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Powertrain drivability evaluation and calibration is an important part of vehicle development to enhance the customer experience. This step mainly takes place on vehicle testing very late in the product development cycle, and is associated with a considerable amount of prototype, test facility, human resource and time cost. Design change options at this stage are also very limited. To reduce the development cost, a model based computer aided engineering (CAE) method is introduced and combined with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation technology. The HIL simulation method offers a possibility for drivability prediction and development in early phase of product cycle. This article describes the drivability HIL simulation process under development in Ford. The process consists of real time capable multi-domain CAE model integration, powertrain control module (PCM) and HIL simulator interface development and drivability HIL simulation.

An experimental method has been developed which allows the rigid body inertia properties of an automotive type powertrain to be estimated in-situ without removing the powertrain from the vehicle. The method requires that the complex stiffness properties of the powertrain mounts be estimated therefore allowing through the measurement of the relative displacements across the mounts for the estimation of the forces generated at the powertrain mount locations. Rigid body motion measurements are made through the use of accelerometers simultaneous to exciting the powertrain with multiple shakers. Results of the method are compared to those acquired through an inertia pendulum and the FRF based method implemented in LMS Cada-X software. Effects on the results due to shaker location, response location, mount variation, and removal of powertrain peripherals are also investigated.