Features in this issue:

CFP hood: All in all every gram counts

Motocross going silent

IAV Cassiopeia: Focus on user-friendliness

Looking into the heart of the rechargeable battery

auto motion

IAV’s Customer Magazine

04/12The Complexity ofLight WeightChallenges in Lightweight Construction

From Bachelor to Doctor: IAV awards the Hermann Appel Prize to encourage young engineers who get things moving in automotive development. Read more about the Hermann Appel Prize 2012 on page 41.

automotion | Editorial 3

Dear Reader,Lightweight construction can be heavy-going:

Anybody wanting to reduce vehicle weight

needs a profound understanding of materials,

development processes and production meth-

ods. It is not simply a matter of replacing steel

with aluminum – designers can only get the

maximum out of materials with computation

methods, such as ones for optimizing topol-

ogy. And they also need to consider the en-

ergy used in producing lightweight materials:

Although CFP is much lighter than steel and

aluminum, it takes many more times the energy

to produce.

Lightweight construction may not be a light-

weight subject – but it is a promising building

block for tomorrow’s vehicles. This is why we

have placed the many facets of this topic at the

focus of this latest issue of automotion. In our

interviews with two IAV experts and Professor

Lothar Kroll from Chemnitz University of Tech-

nology, you can find out which materials are

best used where and discover which tools are

available for doing so. Using a number of

specific examples we also show you how IAV

is approaching the subject of lightweight

construction.

Lightweight construction can also help auto-

mobile manufacturers to meet the forthcom-

ing CO2 limits. In our interview, Dr. Martin

Koers, head of Economic and Climate Pro-

tection Policy at VDA, gives you the latest

snapshot of progress being made in negoti-

ations in Brussels. Besides lightweight mate-

rials, manufacturers are also putting their

money on hybrid and electric vehicles – our re-

port on a project sponsoring battery devel-

opment shows how IAV is working with the

Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies

and Systems (IKTS) to improve the under-

standing of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries.

And our member of staff, Igor Trivic, has

demonstrated that a battery needn’t necessarily

be used in hybrid vehicles for storing energy.

We wish you some interesting reading!

Michael Schubert

President, CFO

IAV GmbH

Dr. Rüdiger Goyk

President, CHRO

IAV GmbH

Kurt Blumenröder

President, CEO

IAV GmbH

Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Topic Focus: Lightweight Design

“A Highly Complex Subject” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Close to the Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

All in All Every Gram Counts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

“We Concentrate on Processes

Relevant to Production” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Full Functionality on Half the Weight . . . .20

Underestimated Lightweight . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Driving Forces

On the Search for the Most EfficientHybrid Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Motocross Going Silent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Competent Litigation Support . . . . . . . . . . 28

IAV Cassiopeia: User Friendliness

in Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

4 Contents | automotion

18“We Concentrate on Processes Relevant to Production”

In the automotion interview, lightweight design expert Professor Lothar Kroll from ChemnitzUniversity of Technology reports on new tools and methods for manufacturing fiber compositematerials.

6Topic Focus: Lightweight Design

Fleet limit values for CO2 emissions are moving lightweight construction into the focus

of interest. IAV has been devoting attention to aspects of lightweight design for a number

of years and built up expertise through various in-house development projects.

In our topic focus, you can find out more about the potential that different

materials harbor, new approaches to design as well as key development tools.

Motocross Going Silent

IAV has developed the off-road prototype of

an electric motorbike.

14

26

29

36

All in All Every Gram Counts

The new CFP hood: Significant cut in weight

from 13 kilograms to just 5.

User Friendliness in Focus

IAV Cassiopeia platform speeds up develop-

ment of display and control terminals.

