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Vehicle electrification is being actively expanded into coming generations of passenger and commercial vehicles. This technology trend is helping vehicles to become more energy efficient. For electric vehicle (EV) city bus application, the system designers have been experimenting with a number of options including direct drive and multi-speed gearbox architectures. Direct drive scenario offers simplified drivetrain system, however requires a large and powerful electric motor. Multi-speed transmission system provides an opportunity to reduce motor size and optimize its operating points, but increases complexity from the architecture and controls point of view. This paper provides an overview of several common system layouts and examines their advantages and disadvantages. Vehicle simulation results are presented to compare direct drive vs. multi-speed technology from the gradeability, acceleration and energy consumption points of view.

Architecting and integrating commercial hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) is a long and labor intensive process which is unique every time. The challenge intensifies when one attempts to create an HEV capable of engine-off operation. In this case, electrical power needs to be supplied to devices which are normally powered by the engine accessory belt. These devices are referred to as e-accessories. To address the issue of time to market and reduce vehicle integration burden, a plug-and-play architecture for connecting e-accessories has been developed. The Flexible High Voltage DC System is analogous to a USB hub on a PC and serves to provide power, control and communication to e-accessories such as electrified power steering, electrified brakes and electrified HVAC.

A numerical methodology based on the finite element and boundary element methods is presented for computing the noise radiated from an elastically supported structure subject to turbulent boundary layer excitation. The new algorithm utilizes the fluctuating wall pressure in order to define the excitation on the structural-acoustic system. The developments target wind noise prediction for the sound radiated by the side glass window of an automobile. The glass-seal assembly is modeled as a flexible plate mounted on an elastic foundation with stiffness and damping characteristics. Numerical predictions are compared successfully to wind tunnel test data. Parametric analyses are performed in order to identify the characteristics of the seal that can lead to noise reduction.