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D eve lopm en t o f the 2011 N issan Lea f3 Genera ting EV en thus iasm 21 S tay in g w ith in ran ge

An editor's view of driving the Leaf The Leaf comes standard with manyfor the first time and the changes features designed to help ease fearsafoot in the automotive industry. of running out of 'juice.'

4 B ring ing the Lea f to life 26 Tech R eportChief Engineer Hidetoshi Kadota Powertrainleveraged 20-plus years of GE demonstrates dual battery systemelectrification experience in the for heavy vehiclesdevelopment of Nissan's new EV Simulation

10 M ak ing a m ass -m arke t EV Modeling, simulation aid in aircraftenergy optimizationa re a lityNissan's Director of Product Planning Vehiclesand Advanced Technology Strategy CU-ICAR teams with industry todetails the Leaf's journey from design and build extended-range EVconcept to production. Powertrain

14 2011 N issan Lea f spec ifica tions Remy and MotoCzysz develop plug-and-play electric drives16 Pow er from w ith in 36 W h at's o n evsae .comA new motor and inverter systemhave been developed simultaneouslyas the dedicated electric powertrainof the Nissan EV


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A d Index

R e s o u r c eLinks

SAE Vehicle Electrification"', February23,2011, Volume 2, Number 1 (l SSN2159-4279), is published 4 times ayear bySAEInternational . SAEisnot responsible for the accuracyof information in the editorial,articles, and advertising sectionsof this publication. Readers shouldindependently evaluate theaccuracy of any statement intheeditorial. articles, and advertisingsections of this publication that areimpor tant to him/her and rely onhis/her independent evaluation.For perm iss ion to use content inother media, contact [email protected]. To purchase reprints,contact [email protected] e 2011 by SAElrrtemational". The SAE VehicleElectrification t it le is registered inthe u.s. Patent and TrademarkOffice.

G e n e r a t i n gE V e n th u s ia s mOn an unseasonably warm late-October day, a group of journalists, ofwhich I was a part, had the opportu-nity to visit Nissan's Corporate Head-quarters in Nashville, TN, to get sometime behind the wheel and someinsight into the development of whatwas being described as the world'sfirst affordable, zero-emissions car-the Nissan Leaf.From the start, there was a sense

that this was not the average mediapreview. During the morning vehiclewalkaround, typical questions relatedto efforts to squeeze out a few extrahorsepower or mpg or fractions of asecond off of a 0-60 time were absentin favor of questions related to charg-ing times, reachable area, and batterytemperature. It was evident that manyof the veteran journalists were on un-familiar footing, stepping outside ofthe familiar, internal-combustion pow-ered territory and into a new EV arena.It wasn't until the drive portion of

the event, however, that the mag-nitude of the changes afoot in theautomotive industry was truly real-ized. From the time you first press thegas pedal and experience the instantacceleration and immediate torqueavailable in an EV and the quietnessin the cabin both while getting up tospeed and cruising, you develop theunderstanding that perhaps for thefirst time in your driving life you areexperiencing a true game-changer inthe industry.After driving past numerous gas

stations and quicky-Iube spots andfully grasping the notion that thoselocations are no longer must-make

SAE Vehicle Electrification evsae.com

stops-aside from picking up the oc-casional convenience-store slushie-a typical driver change takes a sur-prising turn after pulling into a schooland being greeted by dozens of mid-dle-schoolers who give us somethingof a "Bieber-like" ovation.The enthusiasm the students dis-

played for the "quiet car with no gastank or tailpipe" was exciting to wit-ness firsthand and could not help butspur thoughts among the journalistsabout the impact that Leaf and othervehicles like it could have for futuregenerations by eliminating CO2 andother greenhouse gas emissions en-tirely from the driving experience.With the Leaf we see today, Nissan

has seemingly stayed true to its origi-nal vision for a medium-size hatchbackthat comfortably seats five adults, hasa range to meet real-world consumerrequirements, and is as friendly to wal-lets as it is to the environment.However, as Mark Perry, Nissan's

Director of Product Planning andAdvanced Technology Strategy, saidduring our interview, there is still "alot of work left ahead" before EVscan become a common fixture onroadways, with EV infrastructure in itsinfancy and many more models stillto enter the marketplace. But with theLeaf successfully launched in the firstfive states and the Smyrna, TN, bat-tery plant on schedule for 2012 pro-duction, progress is evident and sureto continue.

Matthew R. MonaghaSAE Assistant Editor

Nissan Leaf Special Edition 3
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected].


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Ch ie f E ng in eerH id eto sh i K ad otale verag ed 20 -p lu syea rs o f e le ctrific atio nexperience in thedeve lopm en t o fN issan 's new EV .by Jack Yamagu ch i

4 N lssan Leaf Sp eOOI Edition

in sp ep tion sta tio n oflp pama a ssembly

Electrification is nothing new to HidetoshiKadota, Chief Vehicle Engineer of theNissan Leaf, whose involvement with thesubject spans two decades of his 3D-yearengineering career. For Nissan, it is muchlonger-the first recorded production elec-tric car dating back to 1947.

Kadota, a seasoned chassis designer:,was about to see his latest work material-ize in a new compact minivan in 1991when he was yanked from his 'forte andpromptly assigned to Nissan's electric ve-hicle (EV)development. Major manufactur-ers who had larger market shares inCalifornia were facing the imminent zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV)mandate and wereaccelerating EVdevelopment.

SAE Vehicle Electrltlcatlon evsae.corn


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After working for three years on fuel-celldevelopment, Kadota worked on a numberof electrification projects, many of whichare now being "harvested," as Nissan de-scribes its technology and product strategy,including the recently introduced Infiniti M INissan Fuga Hybrid system, and the stop-start system adopted in the Micra/Marchmini car and the latest-generation Serenacompact minivan.Kadota was summoned again in the fall of

2007, when, he said, "A few very top man-agement persons had concluded and decid-ed that Nissan's present and future livelihoodmust be electric vehicles." Kadota was ap-pointed Chief Vehicle Engineer for the elec-tric car, later to be christened "Leaf."Nissan had accumulated massiveamounts of knowledge, expertise, and ex-

periences in EVs. It sold 30 copies of the1995 Prairie EV wagon (gasoline versionwas the Axxess for the U.S.), about 200 ofthe 1997 Renessa/ Altra EVs in Japan andthe U.S., either a five-seat wagon type, andmore than 200 Hypermini two-seat city run-SAE Vehicle Electrification evsae.com

February 23, 2011L e a f C h ie f V e h ic le E n g in e e r H i d e t o s h i K a d o taw a s a s s ig n e d to N is s a n 's e le c t r i c v e h ic led e v e lo p m e n t in 1 9 9 1 .

abouts in Japan (1999-2002). They are soldoutright, so even after the "modification" ofthe 1998 California ZEV mandate, there wasno total recall."So for those of us who have been work-

ing on electrification, there was no radicalchange. We sort of seamlessly moved ontoour business of productionizing the vehi-cle," asserted Kadota.

