This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
TECHNOLOGY – PEUGEOT 908 HYBRID4


critical factor limiting the performance of the system and, in this first year, Peugeot reckons it could have 40 per cent duty cycle from the system before running into temperature problems. ‘To increase the duty cycle would be to increase the rotor temperatures, and the rotors would not sustain such temperature,’ said Jansonnie. ‘We were still in the development phase, so it means we could have done more on this – change the bearings, the motors and pushed the limits further. ‘There were two systems. One


for the KCU (the inverter) and the MGU (the motor-generator), and one for the battery pack. The electric motor was water cooled, and the battery pack was oil cooled with its own circuit, and its cooling came from the bottom of the radiator.’ One advantage of a battery


system is that it is relatively lightweight. Peugeot’s system weighed in at a total of 52kg, and its entire extra mass was 40kg as the team was able to remove the starter motor, alternator and the 12V battery. The hybrid car weighed 870kg though, and would need an extra 30kg of ballast to bring it up to weight. ‘We wanted to remove the


alternator, 12V battery and starter motor, and to do that, you have to have enough energy stored,’ said Calippe. ‘A capacitor or flywheel may not provide the energy when you need it


ROAD CAR APPLICATION


The development of the hybrid system should have fitted in perfectly with Peugeot’s planned launches for production cars in 2012, with the 908 HYbrid4 sharing similar nomenclature with the 308 HYbrid4 and the 508 HYbrid4. From a marketing perspective, it was a perfect relationship, better even than racing a diesel at Le Mans. ‘There was never going to


be crossover parts from the racing 908 to the production cars, but there was more to the relationship than just the name,’ says Oliver Jansonnie, head of chassis R and D. ‘But the know how of the battery management


and electrical technologies was always going to improve the complete know how of the group. At the very beginning of the diesel engine, we didn’t know anything about it and we had a lot of contact with [the production team]. We learned and from time to time and in an informal way we exchanged information with them. ‘The parts will always be


different because they are so much more expensive, but with bits like cooling the rotors of the electric engine, I am sure you would have the same issues in the road car with an extended duty cycle as you do with the


racecar. So you can apply the same solutions to the road car, even if the parts are different. ‘It is a technology Peugeot


wants to develop. We won in all areas. We were improving our know how, the know how of the PSA Group, and it was obvious. We considered that we were getting more knowledge on the hybrid technologies. On the standard car, the compromises are more difficult to make, whereas in the Sportscar there are no compromises, just pure performance.’ One of the big advances came with the decision to make the electrical systems in house,


after initial work by Bosch. ‘You need to manage a diesel engine and an electric engine, and you need to combine the torque,’ says Pierre Calippe, head of electronics, who switched over from production to racing at the beginning of the hybrid programme. ‘If you don’t do the software yourself, it takes five times longer to understand what you need, or even what you want. For the 2011 car, we developed the software here, with three people. That was really key when we have to develop the strategies. We could test on the dyno the day after, and on the track a week later.’


July 2012 • www.racecar-engineering.com 59 The low driveshafts were already an ideal design to accommodate the hybrid system


to start the diesel engine, so you certainly need a battery. Looking at the level of energy and power this year, the battery system is extremely competitive compared to a capacitor or flywheel [system]. But for higher power, I would not say that. We could change our mind for 2014, but for 2012, this is very competitive.’ Peugeot may have been pushing the limits, but perhaps with its 2010 Le Mans


experience in mind, it was also playing it safe with its engines. ‘On the engine, the timing was reinforced from day one,’ said Jansonnie. ‘The installation of the gearbox in the chassis was probably not the lightest you could get because we knew this layout was integrating with the hybrid system. There are two components that are very different – the tub to integrate the battery pack, which was mandatory because of the fuel


reduction 2011 and 2012, and the bellhousing for the gearbox so we could get the [hybrid] components inside. We knew from day one with this gearbox casing, with the shafts very low down, that it was quite good for putting in some electronics.’


QUICK CHANGE AT LE MANS The team was evaluating whether or not to run a hybrid at the Le Mans test day in 2011. From the outside, it made logical


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89