56 March/April 2025 | E-Mobility Engineering Nick Flaherty traces the line where digital models of components meet simulation to experience a vehicle before it is even built Digital gets real Virtual design methodologies are increasingly being adopted in the development of e-mobility platforms – combining digital models of components with simulation to create a digital twin of an entire vehicle that can be driven before it has even been built. The drive and handling experience of a vehicle is fed back into the design process, allowing the battery pack and powertrain to be optimised with different topologies and chemistries, all of which can be modelled in the digital twin. Similarly, the noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) resulting from all the components through the tyres and suspension can be analysed and reduced. As the development of the platform advances, real devices such as the electronic control unit can replace virtual models, adding hardware-in-the-loop (HIL). This allows ECUs to be tuned for optimum balance of performance, range and reliability long before a vehicle hits the test track, potentially saving millions of dollars and months of time in the validation testing process. HIL can also provide predictive analysis. Running a simulation faster than real time can give data on how the components behave over time, identifying parts that are more likely to fail earlier than expected under particular driving styles. This isn’t a pipe dream. Developers are aiming for an end-to-end entirely digital design process where HIL is a key element. “We are working towards a digital by default design process by 2028, and HIL is a great route to getting there,” says Phil Langley, strategic and business development manager at tier one supplier ZF. Salman Safdar, business development manager at Ansible Motion, says: “We are seeing a major shift. If you have your model and you want a human to experience that, you need us to bring that human into the virtual environment to bring in the realism of the virtual hardware.” Integrating simulation Physical simulation system developer VI-grade is linking its dynamic simulator with HIL systems to test more parts. “We are known for vehicle dynamics and simulators, and that plays an important role as everything interacts. Then we were asked to deploy other aspects on the vehicle, with the interaction with the powertrain and also the subsystems, such as the suspension, steer-by-wire or brake-bywire systems,” says Alessandro Baldari, European sales manager at VI-grade. The dynamic simulators are based on a patented concept where the lower part moves on air pads with three main actuators or cables to give a realistic driving experience. A scalable motion simulator for hardware in the loop (Image courtesy of Ansible Motion)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mzk4