After our efforts to improve the powertrain architecture of electric vehicles, our customers can cut the system design cost in half, effectively improve power density, efficiency and reliability, and make electric vehicles affordable to more people.
Today, the average production cost of electric vehicles is $12000 higher than that of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. As automakers strive to meet global emissions regulations, they must also bridge the cost performance gap and help consumers transition to hybrid or all electric vehicles.
This is undoubtedly a great challenge for automotive design engineers. They are trying to improve efficiency, reliability and extend driving mileage, while reducing the cost of expensive components (powertrain system) of electric vehicles. Electric vehicle powertrain integration may be a solution.
For a long time, hybrid and electric vehicle powertrain Chengdu is a combination of systems that promote the progress of the automotive industry. Batteries, DC / DC converters, on-board chargers and traction inverters are encapsulated in different enclosures. At present, with the progress of simulation and embedded processing technology, designers can use a single domain controller and power level to combine these systems, so as to help them improve efficiency and reliability, reduce cost and meet functional security standards.
"This requires us to meet the basic technical and safety requirements, make it more economical and practical, and realize large-scale adoption, so as to obtain greater benefits in the system," said Karl Heinz Steinmetz, head of the global automotive powertrain system engineering team of Texas Instruments (TI).
Shenzhen Weimeisi new energy Co., Ltd. (Vmax), a supplier of electric vehicle components headquartered in Shenzhen, China, is experiencing the advantages of powertrain integration.
"Powertrain integration is the key to designing more efficient, reliable and affordable electric vehicles for all Chinese consumers," said Han Yongjie, vice president of Vmax. "The technology and expertise of Texas Instruments (TI) are helping us achieve the level of integration required by customers for on-board chargers, DC / DC converters and traction inverter systems."
Longer driving time with higher efficiency and higher power density
Integrating the powertrain system into a compact mechanical housing will not only make the design and assembly simpler, but also reduce the demand for excess packaging materials and eliminate redundant hardware, which greatly reduces the weight and volume of the system.
"Every kilogram of weight is an important part of the efficiency formula," Karl Heinz said. "If we can reduce the weight of the car, we can improve the overall efficiency and increase the mileage that can be driven by one charge."
Innovative features that can improve efficiency by increasing power density are also critical. By applying relevant technologies (such as gallium nitride (GAN) technology in line with automobile standards) to electric vehicles, they can work at higher efficiency and retain heat energy, thus helping to extend driving mileage. This means that fewer cooling devices are required and the cost is lower.
"The use of broadband gap switches made of GaN and other materials together with optimized high-speed gate drivers will change the rules of the game because they can reduce the magnetic components by 60%, thus reducing the overall weight and cost," said ramanan Natarajan, a member of TI's Gan marketing team.
To turn the integrated powertrain architecture into reality, real-time microcontrollers (MCUs) are also needed, which can deal with the complex requirements of power conversion. Ti C2000 with ultra-low delay ™ MCU helps to achieve higher switching frequency (up to 1 to 2 MHz), which means that external components such as inductors and capacitors are smaller.
"Through real-time induction and higher control loop switching frequency, we can drive the traction motor to 20K rpm," ti's C2000 ™ Said Na Kong, MCU vehicle manager. "This enables automotive engineers to produce more than a third smaller and higher performance motors than previous designs that could only reach 10K rpm."
With the integrated powertrain architecture including a single real-time MCU, the system can effectively handle the work of multiple MCU in distributed system. In the highly integrated design, real-time MCU can perform digital power supply and motor control, so as to improve efficiency and save valuable space.
"When car manufacturers turn to integrated architecture, they need to decide whether to integrate resources and chips in the system," Karl Heinz said.
Improve reliability and meet functional safety standards
In electric vehicles (such as traditional vehicles), system reliability is very important. The integrated powertrain architecture is more reliable simply because fewer parts fail. In addition to the inherent advantages of the integrated system, strong protection function and peak thermal performance are also required to ensure reliability in the high-voltage battery environment of electric vehicles.
Isolation technology can help meet these challenges with isolated grid drivers and modulators designed and tested for harsh automotive environments. The integrated diagnostic function is also an important part of the safety equation, which can help the powertrain system meet the requirements of ASIL D, which is the highest level requirement for the functional safety of road motor vehicles and a major problem faced by electric vehicle manufacturers.
"We know that functional safety is crucial to the overall design, so we attach great importance to these considerations. Our reference design focuses on safety, which has been evaluated separately by t Ü v s Ü D and can help our customers customize the design of their system through excellent cost control," Karl Heinz said.
Support the accelerated growth of electric vehicle market through powertrain integration
The electric vehicle market is growing rapidly. By 2025, the number of electric vehicles is expected to increase from 5.6 million today to 30% of global vehicle sales. 2 powertrain integration will play a key role in the growth of electric vehicle market. It has been proved that the power density of the integrated powertrain system is increased by 40% to 50%, the volume and weight are greatly reduced, and the reliability is improved.
"This will have a significant impact on the performance of electric vehicles and the mileage per charge, ultimately making them more affordable," Karl Heinz said.
We are keen to make the world a better place
Helping customers design integrated powertrain system is a proof that Ti innovators are committed to reducing the cost of electronic products and making the world a better place through semiconductor technology. Each generation of innovation is based on the previous generation of innovation, which makes the technology smaller, more efficient, more reliable and more affordable. Opening up new markets can realize the wide application of semiconductors in the field of electronic products. At Ti, this is the progress of engineering. This is what we have been doing for decades and now.
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