Multi-XiL as a Central Tool for the Integration, Calibration and Validation of Hybrid Powertrains

Zusammenfassung

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) tools are established in automotive development to implement and integrate software on Electronic Control Units (ECU). With the increasing number of electrical components, the HiL environment has been extended to cover complete vehicle infrastructures and to perform integration tests, acceptance tests and network tests linking multiple ECUs.

AVL has taken this approach a step further not just linking ECUs, but linking different powertrain development tasks and, therefore, opening the HiL environment to more users while controlling the quality and project deliverable more closely.

The closed-loop combination of real ECU hardware together with the model moves testing and calibration activities from cost-intensive environments (engine testbed, chassis dyno, road testing) to more cost-effective HiL system and to an earlier phase in powertrain development.

This paper presents the steps necessary to align the activities in a HiL environment to confirm functionality, safety, performance and legal targets. Activities include the definition of the powertrain using vehicle simulation and model-based engineering through to integration and calibration of control systems. Examples are given from hybrid powertrain development projects and engine calibration projects to show that multi-XiL is more than a network of ECUs on HiL, but a new approach to link multiple development areas with the aim to increase quality as well as to reduce development cost and time.