Looking into the Heart of theRechargeable Battery

The “Lionheart” funded project has the aim

of sensing vehicle battery state more

precisely and of understanding aging

mechanisms.

automotion | Contents 5

Trends

“More Flexibility in CO2 Limits” . . . . . . . . . . 30

Learning for the Next Generation . . . . . . . . 32

Projects

Contactless Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Looking into the Heart of the

Rechargeable Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Uncompromising Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

About IAV

IAV Awards the Hermann Appel Prize

for the Ninth Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

News in Brief: New IAV Operations . . . . . . 42

The Clean Alternative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Our Service Portfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

IAV’s Diary: This is Where You’ll Find Us . . 46

Publisher information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

6 Driving Forces | automotion

Topic Focus: Lightweight Design

automotion | Driving Forces 7

Lightweight construction in nature: As the fastest insect around, the dragon fly

reaches a speed of 50 kilometers an hour. In electric vehicles, lightweight design

can increase driving range considerably. But this calls for new, all-embracing

philosophies and approaches – design, material and production must be re-

considered for every problem that need solving.

“A Highly Complex Subject”

8 Driving Forces | automotion

New materials, different design principles:What makes for successful lightweight construction?

automotion | Driving Forces 9

Fleet limit values for CO2 emissions in

particular are moving lightweight

construction into the focus of interest

among automobile manufacturers. In the

automotion interview, Dr. Andreas Löffler

(head of the Body / Lightweight Construction

department) and Siegfried Waubke (light-

weight construction expert from Technolo-

gy Monitoring) report on potentials and chal-

lenges in developing weight-saving compo-

nents.

Among engineers, lightweight construc-

tion is seen as a highly complex subject.

Why?

Waubke: Utilizing the full potential of light-

weight design in motor vehicles involves re-

considering design, material and technology

– in other words production – with every

problem that need solving. Today, the main rea-

son for using lightweight construction is to

make vehicles more eco-friendly: They need

to be light to save energy. Lightweight design

must be sufficiently robust to meet all of the

demands in the specifications. But the light-

weight material must also be environmental-

ly friendly to produce. And the vehicle needs

to remain affordable in terms of production: A

vehicle left unsold can’t help to protect the en-

vironment either. This means the developers

must adopt an entirely new approach and way

of thinking.

It simply isn’t enough to use aluminum instead

of steel. At the design stage, for example, most

of the loads and stresses occurring in the ve-

hicle are still estimated on the basis of em-

pirical values, with engineers largely drawing

on the predecessor model. This is no longer

possible with lightweight construction be-

cause it would demand an unnecessarily high

amount of material and increase the vehicle’s

weight. Anybody wanting to avoid this must in-

vest far more energy and effort into analyzing

the forces at play and be very precise in

defining the actual requirements on the com-

ponent before embarking on the initial design.

In dimensioning, for example, it is still widely as-

sumed that all maximum loads occur simul-

taneously. Although innovative computation

methods, such as topology optimization, are

meanwhile entering the scene at many vehi-

cle manufacturers – there still aren’t enough

engineers who feel confident using them.

Löffler: This is why we must also put our en-

gineers in a position to work with new mate-

rials and other design principles – for exam-

ple from bionics. This is precisely what makes

computation and simulation eminently im-

portant in lightweight construction. Com-

posite construction, in particular, also con-

fronts us with different material rigidities and

strength classes which means we have to re-

flect on matters such as joining technology as

well as fatigue strength. Otherwise there’s a risk

of vehicles starting to squeak and creak at

some point because the welds and joints

have weakened. A further important aspect in

future lightweight or composite construction

is corrosion which can be adversely influenced

by combining materials unfavorably without

taking the appropriate design precautions. As

you can see: Lightweight construction is a

highly complex subject.

Are there enough development tools

available today for optimizing lightweight

component design and computation?

Löffler: Yes, there are now many tools that can

be used to assist in developing lightweight ve-

hicles, such as for optimizing topology, com-

puting service life and crash behavior, de-

signing fiber composite materials or simulat-

ing casting. We are already using some of

these tools for optimizing designs to meet the

complex demands on components – while

also minimizing weight. Lightweight construction experts at IAV: Andreas Löffler (left) and Siegfried Waubke

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250 2500 2750

CO

2 E

mis

sio

nen

in g

/km

CO2 Emissionen über Leergewicht

Leergewicht in kg

OttoDieselOtto-HybridDiesel-HybridPlug-in-Hybrid

beste Fahrzeuge mit Ottomotorbeste Fahrzeuge mit DieselmotorEU2020

10 Driving Forces | automotion

Lightweight construction can go a

long way towards cutting fuel con-

sumption and CO2 emissions – car-

bon-dioxide emission is shown to be

linked closely with weight, especially

in larger-type vehicles. But it also

makes sense to use lightweight de-

sign in smaller ones: Although a sin-

gle car does not avoid any large

quantities of CO2 on its own, impact

on climate is noticeably lessened as

a result of the large number of vehi-

cles. Electric cars benefit in particu-

lar from keeping components as light

as possible: Every kilogram saved in-

creases driving range or permits the

use of a smaller battery.

