Efficient Design Space Exploration and Optimization Using the Example of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Architectures
Year: 2010
Editor: Krause, D.; Paetzold, K.; Wartzack, S.
Author: Steinhauer, M.; Shea, K.
Section: 7 - Modularisierung und CAx / Modularisation and CAx
Page(s): 247-258
Abstract
Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) are one alternative to significantly reduce fossil fuel consumption. The potential complexity of PHEV powertrains is high due to the countless combinations of combustion engines, electric motors, storage systems and control strategies. Previous studies have shown how to tune parameters according to customer requirements for a given PHEV architecture. However, most approaches do not cover the whole design space of possible PHEV configurations. This study presents a framework for powertrain generation, exploration and optimization. Formal engineering methods are used to generate conceptual PHEV configurations. To evaluate these configurations quantitatively, a parameterized model is defined, including component types and sizes as well as control strategy parameters that is linked to a multi-level simulation model. The parametric and simulation models can be used to generate and explore parametric variants of alternative PHEV architectures. The main design criteria explored are energy consumption and vehicle performance criteria. This research goes beyond prior work as it offers a comprehensive approach for the automated and rapid generation and evaluation of PHEV powertrains according to particular customer requirements including cost. This provides a first step towards an integrated and automated method for powertrain synthesis, simulation and optimization.