance of the proposed modeling strategy is verified by comparing experimental data from a test bench to real-time simulation results.

Real-time models, which reflect dynamic behavior of the SI engine, are needed for building up ECU testing devices like HIL simulators. In this paper the thermodynamic processes are reduced to some basic assumptions and combined with neural approximators of testbench data. So the parameters of the approximators can be easily adapted to similar new engines, while the principle structure describing interaction of the time- and angle-based processes remains unchanged. The model has been implemented and tested in a HIL-simulator. The performance of the proposed modeling strategy could be proved by comparing measurement data from a test bench to real-time simulation results.

Both the rising number of electrical systems and the electrical part of the powertrain are considerably increasing the electrical power requirements of vehicles. As a consequence, multiple voltage supply levels have been introduced. However, even if only the 12V/48V configuration is considered, as in this paper, the number of possible electrical distribution system (EDS) architectures is greatly enlarged. Additional degrees of freedom are the allocation of the loads to the voltage levels, the dimensioning of new components, and the control strategy. Hence, the optimization of such architectures must be based on simulation, which allows the evaluation of a multitude of variants and test scenarios within an acceptable time frame. While strict cost, weight, and quality constraints must be upheld, the stability of the voltage supply is a major focus because a significant part of future electrical systems is highly safety-critical.

The thermal behavior of wires within the electrical distribution system (EDS) has a strong impact on the conductor cross section, the type of insulation, the derating, and the fusing system, and therefore on weight, cost, and reliability. Consequently, significant efforts have been made to develop sound static and dynamic thermal models for single wires and wire bundles. However, these models are based on the simplifying assumption that the object is completely surrounded by air, where, with the exception of free convection, airflow can be neglected, and where no interaction with other objects is considered. The approach presented in this paper takes into account the actual environment and routing within a vehicle, where some objects such as metal sheets can be considered as heat sinks and other objects, e.g. a motor block, as heat sources.

Currently, circuit breakers and, in most cases, thermal fuses are used for wire protection due to their low cost and robust design. As an alternative, solid state switches are being considered within future electrical distribution systems (EDS) for several reasons, e.g. resetability, diagnosis, smaller tolerances, and reduced dependencies on ambient temperature or arcing. Particularely if combined with benefits on the system level, such an application can be advantageous. The new approach presented in this paper uses a thermal model of the wire instead of only an emulation of the thermal fuse behavior. This allows, based on the electrical current profile, the calculation of the wire temperature and thus a robust and precise protection of the wire. In addition, it minimizes the probability of faulty switching, which is of particular importance with regard to safety-critical electrical functions.