What are the most attractive materials for

lightweight construction?

Löffler: Steel, to begin with, which still has

huge potential. In volume production, steel re-

mains the preferred option. It has had more re-

search done on it than any other metal. Fur-

ther highly promising developments have

also been made in the field of high and super

high strength steels as well as hot-formed

steels: The weight of an optimized design can

be reduced by as much as 25 percent, mak-

ing this extremely attractive for volume pro-

duction in particular. Besides steel, there is also

much potential in aluminum, also from the as-

pect of vehicle structure. Aluminum gives us

weight savings of between 30 and 35 percent.

On the structural side, magnesium may also

play a part in future: Although the material is

harder to form at room temperature and less

resistant to corrosion, magnesium casts well

if certain precautions are taken. That’s a par-

ticular advantage for complex cast nodes in

the vehicle body. For the foreseeable future,

composite materials will only play a part in

niche products and low-volume production.

But they are capable of reducing weight by

50 to 60 percent. And last but not least, cost

must not be overlooked when it comes to se-

lecting materials because vehicles must also

remain affordable.

Waubke: Here, it’s important to remember that

the different density of materials isn’t reflect-

ed in the vehicle’s weight on a one-to-one ba-

sis. Using aluminum over steel, for instance,

makes it necessary to modify the design and

always involves a little more material. That’s

also true of CFP: Although the material is about

five times lighter than steel, it only cuts com-

ponent weight by about half.

CFP is a material that’s talked about a lot.

What potential do you think this compos-

ite has?

Waubke: CFP really does have many advan-

tages: It’s not only far lighter than steel but also

comes with an extremely high level of rigidi-

ty, structural damping properties and dy-

namic strength. The latitude it offers in geo-

metric design is tremendous – it can be

turned into virtually any shape. CFP also

makes it possible to integrate many different

functions with a high degree of flexibility. The

material is very tolerant to damage and does

not expand much when it heats up. And cor-

rosion isn’t a problem either. But CFP also has

drawbacks that start as early as its production:

The fiber alone takes some five to ten times

more energy to produce than sheet steel

does. The material costs are much higher and,

unlike steel and aluminum, it is not isotropic:

It can only be exposed to high loads in the di-

rection of the fibers. CFP is not yet suitable for

volume production because at best it still takes

five minutes to make a component.

Löffler: I don’t see CFP entering mass pro-

duction in the next five to ten years either. For

the foreseeable future, it will tend to be used

in niche products, such as e-vehicles where

weight is important in respect of traveling

range. But we mustn’t forget there are other

promising composite materials besides CFP

– such as GRP and basalt fiber reinforced plas-

tics. This is an aspect I feel is somewhat

neglected in current discussion. At IAV, we are

looking at these alternatives as well.

Lightweight construction is not a free

ride. How much is every saved kilogram

allowed to cost?

Waubke: That depends on the market seg-

ment. The limit is lower with mass products

than it is with premium vehicles. Five euros per

kilogram is an acceptable value today for all au-

tomobile manufacturers. The pain threshold

starts at about eight euros and goes to ap-

proximately ten if the vehicle is intended for the

mass market. Finding it still to be economically

viable, Volkswagen reached the value of eight

euros some years ago in the “SLC” project with

Curb weight in kg

1,000750 1,250 1,500 1,750 2,000 2,250 2,500 2,750

CO2 emissions as a function of curb weight

CO

2e

mis

sio

ns

in g

/km

Why Lightweight Construction?

GasolineDieselGasoline hybridDiesel hybridPlug-in hybrid

Best gasoline-engined vehiclesBest diesel-engined vehiclesEU2020

automotion | Driving Forces 11

36 consortium partners. Apart from the pure

material costs, it is also necessary to take a

closer look at the additional expenditure on the

development side and, above all, in production.