S tay ing in houseNissan designs, develops, and producesthe propulsion motor as Toyota and Hondado for their respective hybrids, fuel-cell ve-hicles (FCVs), and battery-electric vehicles(BEVs). Nissan has established the produc-tion facility at the Yokohama Plant atTsurumi. Likewise, the inverter is producedat Tsurumi.Kadota says the Leaf's in-house contentsare unusually high, including raw materials

for seat fabrics (woven by a specialist sup-plier) recycled from PET bottles, and bum-pers likewise from recycled and groundbumpers, at a unit located at the Oppamafactory complex.Nissan's Research Center at Oppama has

long been developing lithium-ion (Li-ion)batteries as well as fuel cells in its laborato-ries. In fact, the successive generations ofthe Nissan FCV employed the laminated Li-ion manganese secondary battery packs.For product development and volume pro-duction, Nissan joined forces with the NEeGroup, a major electric and electronic com-pany, and formed Automotive Energy



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f-ebruary Z:l, LUll

A w e ig h t c o m p a r i s o n is s h ow nb e tw e 'e n a s in g le n ew la m i in a t e d

l i - i o n c e ll ( r ig h t) a n d a c y li l1 ld ri c a lA lk a l in e b a tt e r y p a c k ( l e f t ) ,

type because it is liqhter than a comparabledrum. Why not go a step further and usethinner discs? Component utilization pre-vailed," Kadota said.

The Leaf was designed and developed tomeet the world's crash safety standards.."The rules are hardly standa.rdizedas exem-plified by the U.S..50-mph rear end, theEuropeanoffset frontal, and the Japanesefull-wrap frontal crash requirements; howev-er,we must meet them all with flyil1gcol-ors-or stars-with the single design andconstruction," asserted Kadota. The car isfully equipped with safety features, includingtraction control, ABS, vehicle dynamic con-trol, and six airbags. Differences inspecifica-tions and equipment are few: "Only thing Icould think of is the Europeanversion's rearfog lamp," Kadota observed.

Motor output of 80 kW was deternninedforthe vehicle's weight and performance tar-gets, including atop speed of 130 km/h.

SAE Vehicle Electrlflcation evsae.corn

On th e ra n g eNissan is guarding the weight of the batterypack. The pack consists of 48 modules,each containing four cells-1 92 cells all to-gether..The pack is housed in a pressedsteel-sheet clamshell case. Steel is the cho-sen material to protect the battery, shouldthe vehicle underside come into hard con-tact with surface irregularities.

Repeated questions were asked to sev-eral Leaf engineers, and finally to the car'sChief Vehicle Engineer, to ascertain that thebattery is not positively temperature-con-trolled, especially cooling. The Leaf batteryis not positively cooled. The pack must,however, breathe, so a breather with one-way valve is installed. Air is let through butnever water. So the Leaf can ford up to 70cm (27.6 in) depth.

Kadota said that Nissan's Li-ion batteryruns relatively cool, with exceptionally lowinternal resistance.



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Driving for PrecisionElectric drives are everywhere. In golf carts and medical devices. Locomotives and wipower generators. Household appliances and hybrid cars. And they are making theirto more applications every day. When you develop and test electronic control units(ECUs)for them, you're up against several major challenges. Like fast sampling rates, scontrol times, accurate synchronization, and the need for the utmost precision. But wdSPACEon your side, problems like those aren't problems at all. Our rapid prototypingtools help you quickly develop and optimize single functions.We provide exactly the right products and solutions for simulating electric drives andtesting their ECUs.And with a dSPACEhardware-in-the-Ioop simulator, no ECUerror eescapes detection -- in function tests, system tests or network tests. From flexible dSPdevelopment systems and special hardware for electric drives to unparalleled experienin building complete systems, dSPACEis here to accelerate your drive to the future.

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N issan 's D irec to r o f P rod uct P lan ning an d Ad van cedT ech no lo gy S tra teg y d eta ils th e L eaf's jo urn ey fromconcept to p ro du ctio n.The road to the first delivery of a Nissan Leafelectric vehicle (EV)on Dec. 11, 2010, inPetaluma, CA, was a long one. As can be ex-pected when attempting to buck a century'sworth of petroleum-based transportation in-frastructure, there were many hurdles to clearbefore an all-electric vehicle could bedeemed feasible in today's mass market.In addition to being able to economically

produce a safe, reliable, and fun-to-drive EVfrom a technology standpoint, Nissan alsohad to form partnerships with local, regional,and state governments along with utilities in

10 Nissan Leaf Special Edition

b y M a tth ew M o na gh aneach of the Leaf's primary launch markets tofoster the development of EV-friendly policiesand an EV-charging infrastructure.Much of that responsibility in the U.S. fell

on the shoulders of Mark Perry, Nissan'sDirector of Product Planning and AdvancedTechnology Strategy, whose relationship withEVs at Nissan dates back to 1998. Now thatthe Leaf can be found being driven on thestreets in the launch markets of SouthernCalifornia, Arizona, Oregon, Seattle, andTennessee, he sat down with AEI to discussthe journey.



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M a r k P e r r y , N is s a n D i r e c to r o f P ro d u c t P la n n in ga n d A d v a n c e d T e ch n o lo g y S t r a te g y .

Q: Now that the Leaf is being delivered,what are your feelings; can you breathe asigh of relief or is the work really just get-ting started?Perry: We, of course, wanted to celebrate ourfirst deliveries, but this is just the first of fourvehicles coming to market from Nissan andInfiniti. So, yeah, we have a lot of work leftahead of us. But we did pause for a momentand just say thank you and celebrate and en-joy the launches in the first five states.Q: What was the biggest obstacle to mak-ing the Leaf a reality?Perry: Our objective always was to develop avehicle for mass production and mass mar-keting. So that sets a pricing expectation inthe marketplace. That sets a task for gettingthe dealer channels ready. That sets a task forgetting the states ready, the local utilities, thesustainability officers, right down to the build-ing inspectors. I mean that single decisionwould not be a test and demonstration fleetof a couple hundred or even a couple thou-sand [vehicles], but truly a mass-market effortthat cascaded to everything, and things thatwe didn't even think of.SAE Vehicle Electrification evsae.com

February 23, 2011Q: What was the moment when the ve-hicle began to become more of a reality?Perry: Our battery breakthrough happenedin 2003, and that allowed us to achieve anenergy-density packaging, size of the bat-tery pack, and chemistry. The architectureactually changed completely because wemoved beyond the cells that are more cylin-drical in nature to the laminate-cell design.We felt the battery pack achieves the

price point, packaged in a car that is com-pact, actually midsize by EPA standards,seats five adults, and gets 100 mi worth ofrange. Once we found that nexus of allthose variables, then we felt we could ac-tually go to mass production.Q: How has the Leaf exceeded expecta-tions compared to those original concepts?Perry: From a consumer's perspective, Ithink what they were expecting was some-thing small, something more unrefined,and what they got was a vehicle that wasactually larger than they expected, reallyfun to drive, had great acceleration, andwas probably quieter than they expected.The common refrain is that it's a real car.Q: The Leaf is said to be over 9 0% recy-clable. Were there areas that you weresurprised where you were able to userecycled materials?Perry: There was a lot of work and conver-sation with both designers and the R&Dcommunity because it's easy for me as aplanner to say, "We need to find as muchrecyclable or recycled materials that wecan." But the hard work has to be, "OK,does it meet durability, does it meet manu-facturing tolerances, does it meet the handand feel of the fabric itself." It's easy forme to layout the vision but hard for therest of the teams to actually deliver on it,and I think they did a fantastic job.



