Validation as knowledgebase for future mobility systems
9. Internationales CTI Symposium, (2010)Abstract
Individual mobility is a main precondition for economic development and breakthrough of new technologies and innovations. Automobile industry has been subject to substantial changes, not only because mobile systems realizing individual mobility provide increasing trends of electrification. Thus complexity increases like in hybrid and electric powertrains.
Above common considerations of single components the overall powertrain concept and configuration have to be developed methodologically in order to fulfill required functionality and customer expectations. Additionally new requirements evolve from new operating and driving strategies, lightweight structures or components with reduced dissipation loss.
Validation of the complete system’s required capability has to be enabled early in product development, to ensure maximum efficiency of resources during the engineering process. The objective is to validate properties like efficiency, reliability and driveability influenced by environmental conditions and potential driver interactions.
The focus of this paper is set on validation in context of product engineering processes, as the authors argue that validation is the central activity of product engineering. Selected examples of validation methods and processes applied and conducted at IPEK (Institute of Product Engineering Karlsruhe), such as pass-by noise measurement, Vehicle-in-the-Loop testing or model updating, denote the impact of validation. Hence, applied simulated environment by the use of XiL (X-in-the-Loop approach) in addition to high effort test drives is presented. Amongst validation, this approach supports derivation and definition of component-specific requirements, optimization approaches by the use of coupled methods as well as robust designs, since interdependencies of the complete systems are considered.
The complex interactions and interdependencies of the product engineering process including validation can be described and visualized by the use of iPeM (integrated product engineering model). This paper provides a reference model based on iPeM that shows the relevant elements for an improvement of engineering processes for mobility systems. The paper also addresses methods for functional description and visualization using abstract approaches that are independent from technical solutions, design and location of effect.