Löffler: The value of five euros is familiar to me

too. It applies to structural components made

of lighter materials or high-strength steels. The

stringent carbon dioxide limits – think of the

target of 95 grams per kilometer by 2020 –

have meanwhile added so much pressure that

in future manufacturers will be prepared to in-

vest up to ten euros in every kilogram of

weight they save. However, this figure relates

to components that aren’t only light but also

produce secondary effects. Magnesium

wheels are a case in point: They weigh less

than wheels made of steel or aluminum and

also allow other parts of chassis to be made

lighter because less energy goes into it.

How is IAV pushing ahead with light-

weight construction internally?

Waubke: Although I’m the central contact per-

son for every aspect of lightweight design, it

is of course a subject that can only be taken

forward in close cooperation with other divi-

sions, the main ones being the body and

powertrain departments. This is where we work

on most of the projects that involve lightweight

construction.

Löffler: Our designers’ eyes are open to the

subject – because these days almost every

set of client specifications instructs us to make

components as light as possible – without sac-

rificing performance. We systematically invest

in funded and in-house development projects

which, regardless of customer contracts, help

us to move forward in this field as one that will

play such an important part in the future.

These include the “Mute / Visio.M” funded pro -

jects or our CFP hood, an in-house develop-

ment project. Our staff are being trained

specifically to give them the requisite ex-

pertise, such as for designing and computing

components in fiber composite materials.

And last but not least, we also take an inter-

disciplinary approach to this complex subject

so we can pool the skills and competencies

we have at IAV. This is the only way lightweight

design will work in the future.

Contact:

siegfried.waubke@iav.de

dr.andreas.loeffler@iav.de

Lightweight design must remain affordable – added to the pure material costs comes expenditure on development and production

12 Driving Forces | automotion

Close to the LimitDesigners can only get the maximum out of their components with complex optimization processes

automotion | Driving Forces 13

For a long time, designing chassis was

primarily a matter of experience and

gut feeling. Today engineers use soft-

ware tools to make their components as light

as possible. For a number of years, shape op-

timization has become increasingly impor-

tant. IAV uses the process for mass pro-

duction and motor racing.

Just how much developing chassis has

changed over the past few decades is some-

thing Eckardt Döhrer has experienced in per-

son: “I’ve been working as a designer since

1989, initially for motor racing, today also for

production vehicles”, reports the Managing Di-

rector of Team Rosberg Engineering powered

by IAV (TRE). “Back then we hardly simulated

anything and didn’t do much computing either

– there simply weren’t any tools that could keep

up with the short cycles involved in motor rac-

ing.” This meant many engineers relied on their

gut feeling which in most cases led to over-

sized components, also making them heavy.

Simulations deliver precision valuesfor the forces occurring

Anybody wanting to do lightweight con-

struction today is lost without computers

and software. Even when work begins on de-

veloping chassis, multibody simulation (MBS)

reproduces driving dynamics and delivers

precision values for the forces that will act on

the suspension points later on. To do this, TRE

uses a version of the “Adams Car” tool that has

been adapted to its own needs and delivers in-

formation on transverse, longitudinal and ver-

tical dynamics, response to bumps and ob-

stacles or on the aerodynamic downforce en-

countered in racing cars.

In the next stage, the designers create the

components that are analyzed by the strength

calculation specialists for stiffness and

strength using tools, such as “Abaqus” or

“Nastran”. “Then an iterative process begins:

Strength calculation experts and designers

usually go through two to three optimization

loops to perfect the component’s geometry”,

Döhrer explains. “This leaves us close to the

material’s limit.” Finally, validation must show

whether the component can actually cope with

the stress it will be exposed to or whether fur-

ther loops are required.