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Q: Why was that recyclability such an im-portant part of this car?Perry: As we brought the car to market andeven how we've launched, we tried to take aholistic approach. We could have stopped atzero emissions, but what's the bigger story?The fact that our assembly plant in Tennesseeis an energy-star assembly plant. Consumerstoday, they look beyond what some wouldcall "green washing." They look for the rest ofthe story.Q: How did the battery reuse partnershipthat you have with Sumitomo Corp. comeabout?Perry: With that holistic approach, we knewthat there was an application and use ofthese batteries post -car.12 Nissan Leaf Special Edition

A b o v e : T h e L ea f 's b a t t e r y is lo c a t e d u n d e rt h e s e a t s a n d is f u l l y in t e g ra t e d in t o t h eb o d y s tr u c tu r e .L e f t : T h e L e a f 's h e a d lig h ts a re d e s ig n e d t o s p l i ta n d r e d i r e c t a ir f lo w a w a y f r o m th e d o o r m i r r o rs ,r e d u c in g w i n d n o is e a n d d ra g .

And part of the change should be howdo you use this once through the car itselfand what are the future revenue streams?Once you take the battery back, we knowthat there are secondary maybe even thirduses. And then finally, how do you recoverit and recycle all the components that youcan?Q: NVH was obviously a big focus forthis car. Why is that important in an EVsuch as Leaf?Perry: One of the joys of driving an EV isthe fact that it is quiet, but then whatwe've found through development wasthings that you didn't have to worry aboutbefore, such as wind noise off the sidemirror or the wiper motors, things that inthe past were covered up by internal-com-bustion engine noise, all of the sudden youcould hear.



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So what was masked before was un-masked and then you had to deal with it be-cause it became annoying.We also decided to move ahead of the reg-

ulations on pedestrian safety and put the arti-ficial sound into the vehicle at low speed forpedestrians and the visually impaired in ad-vance of NHTSA's final rulemaking.Q: How did you go about creating that arti-ficial sound?Perry: We did lots of work both in the lab andon street corners to develop the sound. It'sactually a speaker with an amplifier. In for-ward, it goes from 0 to 18 mph, and in re-verse it's more of a sonar ping.We did studies to figure out what hertz

range that it needed to be and how couldpeople pick out that it was a car.Q: Did you approach aerodynamics froman NVH or fuel efficiency side, or was it acombination of both?Perry: It's both of those variables, and thethird one is actually vehicle size. We wantedto have the biggest interior package wecould, so we took the roofline up as far as wecould and tried to find that balance of overallaerodynamics vs. interior packaging.You can get a 6-foot-5 guy in the back-

seat and he still has headroom, and that'spretty rare.Q: In terms of the fuel efficiency, what isyour impression of the 99 mpg given by theEPA?Perry: It's a comparative measure; we're ac-tuallyat infinity since we have no gallons. Butthe EPA did a lot of work and found out fromconsumers that they wanted some point ofcomparison. Now, you can argue, is thisequivalent mpg formula one that consumersrecognize? There are arguments to say yesand no, but it is a point of comparison.SAE Vehicle Electrification evsae.com

February 23, 2011Q: Since the product deliveries, have anyunexpected issues arose with the utilitycompanies in terms of vehicle charging?Perry: No, not at all. We've been working inlockstep with utilities in all of our launchstates. They've been on site as we've donethe vehicle ride-and-drive tours around thecountry. They've been with us there provid-ing information on rates.What we've tried to do is help be a clear-

inghouse because there are 3000 utilitieswith 3000 different programs. To make surepeople understand, what are the rates thatare avai lable, who do you contact? It's beena very nice collaborative effort so far.Q: Isthe Smyrna plant still on target to be-gin production next year?Perry: Yes, start of production is set for theend of 2012. Bulldozers have been workingthere for a long time. It's a beehive of activity.Q: Once you open that plant and startproducing the Leaf, is that when you re-ally expect production to ramp up?Perry: Yes. We are production constrainedglobally at about 50,000 vehicles per yearthe first two years. We might be able tosqueeze a little bit more out, but that's aboutit. And then Smyrna adds 150,000 units ofcapacity and the ability to build 200,000 bat-tery packs, too. So it basically triples. Andthen plants in the U.K. and Portugal alsocome on board around that same time.Q:What's next for Leaf? Are there goingto be changes for the 2012 version?Perry: As with any typical vehicle program,we take market feed back and make chang-es. We also know that technology is notstanding still. There are those out there whothink there's a battery breakthrough aroundthe corner, but I'd say, "Not so much." [J



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driveS ing le speedreducerShif t -by-wiredr ive se lec tor7 .9377

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P as se ng er re str ain t s ys te m s: N i s s a nA d v a n c e d A i r B a g S y s te m w i t h d u a l- s ta g es u p p le m e n t a l f r o n t a ir b a g s w i th s e a tb e lta n d o c c u p a n t c la s s if i c a tio n s e n s o r s . F r o n ts e a t-m o u n t e d s id e im p a c t s u p p le m e n t a la ir b a g s . R o o f -m o u n t ed c u r t a in s id eim p a c t s u p p le m e n ta l a ir b a g s fo r f r o n t a n dr e a r - s e a t o u tb o a rd o c c u p a n t h e a d "'M~p r o t e c t io n . F r o n t s e a tb e l t p r e t e n s io n e r sa n d lo a d - lim i t e rs .Ch i ld s a fe ty : C h i ld s e a t u p p e r t e th e ra n c h o r, L A T C H s y s te m , c h ild s a fe ty r e a rd o o r lo c k sSa fe ty s tr uct u re : E n e r g y - a b s o r b i n gs te e r in g c o lu m n , z o n e b o d y c o n s t r u c t io nw i t h f r o n t a n d r e a r c ru m p le z on e s , s id ed o o r g u a rd b e a m sActi ve s af et y: A n t ilo c k b r a k in g s y s te m( A B S ) ,v e h ic le d y n a m i c c o n t r o l , t r a c t io nc o n tr o l s y s te m , t i r e p r e s s u r e m o n i t o r in gs y s t e m

