Automotive EV & Hybrid

With the ever shifting movement of the automotive industry to reduce their impact on the environment there has been an ever increasing development of EV & Hybrid technologies and vehicles. Involution is working in the Hybrid commercial/construction Electric vehicle market since 2013 in collaboration with electric motor companies such as MAGTEC, AEM (Advanced Electric Machines), E-Drive and YASA. The following are some examples of our current projects:

Invo-EDU-Heavy truck E-transmission

Market leading next generation heavy (12-44 tonne) commercial vehicle electric drive unit.

Providing high power, high torque, power dense solution with exceptionally high duty cycle efficiency.

 300 kW Invo-EDU

Sponsered by:

Invo-EDU an Electric Drive Unit that can power any heavy commercial vehicle with a performance to match or exceed the ICE driveline, whilst providing the highest duty cycle efficiencies available in the market. It is capable of being retrofitted into existing vehicles by simply removing the ICE driveline and connecting the INVO-EDU directly to the prop shaft.

Typical applications

• The true strength of the INVO-EDU is that it is effectively a direct drive electrical machine with :-
  • 37 kNm stall torque. (110 kNm wheel stall torque)
  • 225 to 375kW continuous power rating.
  • >90% efficiency across most of its operating envelope. (efficiency mechanical power at pro-shaft/electrical AxV)
  • maximum output speed of ~2200rpm.
  • 15:1 constant power range.
  • Compact Volume and low weight. .
  • Performance well beyond the limits of current motor technology.
• In addition, the INVO-EDU offers major advantages in  drivability, reliability, serviceability, and recyclability, compared with alternative approaches at a competitive price.

 

Attributes

Fleet manager/owner.

• Better utilization – Performance better than a 350kW diesel enabling no compromise on route selection
• Lower TCO – Reduced energy costs due to higher operating efficiency
• Lower TCO – Low service requirement. No friction clutches. No synchronizers.
• Avoiding Inner city operation times and low/zero emission zone charges

Government/legislators.

• Removing barriers to improving air quality – No technology excuse for choosing fossil fuels

 Driver

• Greater comfort than AMT solutions. (Legally prohibited in certain US applications )
• Instant torque
• Better drivability (than diesel)
• Better performance (than direct drive)

Invo-EDU Basic Charicteritstic

1. Instant and uninterrupted torque and Power delivery,feels like direct drive, performs like multi-speed.
2. Wide operating efficiency,Variable ratio drive extends the efficient operating window of the base electric machine. (HHDDT composite efficiency 91.1%)
3. Robust 100% recyclable motors, 8500 rpm AEM SR electric machines. Robust to passive rectification and over-voltage failures.
4. Robust and Reliable Transmission, built for improved robustness with inherently fewer potential failure modes, no synchronisers — no friction clutches — no rotor cooling seals -no double engagement failure modes.
5. Power Dense, 2.4 kW / litre.
6. Commercially competitive.

(INVO-EDU Not to scale)

6×4 tractor unit

FCEV-Coach Chassis

PERFORMANCE and EFFICIENCY

INVO-EDU Performance in a 44 tonne HGV

Figure 4

Performance comparison with other electric drive systems

2/3 speed electric drive axles.

• GVW limit on gradability 26 tons.
• Poor efficiency in duty cycle.

Mulit ratio gearbox and electric motor.

• Poor eficency in duty cycle
• High Cost

Conclusion

The Invo-EDU is the most competivite Electric Drive solution for a 26 to 44 ton HGV in terms of efficiency,gradability, compactness, that can simply be interchanged with the 400 Kw ICE/10 speed drive train.

E-AXLE-R8R is a high-performance Electric Drive Unit (EDU)

The E-AXLE-R8R is a high-performance Electric Drive Unit (EDU) which combines the gearbox, power electronics and motor for a highly optimized EDU solution.

The scalable E-AXLE-R8R EDU platform was developed with Innovate UK support in a collaborative project with Edrive, Lyra Electronics, CMB.Tech and Involution Technologies has:

• To Beat Automotive Council cost targets.
• Enabled UK manufacture of all components with existing Tier 2 supplier base by applying Design for Manufacture and Assembly processes.
• Positioned the product for pilot sales and wider licensing into automotive and commercial vehicle markets

The joint development process initiated with vehicle-level requirements capture (e.g. performance, range, packaging, NVH, cost). This allowed the collaborative team to set key objectives and rank them at system-level.

Next, +10,000 optimised EDU design candidates were produced by eDrive using inputs from Involution and eDrive’s leading proprietary high-fidelity simulation tool. Each candidate comprised of a unique motor/electronics/gearbox combination. Next an automated Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) screening process was undertaken using detailed cost models and manufacturing constraints which lead to the adopted solution.

This data-driven approach along with a highly motivated consortium team allowed us to work directly with the end customer to select the highly optimized prototype EDU in record time, undertake dynamometer testing and apply a second unit for assembly into the test vehicle.