Topology optimization brings furtherpotential for reducing weight

For a number of years, topology and shape op-

timization has become an increasingly im-

portant alternative to “manual” geometry op-

timization: With topology optimization, de-

sign starts with a rough model of the com-

ponent’s package. The computer optimizes its

topology (trussing, ribs, openings). The engi-

neer can set specific boundary conditions,

such as weight saving, stiffness, stress level

and producibility (demolding direction). “The

software can take account of many load cas-

es that are interrelated and overlap – a human

being would be lost with this large number of

cases”, Döhrer says. “This doesn’t put the de-

signers out of a job though: The automatical-

ly generated structures cannot be imple-

mented as they stand but need to be adjust-

ed by hand. Topology optimization makes a

proposal within the available package so to

speak.”

Shape optimization can be additionally em-

ployed for further optimizing the compo-

nent’s design once it has been completed and

computed to give it the necessary strength.

The surfaces and boundaries are modified to

reduce and homogenize maximum stresses.

The effort’s worth it though: In some cases,

processes like topology optimization can sig-

nificantly reduce the weight of components –

over conventional geometry optimization. In

an actual project, for example, it was possible

to reduce the weight of a conventionally de-

signed wheel carrier from 4.5 to 3.8 kilo-

grams, making a saving of 15 percent.

Contact:

e.doehrer@trengineering.de

The new CFP hood: Significant cut in weight from 13 kilograms to just five

14 Driving Forces | automotion

All in All Every Gram Count

automotion | Driving Forces 15

development. “The result speaks for itself: The

steel component from production weighed

13 kilograms, our CFP component a mere five.”

CFP demands new developmentmethods

The lightweight material also demanded a few

changes to the design though: Compared with

the design in deep-drawn steel metal, the de-

velopers had to modify wall thicknesses and

the joining techniques. For example, the

hood’s inner and outer parts could not be

joined together by a circumferential rabbet –

to produce a secure join, wider bonded flanges

were used instead. With CFP, the hinges can-

not simply be welded or bolted to the hood ei-

ther: “We laminated inserts with steel and alu-

minum threads in between the carbon fiber

mats”, Dörsing reports.

Computing their hood demanded some pio-

neering work from the developers: Although

it is possible to use the same tried and proven

FEM tools as for steel or aluminum – many ma-

terial parameters for CFP are not known in the

same way as they are for these established

materials. The IAV team had, however, support

from cooperation partner Formtech: The

British CFP specialists supplied material pa-

rameters for producing the initial complex

computation model that was then validated at

IAV in tests – demonstrating a high degree of

conformity: “Although the model’s quality is

good, it needs further improvement before it

can be taken to production level”, says Stein,

summing up.

Benefits also for pedestrian protection

Once the CFP components had been made

by Formtech and assembled at IAV, Jürgen

Stein’s team of IAV developers examined their

behavior on colliding with a pedestrian. “The

head impact test reveals differing material be-

haviors: With steel we normally see permanent

denting in the surface of the hood whereas

with CFP surface shape remains unchanged

on account of deformation being purely elas-

tic. It returns to its original state”, explains Stein,

specialist in pedestrian protection at IAV. “The

Carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFP)

could in future significantly reduce

the weight of vehicles – but many

questions remain unanswered on the design,

computation, simulation, cost and production

side. IAV has developed a hood in CFP, hav-

ing made a prototype of it to assess the new

technology’s potential and gather experi-

ence in developing carbon components.

Compared with steel, the weight of the hood

was more than halved; any influence on

meeting the demands on pedestrian pro-

tection is still being examined.

Nowadays most hoods are made of steel for

cost reasons, with a few premium manufac-

turers using aluminum. In an internal devel-

opment project, a team around Heike Dörsing

(project manager) and Jürgen Stein (pedestrian

protection specialist) wanted to identify the

challenges that need overcoming in design-

ing, computing and validating CFP compo-

nents and find out how heavy they would be.

“We’ve developed a hood in CFP and com-

pared its weight with a conventional one in

steel”, says the manager of door, flap and lid

16 Driving Forces | automotion

automotion | Driving Forces 17

pedestrian benefits from the new material as

well: The load pattern is different to steel.” The

good value obtained for the CFP hood did not

only come from the new material but also from

the automatic lifting system: In the event of a

collision, active hinges raise the gate in frac-

tions of a second, preventing serious head in-

jury. They are activated by a pyrotechnical trig-

ger mechanism similar to the one used for an

airbag.

