Design and experiments of a test equipment for hybrid and electric vehicle drivetrains

With the increase in the production of electric and hybrid vehicles, testing electric drivetrains for performance assessment has become a key factor in the automotive industry. An alternative to the installation of the drivetrain on the real vehicle, is represented by the emulation of performances with a real-time controlled test bench. The paper proposes a test rig for half a bus, which is able to reproduce the real operating conditions of driving during a driving cycle. The test rig is able to emulate slope, adhesion conditions, weather conditions by suitably commanding a load generator/motor drive. The paper explains the test rig architecture and the software implemented in the real time data acquisition and control platform. The drivetrain of an electric bus is tested using the proposed test bench. The results compare the performances of the selected drivetrain for the electric bus in different road/wheel adhesion conditions.