S ta n da rd f ea tu re s : 1 6 - in a lu m in u m - a l lo y w h e e l s ; L E D h e a d l ig h t s / t a i l l i g h ts ; s ix -w a ym a n u a l d r iv e r's s e a t ; f o u r- w a y m a n u a l f r o n t p a ss e n g e r s e a t ; 6 0 /4 0 fo ld in g r e a r s e a t s ;r e m o te c h a r g e d o o r r e le a s e ; t r ip c o m p u te r ( in s t a n t a n d a v e r a g e e n e r g y c o n s um p t io n ,d r i v in g t im e , o u t s id e te m p e r a tu re , a n d a u t o n o m y r a n g e ) ; A M /F M /C O w i t h M P 3 IW M A C O -R a M p la y b a c k c a p a b il i t y ; a u x i l ia r y in p u t ja c k a n d U S B c o n n e c t io n p o rt f o r iP o d a n d o th e rd e v ic e s ; X M S a t e l l i t e R a d io ; s ix s p e a k e rs ; n a v ig a tio n s y s t e m ; c ru is e c o n tr o l;N i ss a n In te l l i g e n t K e y w i th p u s h -b u tt o n s ta r t ; B l u e to o th h a n d s - f r e e p h o n e s y s t e mS L a dd s: P h o to v o lt a ic s o la r p a n e l s p o ile r ; a u to m a t ic o n /o f f h e a d lig h ts ; f o g l ig h ts ;r e a rv ie w m o n i t o r ; H o m e L in k u n iv e rs a l t r a n s ce iv e r ; c a rg o a re a c o v e r


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T h e N is s a n L e a f d ri v e m o to ra d o p ts d is tr i b u te d s ta to r w i n d in g s ,c o n t r ib u t i n g t o h ig h -o u tp u t d e n s it ya n d r e d u c e d h e a t g e n e r a t io n .

A n e w m o to r a n d i n v e r t e r s y s t e mh a v e b e e n d e v e lo p e d s im u lt a n e o u s l ya s t h e d e d ic a te d e l e c t r i c p o w e r t r a ino f t h e N is s a n E V .To ensure a smooth, pleasant driving experience thatis characteristic of electric vehicles (EVs), the motorand inverter system developed for the Nissan Leaf hasbeen specifically designed for the mass-produced ve-hicle. The Leaf's electric powertrain provides amplepractical performance comparable to that of gasoline-engine vehicles, including a top speed of 140 km/h (90mph) and gradeability of 30%.

16 Nissan Leaf Special Edition SAE Vehicle Electrification evsae.com


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The Leaf's drive motor is an interior perma-nent magnet synchronous motor ( IPM) withan original design adapted to the ways inwhich EVs are driven. Compact in size, it de-livers high power and efficiency to supportthe quick response characteristic of EVs.The Leaf is Nissan's first commercial EV

since the Hypermini that was released inJapan in 2000. The motor is based on thedrive motors used in its fuel-cell vehicles, the2003 model X-Trail FCV rolled out for limitedleasing in 2003 and the subsequent 2005model X-Trail FCV released for limited leasingin 2005. It was developed with performancespecifications targeted specifically for EV useand is being manufactured in-house.A m otor for the m assesGenerating maximum torque of 280 Nrn andmaximum power of 80 kW, the motor pro-vides the high levels of performance requiredof EV drive motors and attains a top speed of10,390 rpm.As part of its basic structure, a water cool-

ing system has been adopted to facilitatehigher continuous power output and a resolv-

300.

250, . . . . . . . ,Ez 200'--'< 1 l:l.c;

I... 150l-I...0+ l O a0:2 :

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a a

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----- ----- - - - - - - - - - ~---~ .. . _ - - - - - - ---. ,. ,, .- - - r - - - - ~ . - . . - - r - ' - . . . . - ~ ~ r ~ , .. . . ~ r _ ~ ~ " ' ~ " _ _~ . . ~ ._ r .. . _ r. _ ._

February 23, 2011er is used as the rotary position sensor to en-sure high response. The motor is combinedwith a three-parallel-shaft gear reducer with areduction ratio of 7.9377.The drive motor used on the Leaf has been

improved over the motor on the 2003 and2005 model X-Trail FCV to achieve a com-pact, high-efficiency unit for EVapplication.As an IPM, it provides high levels of powerand efficiency in a compact design to supportthe high responsiveness and quietness thatcharacterize EVs.A compact, high-output magnetic circuit is

needed to generate maximum torque forclimbing steep 30% grades and maximumpower to facilitate effortless, high-speedcruising. The rotor has eight sets of three per-manent magnets arranged in an inverted tri-angle shape to form the magnetic circuit,which is capable of using reluctance torque inaddition to magnetic torque, thereby achiev-ing both high power and high torque density.The bridge shape at both ends of the mag-nets, where stress concentrates during high-speed operation, has been optimized to pro-vide sufficient anti-centrifugal strength whilesuppressing leakage of magnetic flux.

Efficiency[%]95 ,9 4 ,939291 908 98 8 :8786

.& ~ r~

~---,----,-- -,---~-~-----?--,-~.--.---

p o w e r t r a i n .

T h is g ra p hs h o w s th ee f f i c ie n c y o ft h e e le c tr i c

851000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 11000Motor Speed[rpm]

SAE Vehicle Electrification evsae.com Nissan Leaf Special Edition 17


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Sintered neodymium magnets having highcoercivity were selected to withstand heatgeneration due to iron loss and magnet eddycurrent loss in high-speed operation (10,000rpm). Because heat generation due to magneteddy current loss can be reduced by dividingpermanent magnets into segments, the motoris built with segmented magnets that arebonded again after being divided. Eighteenmagnet divisions are used, or nine divisionsper block.

W ind ing upThe stator windings of a synchronous motorcan be either distributed or concentrated. TheNissan Leaf drive motor adopts the distrib-uted type (integrated stator core), which of-fers advantages for the magnetic circuit. Thisstator winding type achieves high-outputdensity owing to the increased torque result-ing from the use of reluctance torque and alsoto reduced heat generation by the rotor mag-nets and the stator due to lower iron loss.Electromagnetic steel sheet of less than

0.35 mm (0.014 in) in thickness is generallyused for the stator core because of the needto suppress iron loss during high-speed mo-tor operation in high-speed driving. The coreis usually assembled by caulking and stack-ing together sheets that are formed in a con-tinuous high-speed stamping operation. Witha sheet thickness of 0.35 mm, large iron lossgives rise to a problem of excessive heat gen-eration at high motor speeds, whereas asheet thickness of 0.2 mm (0.008 in) results inproblems of economy and productivity in thecaulking process because the sheets are toothin. To avoid such issues, a sheet thickness


T h e L ea f 's m o to r g e n e r a t e s m a x im u m to r q u e o f2 8 0 N m a n d m a x im um p o w e r o f 8 0 k W .

of 0.3 mm (0.012 in)was selected for the statorbecause the iron loss is less than with a 0.35-mm thickness and it also facilitates caulking.Enameled wire of 0.7 to 0.9 mm (0.027 to

