The automotive industry is racing to introduce some degree of
hybridization into their product ranges. Since the term
"hybrid vehicle" can cover a wide range of differing
technologies and drivetrain topologies, this has led to a plethora
of vehicles that call them "hybrid." This poses an
interesting challenge for marketers to differentiate these vehicles
from the incumbents.
However, it is not just the marketers who are faced with
challenges, the developers of such hybrid drivetrains are faced
with a rise in technical complexity due to the wide range of
operating modes hybridization introduces. As propulsive torque is
being generated in more than one place in a hybrid vehicle, the
transitions from conventional drive to electrically supported drive
bring with them complex aspects of multi-dimensional system
control.
The challenge is to be able to implement hybrid technology in an
existing drivetrain, while adapting the existing components as
required. The functional variability of hybrid technology, however,
permits a range of possible implementations and the control
calibration tasks themselves need to be well structured concerning
hand-over, traceability and robustness.
The only way to manage this exploding complexity is to apply
methodical approaches to the calibration task and employ partial
test automation when developing hybrid vehicles. The key to
handling the exploding complexity of hybrid drivetrains is to
employ a systematic and methodical approach, which eliminates
repeated loops of calibration effort.
By combining special tools and methodologies used for
calibration projects, AVL is able to achieve the client's
calibration targets of driveability, CO₂ reduction, maximum battery
lifetime, and safety in hybrid vehicles by both efficiency
improvements and increased quality.