Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing Offers Realistic Operating Conditions

Argonne is the lead laboratory for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and technology validation for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Argonne employs HIL techniques to evaluate new technologies and control strategies in an emulated vehicle environment. With HIL, actual components can be evaluated under realistic operating conditions. Argonne staff also developed the software [Powertrain System Analysis Toolkit (PSAT-PRO^©)] that automatically commands and controls vehicle subsystems to effect the emulation.

In this continuing initiative, DOE has directed Argonne to assess new advanced automotive vehicle and engine technologies — such as hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) — in the Advanced Powertrain Research Facility (APRF), which was designed and built for various powertrain evaluation programs. The APRF contains sophisticated facilities for evaluating vehicle hardware and systems — from individual components to complete vehicles.

Advanced Powertrain Research Facility Configuration

Previously, Argonne evaluated a pre-transmission parallel HEV prototype powertrain with a continuously variable transmission and a compression-ignition direct-injection engine. Using PSAT-PRO, researchers controlled this HEV powertrain on a test stand by emulating vehicle behavior with a dynamometer, brake, and inertia flywheels. The analysis identified hybridization emissions benefits and helped optimize a control strategy for emissions reduction.

Current HIL projects include evaluation of hydrogen (H2) as a fuel for use in internal combustion engine HEV applications. For this initiative, Argonne developed the Advanced Powertrain Research Platform (APRP), a powertrain 'buck' with custom instrumentation and belt-coupled servomotors to provide the flexibility to test an H2 engine at various levels of hybridization. The level of hybridization is defined in simulation using PSAT, and several hybrid configurations will be tested to provide an analysis of hybridization and integrated control impact.

September 20, 2004