0.035 in) in diameter is often used for statorwindings. This motor adopts enameled wirehaving a diameter of 0.75 mm (0.03 in) andcoated with polyamide-imide (AIW). The sta-tor is mass-produced using an inserter to au-tomatically insert the windings. High-densitywindings are achieved with a space factor ofover 88% for the amount of windings insertedin the stator slots, which contributes to im-proving thermal performance.The housing is made of cast aluminum andincorporates the water jacket for cooling the

motor. Three cooling water channels are pro-vided in parallel to ensure sufficient coolingperformance. While sand casting is oftenused to produce the stator housing in small-volume EV production, a low-pressure diecasting (LPDC) process was adopted for the



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switching speed, which is another cause ofsurge voltage, is controlled by the gatedriver circuit of the IGBTs.An inverter's maximum output current and

continuous output time are often limited bythe operating temperature of the powersemiconductors. The inverter of an EV drivemotor must be able to accommodate a wid-er range of operating conditions to elicit themaximum performance of the power semi-conductors. On the other hand, it is alsonecessary to ensure protective action so asto avoid device failure even under unex-pected environmental conditions.For this inverter, the software estimates the

IGBT temperature, and a temperature sensoris also provided on the IGBT chip for detect-ing overheating based on the actual devicetemperature. The IGBT temperature is esti-mated in real time with a model of the heatradiation system and a loss estimation equa-tion that uses the output current, powersource voltage, and other operating condi-tions as the parameters.Electric drive motors provide outstanding

torque response that is markedly superior to


T h e in v e r te r is s h ow nu nd e r a ss em b l y .

that of conventional gasoline and diesel en-gines. This characteristic can be used to dra-matically improve vehicle response to the driv-er's accelerator inputs. However, since EVs donot have a torque converter, sudden torque in-puts can produce torsional (shaking) vibrationin the drivetrain system, causing a problem ofa noticeable decline in ride comfort.A vibration control system consisting of

feedforward and feedback compensators hasbeen adopted for this inverter so as to take ad-vantage of the drive motor's ability to providequick, smooth vehicle response to acceleratorinputs while simultaneously suppressing drive-train shaking vibration.The adoption of this shaking vibration con-

trol system enables the vehicle performancedesigners to obtain the desired driving forceprofile without making any compromises. Thisresults in the attainment of the smooth, pleas-ing driving performance that characterizeselectric vehicles. [JThis article is based on SAE Technical Paper 2011-01-0350 written byYoshinori Sato, Shigeaki Ishikawa, Takahito Okubo, MakotoAbe, and Katsunori Tarnai of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.



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February 23,

C h a rg in g s ta tio n s a re b e in gin s ta lle d in p a rk in g lo ts , s uc h a sth is c o nc e p t th a t u t i l i z es B l in k D CF a s t C h a rg e rs f ro m E C O ta li t y .

SAE Vehicle Electrification' Nissan Leaf


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S t a y in g w i th inIII 1 IIIr ang eRange anxiety has been cited as a majorconcern among potential buyers of the newNissan Leaf and forthcoming all-electric ve-hicles (EVs) from other makers. However, asthe pioneer, Nissan has taken many steps toensure the term is more one of early conjec-ture than a real-world issue.Leaf has several "range awareness" fea-

tures in its display panels, including a so-phisticated version of the "low fuel" warn-ings on gasoline engine cars. Further, thereare indicated ways-including an "ECO"mode, to extend range, equivalent to whatthe driver of a gasoline engine car might doif the low-fuel light goes on and he or she isnowhere near a filling station.

The U.S. Department of Energy, state andlocal governments, and private investors ex-pect to have a reasonable charging infrastruc-ture in place this year. Nissan anticipates anetwork of 13,000 charging stations by 2012,primarily in areas where the EVswill be sold(about 10% of the number of gasoline fillingstations for the entire country). At first, manywill be free. But as the EV population buildsand more stations are built with little or no gov-ernmental assistance, the driver will have toswipe a credit card or pay a premium in aparking facility.Early EV buyers will have read all the data

and will make the purchase work. They are un-likely to run out of "juice" and have to be flat-bedded to a charging station. Nissan says atleast 75% of the early adopters will have a ga-rage and install a 240-V charger, which permits

T h e c l im a t e c o n t r o l o n lo ff a lg o r i t h m d is p la y s a n in c r e a s e o r d e c re a s e in r a n g e ( - 1 4 m i , u p p e r r ig h t) .22 Nissan Leaf Special Edition SAE Vehicle Electrification evsae.com


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recharging in 6 to 8 h, as the cost will be cov-ered by federal and other rebates (120-V re-charging takes as long as 20 h). The 120- and240-V charging uses a charge-cord-to-recep-tacle that meets SAE J1772.Further, many "green" companies have an-

nounced they will provide on-site charging attheir facilities. Additionally, even manyapart-ment dwellers may see charging stations intheir building parking facilities.Nissan believes Leaf's range should satisfy

an overwhelming majority year-round.Although the U.S. EPA's window sticker num-ber is 73 mi, range is likely to be measurablyhigher in spring and fall, lower in winter and inpeak temperature periods of summer. Nissanhas been rating the Leaf for about 100 mi (160km), with a drop-off to perhaps 60 mi (96 km)in winter cold when the resistance heaters are

February 23, 2011on, and low ambient temperatures also reducebattery output. However, these numbers donot factor in range-extending features.Mark Perry of Nissan product planning has

noted more than 72% of motorists drive fewerthan 50 mi (80 km) on weekdays (this distancealso applies to over 66% on weekends).Further, buyers likely are families who have asecond car for longer trips. Ford andMitsubishi, two other manufacturers who willbe introducing all-electric cars this year, havelooked at the same numbers, as they will havesimilar EV range.Range awareness,ex tenders d isp layedNissan's range awareness features include: Continuous update of range, in miles. Climate control off algorithm. An algorithm

The "how am I driving" disp lay (up per left) uses digital "trees" that "grow " (up to three) w hen theveh ic le is being driven conservatively.SAE Vehicle Electrification evsae.com Nissan Leaf Special Edition 23


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PowertrainGE demonstra tes dualbaHery system for heavyvehiclesThe Hybrid Systems Research Team at GEGlobal Research, the company's centraltechnology development group, has demon-strated a dual battery system that it claimscould reduce battery cost by up to 20% andhelp accelerate the electrification of buses,delivery trucks, off-highway vehicles, andother heavy-duty vehicles.The dual battery system-pairing a high-energy-density sodium battery with a high-power lithium battery-was installed on ahybrid transit bus that recently completed atest-drive on roads in and around Albany, NY.GE's Hybrid Systems Team, which con-

sists of about 25 scientists and engineers,believes a dual system that combines highpower and energy storage capacity couldachieve the optimal electric driving range andacceleration requirements at a more practi-cal size scale and cost for larger vehicles.The research is being conducted as part of a$13 million research project with the FederalTransit Administration (FTA)and NortheastAdvanced Vehicle Consortium, funded un-der the National Fuel Cell Bus Program.The system has been in development byGE's team for more than three years."With the cost of the battery remaining

a principal hurdle, a dual battery systemcould bring these costs down and help ac-celerate the electric revolution for bus anddelivery truck fleets representing hundredsof thousands of vehicles," said Lembit Sala-


