Drive - An Integrated System Approach to Automotive Powertrain Simulation

The paper summarizes the main theoretical and practical aspects of DRIVE, a software program to simulate the behavior of the engine-drive train-chassis system during the linear motion of the vehicle, showing some application cases. DRIVE can study the system dynamics involving the vehicle motions along three degrees of freedom (longitudinal, vertical translation and pitch), the engine-drive train behavior, with the possibility to simulate a manual or automatic gearshift sequence, and the vertical translation of unsprung masses. The DRIVE-KP variant allows accurate simulation of the clutch Kiss Point identification and acceleration start-up. Using the calculated thermal power as an input, the associated CLUTCH tool evaluates the thermal cycle of the clutch subsystem and calculates temperatures and heat flows, thus helping in the prediction of the durability of this key component.