FEATURE TEST SYSTEMS
Subaru reduces electric vehicle test development times by 90 per cent
Subaru is simulating road conditions for its electric vehicles using a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) system from National Instruments, lowering purchasing costs to 33 per cent of alternative solutions
costs to around one-third of the cost of adopting solutions from other companies, and, because of our familiarity with LabVIEW, keep our software development costs to around one-sixth of the cost of commissioning an outside developer.” Subaru further outfitted its vehicle test
N
ational Instruments, the provider of platform-based systems that enable engineers and scientists to solve the world’s greatest engineering challenges, has announced that major automotive manufacturers like Subaru are using NI hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) technology to simulate actual road conditions for electric vehicle testing, eliminating environmental factors to reduce test time and costs. Traditionally, engineers have conducted vehicle tests using finished cars on test courses or public roads to check the vehicle’s performance and safety response. However, certain limitations, such as weather and fluctuating road surface conditions, can make it difficult to conduct reproducible tests on roads in a timely manner. Moreover, electric vehicles are extremely complex due to their many subsystems, which are all interdependent on each other. This complexity makes the job challenging for automotive test engineers with short development cycles and pressure to limit costs. To combat these issues, Subaru
replaced the roads in the validation tests with a NI HIL simulation solution built on NI PXI products and LabVIEW software. With the HIL system, Subaru can eliminate environmental factors and thoroughly and efficiently test a vehicle’s embedded controller in a virtual environment before running real-world diagnostics on the complete system. “By using NI PXI products and LabVIEW,
we were able to completely implement a customised HIL system in just one to two weeks and develop our software in- house,” says Daisuke Umiguchi, Electrified Power Unit Research and Experiment Dept., Subaru Corporation. “This helped us keep product purchasing
18 MAY 2018 | AUTOMATION
By adopting this system, Subaru anticipates reducing labour hours by half compared to conventional methods
solution with a controller-driven dynamometer by HORIBA and CarSim vehicle dynamics simulation software deployed by Virtual Mechanics. Together, they produce load conditions equivalent to those generated on actual roads. This driving system transmits the calculated values to the NI HIL system in real-time to create closed-loop control between
the models on the HIL system and the driving system. As a result, the HIL interaction system can apply the appropriate load to the vehicle throughout the tests. Subaru plans to use this test system at
the final stages of development for electric vehicles as a final quality check, and eventually expand its use for all car types. By adopting this system, Subaru anticipates reducing labour hours by half compared to conventional methods.
National Instruments
ni.com/en-
us/innovations/automotive/hardware-
in-the-loop.html
Milestone brings RDE testing a step closer for the UK C
onstruction of the UK’s first dedicated Real Driving Emissions (RDE) Testing Centre is one
step closer after MAHLE Powertrain took delivery of sophisticated automotive testing systems from HORIBA UK. The technology forms an integral part of an £8m investment at the company’s Northampton site. HORIBA has supplied a complete suite of
emissions testing technology, comprising its MEXA-ONE and CVS-ONE systems, together with a STARS-VETS test automation system to interface and execute emissions tests. The equipment enables MAHLE to test a vehicle’s conformity to the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), measuring both fuel economy and emissions values. From its new RDE Centre, MAHLE can simulate
real-world driving styles, testing vehicle emissions at high speeds and loads, with aggressive acceleration and braking. To facilitate testing in these conditions, HORIBA has added special boost pumps to the analyser sampling system, which allows sampling from vehicles at high altitudes. Derek Wise, chief engineer (test
and build) at MAHLE Powertrain comments: “Delivery of specialist emissions testing equipment from HORIBA represents an important milestone in the development of our new RDE Centre. MAHLE has enjoyed a healthy relationship with
HORIBA for several years and recognises their testing technology to be world-leading. “The RDE Centre is really starting to take shape,
with our specialist altitude and climatic control system and 4WD chassis dynamometer already on site. Once all installations are completed, the centre will position us at the forefront of real driving emissions testing, right here in the UK.” Ana Anyaeji, HORIBA UK product specialist,
adds: “Our relationship with MAHLE Powertrain is one of close collaboration and it’s very exciting to be supplying them with this wealth of equipment for such an advanced test facility. We’re also looking forward to the next phase of the project, which will be the commissioning of the test equipment using vehicles under simulated loading, temperature and altitude conditions.” MAHLE’s RDE Centre was scheduled for
completion in April 2018, with the official opening take place in July 2018.
MAHLE Powertrain
www.mahle-powertrain.com T: 01604 738000
/AUTOMATION
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