GEresea rche rs success fu ll y demonstra ted ona hyb rid transit b us a dual b atte ry sy stem thatp airs a sod ium b atte ry w ith a L i- ion b attery fromA1 2 3 S ystems . A n a rray of GEhigh-energy-densisod ium battery cells are show n in the N aM xB a tte ry C yclin g L ab a t GEG lo ba l R e se arch inN i sk ayuna, NY .

soo, Senior Electrical Engineer and Princi-pal Investigator on the hybrid bus project atGE Global Research."With heavier vehicle platforms, both en-ergy storage and power are a premium to de-

liver optimal vehicle performance, but the ex-act needs can vary based on a vehicle's sizeand drive cycle," Salasoo added. "The beautyof our dual battery system is that it can bescaled to deliver just the right combination ofpower and storage."GE researchers note that most types of

batteries come with a trade-off betweenpower and energy storage: lithium batter-ies, for example, provide sufficient power foracceleration but are not optimized to storeenergy for driving range, while sodium bat-teries store large amounts of energy but areless optimized for power. Thus, the reasonthey decided to combine both battery types



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T e c h R e p o r tmuch better handle on the market opportuni-ties and benefits our dual system can providein the transportation sector."GE recognizes that in some applications, a

single battery technology is still appropriate."In particular, for the 4400-hp hybrid heavy-haul freight locomotive, GE's NaMx technol-ogy is the best fit," he claimed.

SimulationMode ling , s im u la tiona id in a irc ra ftene rgy op tim iz ation

Ryan Gehm

A greater need to address energy optimizationduring the aircraft design process has recentlydeveloped due to the transition to more elec-tric systems, a continued drive toward lowerfuel consumption, and more stringent thermalmanagement requirements. To facilitate thisgrowing need, it is necessary to model theenergy exchanges between the various sub-systems and to predict the detailed distribu-

tion of power within the vehicle. As a result,the utilization of multidisciplinary modeling andsimulation is a crucial element that needs tobe addressed to enable a system-level energyoptimization.The modeling and simulation environmentmust include all of the relevant subsystemsthat comprise the aircraft power architecture.Each of the models should be capable ofcapturing the complex, transient subsysteminteractions and relating them to the overallperformance of the vehicle. It is of utmostimportance that the integrated simulation iscapable of effectively linking the vehicle per-formance to quantifiable changes in the indi-vidual subsystem design parameters. In par-ticular, when tackling the challenge of energyoptimization, there must be a major focus onthe propulsion and thermal management sub-systems. The efficient use of engine energyextraction and the efficient management ofwasted energy are key players in the system-level optimization problem.The MathWorks' Simulink platform wasused to create a system-level simulation ofthe tactical fighter aircraft platform. Simulink

""", e e a".,,,,"M----_"'IOs-

Sim ulink w as usedto cre ate a system -level sim ulation of ata ctical fig hte r a ir craftp latform . As show n inthis figure , the re aresix subsystem leve lb lo ck s con ta in edw ithin the Sim ulin kmodel .

~--~+------~--~

~-~r-----~

28 Nissan Leaf Special Edition SAE Vehicle Electrification evsae.com


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JIP_SIiIo.n

t . P _ SH..Q$T

was ideally suited for this task due to theobject-oriented nature of the software and itsnumerical integration and optimization capa-bilities. Several important subsystem modelswere created within this system-level model.Currently, propulsion, power, and thermalmanagement subsystem models are includedand integrated together with an air vehiclemodel and mission profile.The Simulink model contained six subsys-

tem level blocks: Mission Profile, Air Vehicle,Propulsion Subsystem, Thermal Manage-ment Subsystem, System Heat Loads, andSystem Controller.The Mission Profile block handles all of

the mission level data for the simulation andpasses it to the other subsystems at each timestep. The Air Vehicle model keeps track ofimportant vehicle parameters such as weight,drag, and lift. Additionally, this subsystem usesan energy balance to determine the thrust re-quired for the vehicle to operate throughoutthe flight envelope.The Propulsion Subsystem block is respon-

sible for calculating the engine thrust and fuelburn throughout the mission. This is accom-SAE Vehicle Electrification evsae.com

February 23, 2011

The Nume rical P ropuls ion Sys tem S imu la tion(NPSS )component le ve l model of the engineis shown . This mode l in clud es comp re ssorand tu rb ine s iz e e ffe cts , te chno logy le ve ls ,componen t Reynold s effects, turbine cool ingflow s and le ak ages, c omp r essor loa din g, an dvariab le nozz le a reas .

plished using information from both the mis-sion profile and air vehicle as well as importantinformation from the Thermal ManagementSubsystem (fMS) model. There are several im-portant and intimate connections between thepropulsion subsystem and TMS in the model.This is particularly important since shaft powerextraction and compressor bleed requirementsfrom the thermal management system affectthe engine performance.The final blocks in the system-level model

are the System Heat Loads block and the Sys-tem Controller. The Systems Heat Loads blockkeeps track of the heat loads and temperaturerequirements of the various components overthe mission profile. The System Controlleruses this temperature information to controlthe propulsion and thermal management sys-tems throughout the mission.The six subsystem blocks are directly linked

together through various data buses in Simu-link. Also, many of the important parameters ofinterest such as thrust, weight, thrust specificfuel consumption, and thermal managementtemperatures and flow rates are saved as vari-ables in the MATLAB workspace.



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T e c h R e p o r tThe actual engine is modeled separately

using Numerical Propulsion System Simula-tion (NPSS) software. NPSS is the industry-standard gas turbine cycle analysis softwareand has many capabilities in the domain ofengine component modeling in addition tobeing a very robust solver. This NPSS enginemodel is then directly linked to the Simulinkmodel to enable its seamless functionality inthe system-level simulation.The NPSS engine model is directly linked

to the system-level Simulink simulationthrough the use of an S-function in Simu-link. The appropriate variables can easily bepassed between the two programs at eachtime step of the simulation.The system-level tactical fighter Simulink

model was combined with the NPSS enginemodel and exercised throughout a 2-h mis-sion profile. At the beginning of the simula-tion, the engine model was run in on-designmode to size the engine. After the engine wassized at the design point, the engine modelwas switched to off-design mode and thesystem-level simulation was started. At eachtime step of the simulation, the Simulink andNPSS models were executed simultaneously.The focus of the current research has

been on establishing a baseline modelingand simulation environment from which tosupport future studies into energy optimiza-tion. Future tasks will focus on the transitionto higher-fidelity modules in the integratedmodel when necessary. Then, the researchwill emphasize the system-level energy op-timization and the capability of trading offvarious TMS architectures and concepts.This article is based on SAE Technical Paper 2010-01- 1787 byAdam C. Maser, Elena Garcia, and Dimitri N. Mavris of GeorgiaInstitute of Technology.


