Powertrain testing specialist Cambustion has launched a Powertrain in the Loop (PiL) testing platform for automotive OEMs at its Hub Dyno facility in Cambridge, UK. The launch follows a 12-month test program in which the platform supported development of a hybrid supercar.
Cambustion says PiL lets manufacturers integrate, develop and validate vehicle systems before a physical vehicle is available. Real hardware runs alongside simulated subsystems through the company’s Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) capability, which represents, in real time, systems not yet available in physical form. Engineers can validate functionality and investigate how systems interact, and vehicle-level testing can begin before the chassis and many supporting subsystems are available. The facility pairs vehicle simulation and HiL with measurement capability, so control strategies can be developed and system performance optimized early in the development cycle.
Customers of CamMotive, Cambustion’s EV powertrain group, can use the same PiL setup to assess and develop high-voltage systems including electric drives. If a physical battery isn’t available, a 1,100 V, 500 kW battery simulator can stand in for it.
For powertrains already installed in a chassis, testing can be done by connecting directly to the wheel hubs. The dynamometers, according to Cambustion, can reproduce transient operating conditions covering everything from legislative drive cycles to vehicle dynamics functions such as torque vectoring.
The temperature-controlled test cell operates down to -15° C, which the company says allows vehicle performance, system robustness and control strategies to be assessed under representative and worst-case operating scenarios.
“PiL enables vehicle attributes to be signed off, systems debugged and optimised, while vehicle build continues in parallel with confidence,” said Bruce Campbell, Director at Cambustion. “Once a prototype vehicle becomes available, development can transition to our 4WD Chassis Dyno, or Hub Dyno PiL testing can continue alongside on-road and vehicle-based testing. During our recent hybrid supercar programme, the Hub Dyno proved to be such a versatile and valuable development tool that the customer chose to continue PiL testing in parallel with prototype vehicle testing throughout the programme.”
Source: Cambustion
