Development of a Digital Twin of an Electrical Powertrain in a Testbench Environment for Efficiency Estimations

2026-01-0744

7/1/2026

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The aim of this work is to develop a modular, real-time-capable digital twin of an electric powertrain based on machine learning (ML)-based model structures and a systematic, component-oriented architecture with a focus on efficiency estimation in test bench environments. The further goal here is to enable virtual testing, which can be used for frontloading and thus both prevent errors and increase the speed of product development. Based on a comprehensive set of measured and derived test bench data, a multi-stage procedure is implemented that integrates data acquisition, physically informed feature selection, modeling at the component and subsystem level, and hybrid coupling strategies. The digital twin captures inverter, electric machine, and mechanical transmission stages and generates consistent predictions of key variables such as torque, speed, power factors, and subsystem as well as overall drivetrain efficiency. The methodology enables a systematic comparison of black box, dark grey box, grey box, and bright grey box architectures with respect to prediction accuracy, information content, and real-time capability. The methodology provided uses new model structures that explicitly integrate physical dependencies while also using ML models to map nonlinear effects. The hybrid architectures presented have been shown to significantly reduce the measurement effort while achieving nearly identical model quality and surpassing purely physics-based models in terms of accuracy, robustness, and real-time capability. For the final bright grey-box architecture, average relative efficiency errors below 1 % are achieved while maintaining real-time execution rates. The study shows that bright grey box-models in particular offer a best-case compromise between the requirements of information content, error quality, and synchronization rate, thus representing a methodological advance over conventional digital twins, which are often created at the component level. The shown methodology provides an implementable framework for digital twins of electric powertrains in industrial test environments.
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.4271/2026-01-0744
Citation
Kopp, L., Proksch, D., Ockert, N., Karthaus, C., et al., "Development of a Digital Twin of an Electrical Powertrain in a Testbench Environment for Efficiency Estimations," 2026 Stuttgart International Symposium, Stuttgart, Germany, July 8, 2026, https://doi.org/10.4271/2026-01-0744.
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Published
Jul 01
Product Code
2026-01-0744
Content Type
Technical Paper
Language
English