VehiclesCU -IC AR team s w ithindus try to d es ign andb uild ex tend ed -range EVFollowing an appearance at the Petit LeMans race week at Road Atlanta, the firstconcept car created by graduate students atthe Clemson University International Cen-ter for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR)-dubbed Deep Orange-was on displayfor automotive enthusiasts at November'sSEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Asso-ciation) Show in Las Vegas.At the project's onset, the CU-ICAR

graduate students were instructed to de-sign and build a vehicle for "Gen Y" con-sumers with one major parameter: it mustbe emissions-free for 20 mi (32 km). Inside,the car had to seat a minimum of four pas-sengers, offer more than 10 ft3 (283 L) ofusable trunk space, and have no dedicatedinfotainment electronics.The end result? A range-extended electric

vehicle (EV) expected to achieve the equiva-lent of 100 mpg for a combined U.S. EPAcity/highway cycle.The students modified front and rear chas-

sis structures to accommodate the range-extended electric powertrain, but they pre-served the original BMW 1 Series suspen-sion geometries and steel body. When in full-electric mode, the inaugural Deep Orangecar's 12S-kW UQM Technologies propul-sion motor is powered by 14 kWh of lithium-polymer batteries from EIG. The batteriescan be recharged either from a 11O-Vwallsocket or by an onboard 800-cc parallel-twin



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T e c h R e p o r t

T he b atte ry p ack is co nta in ed w ithin thisT -s tru ctu re m ade usin g In dustria l O r ig am i'sp a te n te d m e ta l- fo rm in g te chno lo gy . Thealum in um b atte ry tray is p lace d w h ere th ep ro p sh aft a nd e xh au st u se d to b e, a cc ord in gto S te ve ns: " W e ch op p ed ou t th at se ction an dw e ld ed in a n ew se ctio n to in co rp orate th atb atte ry b ox . It g oe s a lo ng th e c en te r tu nn ela nd u nd ern ea th th e b ack se ats ." (Ryan Gehm)

trying to get an idea of what it's like towork in a vertically oriented companywhere you're picking things off of suppliers'shelves," said Stevens. He noted that nearlyevery week the team would have hour-longconference calls with Faurecia engineers todiscuss what seat-design ideas mayor maynot work based on their experience.32 Nissan Leaf Special Edition

"They provided a lot of not only the seat en-gineering but also some of the human-factorselements in terms of keeping the occupantcomfortable, so there was a lot of specificsthat dealt with angles of least discomfort andhow best to isolate the occupant from NVH is-sues," Stevens explained.The seating proof-of-concept features front

seats that tie into the vehicle's body struc-ture; the only adjustability is to raise and lowerthe occupant in the seat. The steering wheelmoves and there is an adjustable pedal sys-tem-brake and accelerator-"so everythingmoves relative to the driver, who is situated inan optimal position" from a crash standpoint,according to Stevens.The car also has no dedicated, built-in ra-

dio/infotainment/navigation, demonstratingan open-architecture, "disruptive concept" byrelying solely on a portable Smartphone devicein combination with cloud storage technology.Developed by the Dell Services EngineeringSolutions team, the prototype application in-tegrates the Dell Streak, a 5-in Android-basedpocket tablet, as the information and entertain-ment hub of the Deep Orange concept car.The Dell Streak plugs into a dashboard

docking station and serves as the monitor ofthe car. It is designed to sync with the car tocontrol music and directional navigation, aswell as display car data such as fuel rangeand battery life. Working with the CU-ICARstudents, the Engineering Solutions team de-veloped a safety measure to limit the Streak'sfunctions while the vehicle is in motion, suchas text messaging, Web browsing, social net-working, and other distracting functions.The students worked on the project from

August 2009 to August 2010, according toSAE Vehicle Electrification evsae.com


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Venhovens. Actual construction began inJanuary 2010.In the initial conceptual phase, 24 students

were present, but that number shrank assome students left to conduct their disserta-tion research and others for internships. As-sembling the car was done by 13 Clemsonstudents and three design students from theArt Center College of Design in Pasadena,CA, which was CU-ICAR's design and styl-ing partner on the Deep Orange vehicle."The scope of the experience that Deep

Orange provides our students will make themvery attractive to the automotive industry,"Venhovens said. "This project requires themto be directly, intimately involved in systemsintegration with industry partners collaborat-ing and exposes them to the capabilities andlimitations of certain technologies.""Deep Orange integrates research, edu-

cation, and collaboration into one whole,"added Imtiaz Haque, Chairman of the Auto-motive Engineering department. "It providesindustry with an innovation platform thatshowcases advanced technology, and itprovides the students with an opportunity towork directly with automotive industry part-ners to innovate and to develop projects. Itis, we believe, how you educate the engineerof the future."As part of the graduate automotive engi-

neering program, students are required tocreate-and manufacture-a new vehicleprototype, giving the students experience invehicle design, development, prototyping,and production planning.The Deep Orange vehicle prototype pro-

gram was designed to run the course of twoacademic years in parallel with Clemson'sSAE Vehicle Electrification evsae.com

February 23, 2011

two-year master's program in automotiveengineering. Because of time constraints onthe first class, the premiere Deep Orangecar was converted from an existing bodyand chassis. Plans call for students to con-ceptualize future Deep Orange cars from theground up."This is a fluid curriculum that allows us

to think outside of conventional courseworkand focus on the product and the consum-er's needs," Venhovens said. "Each year'sproject will be unique, with different prob-lems and different parameters for success."

Ryan Gehm

PowertrainR em y and M otoC zyszde v elo p p lug -a nd -p la ye le ctr ic d riv esDeveloping an electric vehicle powertrainusually means a significant amount of engi-neering. Engineers need to select or designan electric motor and power control elec-tronics and inverters, along with cooling sys-tems for each. The motor then needs a finaldrive gear to match the road-wheel speed.Finally, they need to integrate a computerto act as a powertrain control unit (PCU.) Ittakes time and expense to engineer the drivesystem to meet power, torque, reliability, andsafety targets, along with an acceptableefficiency.Soon, there will be another choice. Simply

buy it.Starting in the third quarter of 2011, Mo-

toczysz will offer its integrated D1g1tal



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T e c h R e p o r t

Dr1ve aimed at making life easier for electricvehicle powertrain engineers. Developed incollaboration with Remy Electric Motors,the company claims it as the first model in anew category of products: integrated electricdrives.The package includes a Remy HVH 250

electric motor, integrated cooling, inverter-controller, and PCU enclosed in an alumi-num shell. The cooling system is a Motoc-zysz proprietary system, which is derivedfrom their state-of-the-art electric racingmotorcycles. Using a water/glycol mix, it isintended to be identical to the vehicle's resi-dent cooling system. "You connect [D1g1talDr1vel to a high-voltage battery and cool-ing lines, along with vehicle signal connec-tions to its integrated computer, and you areready to run," explained Larry Kubes Direc-tor of Systems Engineering for Remy. Sinceall high-voltage components for the drive are


T he D lg 1ta l D rlve s ys te mis a modu la r, in te g ra te dd r iv e sys tem .

