Overview
Noise produced by electric vehicles is of different nature from noise deriving from fuel-powered thermal vehicles. The mechanical stress produced by an electric engine results in much lower noise levels (<800Hz) than thermal vehicles, but can be similar with respect to high frequencies.
Car manufacturers have been able to integrate sound and vibration issues within the design process of vehicles with thermal engines. Avelec’s objective was to build-up an equivalent know-how for electric vehicles (EVs).
The project aimed to develop methods and tools that take into account the constraints in the early stages of designing EVs. The parameters studied were the engine control, the dynamic response of electric powertrains and the transfer to the chassis and/or the environment.
Funding
Results
The project deliverables were the following:
- methodologies and digital tools for conceiving acoustic diffusion of electric powertrains
- criteria to assist decision-making process during the phase of design of vehicles,
- new methods for designing electric powertrains and their control,
- new integrating architectures of electric powertrains within the vehicle chassis,
- demonstration of these methods and tools for improving the acoustics of electric vehicles, through prototype testing.
Technical Implications
- gain know-how and associated tools on acoustic engineering and design of electric powertrains and mass diffusion of electric vehicles
- Improving knowledge about complex phenomena of systemic modelling and multi-physics.
- Improved knowledge of the dynamic coupling of complex structures, at high frequency.
- Improved knowledge of the interactions between electromagnetic efforts and the transmission of a motor reduction unit.
- Establishment of a software tool (system and multi-physics), allowing an optimisation of calculation times, so to get a good ratio accuracy/time.
- Implementation of an "open" test bench to try out various advanced control systems (which is not possible on the market for industrial drives).
From the environmental point of view, the challenge is to make EVs being perceived as a "disruption" from ordinary thermal vehicles, highlighting their added-value in terms of polluting emissions and facilitating their social acceptance.