<\/p>If you do things the way you’ve always done them, you’ll get the same outcomes you’ve always gotten. In order to change your outcomes, you’ve got to do things differently – Mark Victor Hansen<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Performance engineering is more than just speed and\nacceleration. It\u2019s efficiency, range, drivability, durability, ride and\nhandling, NVH and more. What designers and engineers must do is look at\nbuilding the electric vehicle in a more holistic way and use digital tools to\nmaximize decision making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Balancing performance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For the end user, the concerns center on range, driving\nperformance, handling and comfort. All the other elements come into it when you\nlook at it from an engineering level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The electric powertrain, electronics, HVAC design and\nbattery pack are just a few examples of the sub-systems where performance must\nbe balanced effectively during development; there is always a trade-off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With multiple suppliers providing components and systems,\nconflicting requirements and needs continuously arise throughout the\nengineering process. Even though many of the key performance attributes are the\nsame as those with a conventional vehicle, engineers must address these aspects\nin an electrified vehicle differently. For example, the assumption is noise and\nvibration in an electric vehicle is quiet. While the electrified vehicle is\nquieter, the actual noises it makes can be discomforting.\n\nHybrids are especially complex when it comes to\nbalancing. Switching between both an electric and internal combustion engine\ncomplicates the way different attributes are influenced. In fact, many OEMs are\nchoosing to abandon hybrids altogether and design either internal combustion or\nelectric vehicles respective of the customer and region they want to sell to.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Major Implications for Vehicle Electrification<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n Architecture<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The first thing you need to do when deciding to build an electrified\nvehicle is to determine the architecture. For example, how many electric motors\nwill the vehicle have? What is the size of the battery pack? There is no simple\nanswer because these questions are predicated on how the product will be used.\nWill be a small car to go shopping, a sporty car or a bigger sedan for\ntraveling? Even the climate, a cold versus a hot climate, may determine the\nvehicle architecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Traditional OEMs were typically very siloed. Commonly, they had\nindividual groups developing the engine while another group integrates it into\nthe vehicle. Even at the component level with electric vehicles like batteries,\nemachines and electrical system, many automakers\u2019 engineers and design teams\nstill operate in silos. Integration doesn\u2019t occur until everything is pulled\ntogether into the vehicle, but the further along you are in the process, the\nmore challenging it becomes. Anticipating this earlier though can solve\npotential issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using collaborative, digital tools such as generative\nengineering tools to configure vehicles based on different components can\nproduce an automated calculation of the different performance engineering\nmetrics. These tools can show how varying attributes contribute to critical\nvehicle performance like fuel economy, emissions and drivability.\n\nEngineering new vehicle architectures with\ndigital twin reduces time and costs. The design and digital community should\nencourage automakers and suppliers to solve these challenges using a digital\ntwin framework that spans all the vehicle domains, simulation and validation\ncapabilities.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deploying the Digital Twin<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n A virtual representation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you translate the digital twin to performance engineering<\/a> then you benefit from a greater level of integrated thinking throughout the development process. What the digital twin does is it creates the best possible virtual representation of the vehicle at any stage of the development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There have been digital twins around for quite some time but not to the\ndegree that people are using them now. Previously, it has been fragmented and\nonly small pockets of businesses were using it. The digital twin is gaining\nmore confidence within the automotive industry with its ability to validate.\nLess money is needed for validation and automakers trust that there won\u2019t be warranty\nissues or failure modes cropping up once the vehicles goes into production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, there is a manufacturer that no longer does their\nwindscreen testing. They use CFD early in the design phase to validate the\nvents and airflow for when the screen fogs up. They never build or test that\naspect in a vehicle until they produce the final vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At a cost of up to $300,000 per prototype and upwards of 150 prototypes\nper vehicle, OEMs are eager to reduce the number to drastically cut costs. Implementing\na digital twin and using it early in design phase for verification can reduce\nthe need for prototyping and potentially save over a million dollars in the\ndevelopment costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/12\/Major-Implications-for-Vehicle-Electrification.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/12\/Deploying-the-Digital-Twin.jpg\")