Accelerating EV Thermal Controls Development: A Rapid controls prototyping framework using Speedgoat

In the era of software-defined vehicles, the complexity and requirements of automotive systems have increased significantly. Thermal management systems have become more complicated, incorporating multiple functions and strategies within software frameworks. This shift poses substantial challenges, increased development efforts and extending timelines in creating an efficient thermal management system for EVs. Fulfilling them in the early stages of design makes it more challenging due to the unavailability of key components such as fully developed ECU hardware, the battery pack, and the motor. To address this, a novel framework has been designed that combines virtual simulation with physical emulation, enabling the testing and validation of thermal control strategies without fully matured system and ECU hardware. The framework uses the Speedgoat platform as the central controller which hosts the control and thermal models developed in Simulink and Simscape. Speedgoat is physically connected to a non-functional vehicle equipped with key thermal components such as a radiator cooling fan, AC compressor, HVAC blower, active grille shutters (AGS), valves etc. Virtual thermal models of the EPT and battery simulates electro-thermal dynamics and predict heat loads from the battery pack and motor. The simulated heat loads are communicated to a custom-designed heater cart via Speedgoat, which physically generates the heat and accurately emulate the system loads. The cabin in the non-functional vehicle allows us to evaluate the cabin thermal performance realistically. The entire system is designed to be mobile, allowing it to be placed inside a climatic chamber synchronized with the drive profile, for providing the actual front-end flow. By dynamically controlling all components through Speedgoat and offering an interactive calibration interface for real-time calibration, this framework bridges the gap between simulation and physical testing. It accelerates controls development, optimizes thermal strategies, ensures energy efficiency, reliability, and cost-effectiveness in system design.