Experimental Validation of an Automated Approach for Estimating the Efficiency and Heat Balance of Gearboxes Based on an Electrified Heavy Commercial Vehicle Axle

Abstract

Freight transport accounts for about half of all distances travelled in Europe. Therefore, freight transport is one of the decisive factors for reducing greenhouse gases and air pollutants. For this reason, the electrification of road freight transport is being promoted as part of the project “BEV Goes eHighway—[BEE]”. The data basis for the modelling used in this project is an electric drive axle for a heavy commercial vehicle, which was developed in the “Concept-ELV2” project. Based on the results of the previous project, the methodological tools that were developed are presented in this paper. These allow a wide range of possible powertrain topologies to be considered at the concept stage of development based on an estimation of future system characteristics. For this purpose, the components are automatically designed taking into account the mutual influence of the requirements and are evaluated in the context of the holistic system. This publication focuses on the efficiency and thermal evaluation of the transmission stages of the addressed electric drive units and validates the developed models using a pototypically designed electric commercial vehicle axle.

Keywords

• electric powertrain
• heavy duty
• holistic powertrain design
• modular topology