For more than 30 years, dSPACE has helped its customers and partners develop and test ever new innovations and technologies in the powertrain domain, from diesel to gas engines with homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) to hybrid or fully electric drivetrains. dSPACE offers hardware and software solutions for prototyping, developing, and testing all kinds of powertrain systems.
Key Highlights
- Flexible and scalable portfolio for the development and testing of powertrain applications from compact systems to modular desktop systems to large test benches.
- Ready-to-use I/O functionalities for engines (ignition, injection, crank, cam, lambda, etc.), electric motors (PWMs, analog and digital encoders, current measurement, etc.) , batteries (cell voltage emulation, temperature sensors, current sensors, etc.)
- Development and test of even the most comprehensive control strategies with cycle times in the µs range on CPUs or even shorter on FPGAs.
- Comprehensive software support for model-based design, including experiment software for measurement and calibration during run time, workflow management, and test automation
- Use of real components for realistic environment simulation
- Test systems with high-voltage electronic loads
Examples of Successful Customer Projects
- Developing control strategies for internal combustion engines (gasoline and diesel), hybrid and fully electric drivetrains
- Development and test of control strategies for gearbox and transmission applications
- Controller development and simulation of automated manual transmissions using real and simulated motors
- Controller development and test for electric motors at signal and power levels
- Simulating brushless DC motors, including current and voltage emulation
- Testing distributed functions in complex simulations of hybrid control units
dSPACE Solutions for Powertrains
No matter your application area or project requirements, dSPACE supports you with a comprehensive tool chain, engineering, support, and training. With over 30 years of experience, we have the right solution for you.
Electric Motors
When you develop control strategies or test ECUs for electric motors, the main challenge lies in their highly dynamic behavior, which requires very fast closed-loop cycle times in the µs range. dSPACE addresses these requirements with comprehensive FPGA-based solutions for RCP and HIL systems and a completely software- and model-based FPGA configuration with ready-to-use functionalities for analog and digital encoder inputs and several PWM outputs. Helping customers significantly reduce project durations and kickstart their development and testing projects with an easy-to-use software environment.
Combustion Engines
With dSPACE systems, you can either develop and prototype new control strategies for internal combustion engines or test single or several networked engine ECUs together in a HIL setup. dSPACE real-time systems therefore provide the necessary automotive bus- and engine-specific I/O interfaces, such as crank, cam, lambda, and knock sensors, and are capable of generating or simulating signals for injection and ignition. Crank and cam signals are processed with a 0.1° resolution, which enables very precise control and test strategies. In addition, cylinder-pressure-based control development is supported with very fast analog input channels. By using FPGA resources, it is even possible to implement extremely fast control loops with an in-cycle response, which enables control design for CAI or HCCI strategies.
Transmission
dSPACE systems are perfectly suited for the development of control strategies and testing of transmission ECUs. To precisely control valves or other actuators, dSPACE prototyping systems can be equipped with signal conditioning and power units. In HIL setups, e.g., for an automated manual transmission (AMT), you can include real motors to allow the test system to switch between the motors as real parts and virtual components using simulation models. The dSPACE HIL system provides high currents up to 60 A, which are needed to simulate the inrush current of the DC motors. Further examples of simulated transmissions include automatic transmissions (AT), dual-clutch transmissions (DCT), and continuously variable transmissions (CVT).
Hybrid Drive Trains
dSPACE offers a sophisticated, highly scalable system for testing and improving the components of hybrid drive trains. For example, to provide the most realistic motor emulation possible, a user-programmable FPGA board from dSPACE can be integrated into the test setup. This FPGA board computes the model of the permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), which is included in the dSPACE XSG Electric Components library. This model-based approach lets you change motor parameters or even motor types during run time with just a few clicks and without any hardware modifications. To close all control loops, the test system is also equipped with communication protocols and position sensor simulation interfaces.
Development support from start to finish
Developing complex E/E systems and software with ever more safety-critical functions, especially in the area of autonomous systems, raises the question of guaranteeing function reliability. That's why dSPACE offers end-to-end expertise in functional safety, test strategy development as well as verification and validation in complex E/E processes - to support you from the earliest project stages to homologation.
dSPACE systems are easy to get up and running – however, if a project is more complex, if individual solutions are needed or if there is high time pressure, you can also trust dSPACE's fast, competent and reliable engineering services.
