A Novel Approach of Electric Powertrain Co-Simulation with High Fidelity Vehicle Model

This paper presents a co-simulation approach for an electric vehicle which combines dynamic models of electric machine, inverter, gearbox in PLECS with high fidelity models of driver, autobody, wheel, road and environment in CarMaker. Lumped parameter thermal networks to model heat dissipation in the electric machine and the inverter are also included. The aim is to demonstrate versatility of the co-simulation method in analyzing effects of driver behaviors on thermal performance of electric machine and inverter. Co-simulation results using two simulation tools are compared to those obtained entirely using a single tool. It is observed that performing co-simulation using low fidelity vehicle model results in underestimation of vehicle speed. Further, the impacts of three different driver models on the temperatures of electric machine windings and semiconductor junctions are analyzed. Differences of 30% and 25% in the maximum temperature are observed respectively between an aggressive and a defensive driver.