NVH of Electric Vehicles with Range Extender (2010-01-1404)

Intensive R&D is currently performed worldwide on hybrid and electric vehicles. For full electric vehicles the driving range is limited by the capacity of currently available batteries. If such a vehicle shall increase its driving range some range extending backup system should be available. Such a Range Extender is a small system of combustion engine and electric generator which produces the required electricity for charging the batteries in time.
Since the acoustic response of an electric motor driving the vehicle and of a combustion engine as part of a Range Extender is very different by nature an extensive acoustic tuning of the Range Extender is necessary to meet the requirements of exterior vehicle noise and passenger comfort.
This paper describes the NVH (noise, vibration & harshness) development work of a range extender within the AVL approach of an electrically driven passenger car with range extender. This work started with an acoustic front loading in the concept and design stage and was continued with intensive testing during combustion and engine development followed by the acoustic integration into the electric vehicle.