internal to the unit, it improves overall safetyof the vehicle. The only high-voltage connec-tion is to the battery. The motor also acts asa generator and charges the battery duringregenerative braking or coasting or from anICE as part of a series hybrid architecture.The company points out that all the electron-ics are mounted on a single chassis allowingfor installation or replacement in as little as30 min.The unit is designed to physically attach

as the drive unit between two independentlysuspended drive wheels via standard CVshafts. "This system is for electric vehiclesor range-extended series type hybrid ve-hicles," said Kubes. Integrated into the unitis a differential, which could be upgraded toa limited-slip differential.Operating voltage is a nominal 320 V,

making it compatible with many existinghigh-voltage electric vehicle batteries. Peak



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efficiency of the integrated device is 90%and gear ratios will range from 6:1 to 10:1,according to Kubes.While providing power, an in-unit com-

puter also gives vehicle engineers controlover the entire powertrain. A CAN communi-cation bus is provided. This means the unitcan manage the battery function, if needed.It also controls two units combined on thesame axle for increased torque applications."A unit can be slaved to a master," explainedKubes. A USB connection is used to inputprograms for specific applications. With itscomputer, engineers will be able to programthe unit for different driving modes, such asa sport mode or a truck mode, dependingon use. Either the USB or CAN bus providesdisplay information to a digital display de-vice, for instance to an IP cluster.The company points to a range of 01 g1tal

Dr1ve models in different stages of testing


February 23, 2011

Th e 01 g 1tal Or1 ve p ro du cesup to 3200 N m of to rqueto the whee ls and 75 kW ofpower w ith the Rem y HVH250 m otor, depend ing ongear ing.

Top

as of this writing. Future models will extendthe 01 g1tal Or1ve range to include morepowerful drives as well as a smaller, morecompact option. This first model of 01 g1talOR1ve is intended for compact electric ve-hicles and light-duty vans and trucks.There are always trade-ofts with a plug-

and-play system. The integrated devicemay not be ideally sized for a particularvehicle concept, for example, or the all-in-one packaging may not offer optimalvehicle packaging in certain applications.The concept's advantage is in engineer-ing speed to create an operational vehiclewith reliability throughout the vehicle's lifecycle. "This is a good way to get startedlearning about hybrid and EV vehicles, be-cause it is a system that will operate prop-erly from the start," said Kubes.

Bruce Morey



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Inthe past decade, "vehicle electrification"has rapidly evolved from a mere buzzword toa key element in every global OEM's product-development plans.

vehicle field. You'll also be able to find infor-mation on the latest SAE books, events, tech-nical papers, standards, and training-as wellas content from an increasing number of SAEpartners. The site is being updated and up-graded continually, so check it out and comeback often.

M ay 2 5A ugust 2 4N ovem ber 30or the engineers charged with developingthe technology solutions that will drive elec-trification, SAE International has created anexclusive new source of information. It's anew Vehicle Electrification Web portal atevsae.com created to be the "go-to" sourcefor engineering professionals looking for thelatest technical information on technologyadvances, product solutions, supplier news,and vehicle-development trends from themost plugged-in experts in the electrified-

In addition, this SAE Vehicle Electrification digi-tal magazine is the second in a series devotedto the most significant hybrid and electric ve-hicles and the current and future technologiesbeing developed for them and other vehicles.evsae.com is the new source of engineeringconnectivity. Bookmark it!

P riu s p lu g-in h yb ridpu t to the tes tThe plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV)version of the Toyota Prius, sched-uled for introduction early nextyear, is a tentative step that dem-onstrates the difficulties ahead until~~iiiiiii lithium-ion battery technology ad-vances and costs drop. A test fleetof 500 is currently undergoing field-testing in Japan,Europe, and the U.S. AEI was able to evaluate one fleetcar in early January. Although it has a prismatic lithium-ion-nickel battery pack, the PHV uses the same 1.S-Lfour-cylinder engine, electric motors, and P401 electronictransaxle as does the conventional Prius hybrid.

E le ctr ic m o to rs s ym p o siumThe SAE International 2011 Powertrain Electric MotorsSymposium, for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles, will providea comprehensive overview of the latest global innovationsin the Vehicle Powertrain Electric Traction Motor industry.The program will address technical issues as well as mar-ket growth projections, requirements, and cost structuresfor three varieties of electric traction motors.Arch itec tu re fo r m ilita ry an d co mm erc ia l E Vs"A Modular Power System Architecture for Military andCommercial Electric Vehicles," an SAE Internationaltechnical paper published by researchers from PC Krause& Associates, the University of Illinois, and the U.S.Navy, proposes a modular power system architectureconsisting of "smart" power battery units that can bereadily interconnected in numerous ways to provide dis-tributed and coordinated system power management.E le ctr ic a nd H yb rid -E le ctr ic V eh ic le sWith production and planning fornew electric vehicles gaining mo-mentum worldwide, this series offive volumes on this subject pro-vides engineers and researcherswith perspectives on the mostcurrent and innovative develop-ments regarding electric and hy-brid-electric vehicle technology,design considerations, and com-ponents. Edited by Ronald K .Jurgen, the entire set features 62SAE technical papers, originallypublished from 200S through 2010.

P ow ertra in a nd b atte ry c oo lin g s em in arThe "Automotive Powertrain and Battery Cooling AirflowSystems: A Vehicle Perspective" two-day seminar will beheld March 14-15 in Troy, MI. It will provide attendees avehicle-level perspective of powertrain and battery coolingairf low systems, including the unique challenges of hybridand electric vehicles. Product design constraints relatedto front-end, batteries, and underhood components willbe discussed, and special emphasis will be placed on thenumerous battery integration issues and thermal manage-ment characteristics.

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L e ad in g s ta nd ar ds d ev el opm e nt o rg an iz at io n in N at io na l I ns tit ut e ofStandards & Tec hnol og y r oa dma p f or Smar tG ri d i nt er ope ra bi li tyE le ctr ic V e hic le C on du ct iv e C ha rg e C ou pl er , S AE J 1 77 2 T and EVI nd uc tiv el y C ou pl ed C ha rg er , S AE J 1 77 3TComm u nic at io n b et we en P lu g- In V e hic le s & U ti lit y G ri d, S AEJ2847/1 T. & SAE J2836/1 Sm ar tG ri d s ta nd ard s h ar m on iz at io n a cti viti es w it h I SO , IE C, u til it yc om p an ie s, I EE E, E PR I, Z ig 8e e A ll ia nce , H om ePl ug P ow e r A ll ia nc e,au tomo ti ve OEMs /supp l ie rsG uid el in es f or E le ctr ic V e hic le S af et y, S AE J 2 34 4TE ne rg y T ra ns fe r S ys te m s fo r E le ctr ic V e hic le s, S AE J2293/1 /2T M e as ur in g E xh au st E m is sio ns /F ue l E co no m y of HEV s, S AE J 1 71 1 I nt el li Dr iv e s ta ndar ds d ev el opment a ct iv it ie sS AE C on ve rge nce " 2 01 2

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