If you would like to hear more about the scalable EDU product or other such products please get in touch office@invo-tech.com

ADVANTAGES

• Fully integrated Power electronics, Motor and Gears in one package
• Cost optimized solution – lowest cost < $10.6/kW e-axle (European volume production)
• Market leading Motor and Power electronics technology
• No exotic materials
• Scalable from 100kW to 350kW Peak Power

TECHNICAL OVERVIEW

• Proven TRL6 platform; derivatives available for a wide range of applications
• Light commercial vehicles to high-performance cars
• Variants to suit 400VDC and 800VDC battery voltages
• Power rating (125 – 250kW) and gear ratio can be tailored to suit application requirements
• Example 150kW / 800VDC co-axial version (hardware available)
• Output Speed 1840rpm
• Output Torque 1007Nm each output (wheel)
• 77kg total (dry) mass
• Dimensions – L500mm W720mm H400mm

Electric Hub Drives

Single Speed Wheel Drive (20″)

   

Involution in combination with Magtec have supplied Dongfeng (top four automotive manufactures in China) with an Electric Hub Drive system for a 4X4 prototype truck. Our 20” Wheel Drive has the following characteristics:

Rated wheel load – 1600kg Ratio of reducer – 9.15

Permanent magnet synchronous motor Max. Operation speed of motor – 7000rpm

Rated power of motor – 50kW Peak power of motor – 100kW（@DC600V，100s）

Rated torque of motor – 180Nm Peak torque of motor – 360Nm(@ DC600V, 100s) Motor voltage – 400VDC－700VDC

Such systems allow for the elimination of traditional mechanical transmission. Vehicles can be configured as, diesel electric, pure electric or with a combination of batteries and a small engine. In such a configuration the engine is typically a third of the size and provides a range extender capability to the battery. Systems allow for individual wheel torque and speed control, which gives significant advantage over conventional mechanical drive systems, examples include a 6×6 climbing a steep incline where more power is distributed to the rear wheels or to give “skid steer” capability. Other benefits include:

• Such systems allow the switch to hybrid and electric vehicle technology quicker, reduced complexity, fewer new parts and subsequent lower total cost than many other electric drive systems
• Hub drives do not require external drive shafts, differentials, axles and gearboxes
• Allows for increased traction control a particularly advantageous for specialist off highway vehicles.
• Can be added to AWD, FWD and RWD or platforms
• Hub drives can easily retrofitted to existing vehicles.
• Little or no costs of tooling changes on transmissions, chassis and bodies
• Such hub drive vehicles can be added to existing assembly lines with little disruption.

Two Stage Wheel Drive (22″)

Another project supplied with Magtec in combination with Involution supplied to a major OEM in China.

Two Stage Wheel Drive (22.5″)

This Involution project, currently at the concept evaluation stage for the application of an Involution designed set of gear hubs with YASA motors for an airport tug application.

Wheel load  16000 Kg

Max. torque on wheel:   61kNm

YASA Axial flux motor

Hybrid Vehicle Drives

Together with our partners we are able to specify, design and manufacture of the complete series hybrid systems Series systems usually involve integrating an electric motor into the existing drive train which is then powered either purely by batteries or with a small range extender diesel generator which is typically a third of the size of the equivalent vehicle engine or hydrogen fuel cell. The range extender is typically only used on the open highway, meaning that for a city delivery truck most of the time the vehicle can operate in zero emissions mode. This type of vehicle could obviously help free up the air in the worlds most polluted mega cities some of which have bans on commercial vehicles during excessive pollution periods. Such systems can give fuel savings of 40-50% compared to conventional engine vehicles this gives the operator a return on investment of only 2-3 years. We can also retrofit such systems allowing the operator to keep their existing fleet. We are able to provide several different engine mounted generator systems and energy storage (capacitors or batteries) to provide the complete series hybrid solution. Together with our partners we can create complete specification, design and manufacture of the complete system.

Large Mining Vehicle

  Above is shown our large mining truck drive that is currently being developed. Typically this type of drivetrain is for Large mining Trucks 250t / 450t payload. Together with our partners we are able to specify, design and manufacture of the complete drive system including geared wheel motor, power converter for each wheel, generator, DC bus, battery storage, and vehicle controller. A typical configuration looks like this:

We are able to supply all of the components of our design via China. The advantages of our system. Complete drive train including geared wheel motor, power convertor for each wheel, generator, DC bus, battery storage, and vehicle controller.

• State of the art PM motors and generators.
• State of the art vehicle controller

Significantly reduced the fuel consumption due to duty cycle re-gen and total drive train efficiency   Advanced split torque flexible pin gearbox.

• Much reduced, annulus rim deflections
• Much reduced gear stresses.
• Flexible pins ensures equal planet load sharing
• Total drive train package from one supplier
• The 3 train arrangement provides the best volumetric efficiency, and the highest gearbox reliability.