A new method is presented for developing proving ground durability tests for electrified vehicle (xEV) drivetrains. For xEVs, the durability tests must be able to capture the added driveline torques due to regenerative braking, customer battery charge/recharge usage, and battery power degradation over time. In terms of xEV duty cycle test schedule development, using actual vehicle data from specific proving ground test events might prove to be costly and time consuming. Furthermore, newer electrified prototype vehicles might not be available for trackside testing while still undergoing the design stage. The new method presented here aims to reduce the complexities of xEV proving ground duty cycle development with the use of a high-fidelity vehicle dynamics simulation model for electrified powertrains. The xEV model uses a mixture of forward (to predict speeds, given torque demands) and inverse dynamics (to predict torques, given constant speed requirements) to predict driveline component torques and speeds. It is also robust enough to handle multiple xEV architectures. By first correlating the model with a similar existing vehicle test, or using data from dynamometer tests for newer electrified components, confidence is gained in the model’s fidelity. Afterwards, by using computed customer pseudo-damage requirements for electrified driveline components, the updated virtual model is utilized to develop new proving ground test events and schedules to match customer durability requirements. Finally, the model can then be used to predict xEV driveline loads on proving grounds through the use of virtual testing during early vehicle development stages before vehicle tests can occur.