IAV will continue to build its CFP expertise

Now they have finished developing the hood,

IAV’s CFP specialists are working on new

projects to make them better acquainted

with the lightweight material. “We want to

continue our research in this direction and build

up further expertise because if the current high

costs can be brought down, CFP will be used

in future for all sorts of mass-produced com-

ponents”, says Dörsing.

Before the material can be used on a large

scale, it will be necessary to improve the de-

velopment methods used for computation,

crash simulation and test evaluation – because

in contrast to steel or aluminum, CFP is an

anisotropic material, a complex blend of di-

rectional carbon fibers and resin, that can only

be modeled and simulated with a great deal of

effort. Modeling damage or failure within com-

ponents is currently the biggest challenge. In

the years to come, projects like the lightweight

front hood in CFP will gradually plug these gaps

in development.

Contact:

heike.doersing@iav.de

juergen.stein@iav.de

Professor Dr. Lothar Kroll is head of the

Department of Lightweight Struc-

tures and Polymer Technology at

Chemnitz University of Technology, Director

of the Institute of Lightweight Structures and

Director of the Affiliated Institute for Textile

Process Engineering Cetex. With more than

300 employees he works on new tools, ma-

chines and production methods for light-

weight components. He also heads the

“Merge Technologies for Multifunctional

Lightweight Structures” cluster of excel-

lence.

Where do you place the focus in your

work with composite materials?

We concentrate on processes relevant to

production where importance is attached to

short cycle times and the efficient use of en-

ergy and material. We devote attention to all

commonly used fibers – that’s to say, carbon,

glass, aramid and basalt fibers – and try to

make the most of their potential. Wherever

possible, we align them in the direction forces

flow in, something not normally the case to-

day. Often, the composite contains fibers

that run in a direction not a single force acts

in. These could be left out completely. In oth-

er components we route the fibers around

openings – just as with knotholes say – to guar-

antee optimum strength and rigidity. To this

end, we’ve developed the MAG KV process

(multi-axial warp-yarn racking process) that

works on the roll-to-roll principle and lends it-

self to mass production. We also cooperate

with the affiliated Cetex Institute on develop-

ing appropriate textile machinery. This wide-

ly varied pool of competencies in Chemnitz

has meanwhile shown to be a worldwide lo-

cational advantage.

How do you proceed in terms of static

and dynamic structural analysis and de-

sign?

We’ve got the structural analysis of process-

es and structures well under control. Com-

bined process and structural simulation on the

other hand is still in its infancy – this is ex-

tremely important, though, because we’d oth-

erwise design components likely to fail straight

after the injection molding process as a result

of internal stresses. Unfortunately we still

only have answers that resolve this problem

on a case-to-case basis. But in many projects

we are working on combining different tools

in the way Lego bricks join together. Working

with software manufacturers we are also de-

veloping our own computation tools, such as

for pre-configuring multilayer lightweight com-

ponents and their multi-criteria optimization.

Today, this is still primary research. Besides the

rapid and exact methods of analysis, we’re also

using numerical methods to tackle particularly

complex problems. We work closely togeth-

er with the Fraunhofer Institute for Technical

Mathematics in Kaiserslautern on simulating

processes for integrating textile reinforce-

ments in the injection molding process.

One major problem with fiber composite

materials is the amount of time they take

to produce. What are you doing in this

field?

We’re working with manufacturers on new

solutions. In the EOS, for instance, VW uses a

18 Driving Forces | automotion

“We Concentrate on ProcessesRelevant to Production”In the automotion interview, lightweight design expert Professor Lothar Kroll speaks about new tools and methods for making fiber composite materials

tailgate made of fiber-reinforced thermoset

plastic that today takes two to three hours to

manufacture. Within the German Education

and Research Ministry’s “Efficoat” project,

we have developed an alternative solution on

the basis of thermoplastic injection molding

processes that allows us to achieve a cycle

time of just 15 minutes because the method

is so fast. Production studies on manufactur-

ing the generic demonstrator are so promis-

ing that production trials will soon be con-

ducted for the full-size demonstrator under

mass-production conditions.

How accurately is it possible to compute

the impact behavior of fiber composite

components?

Simple load cases can be computed with a

good degree of accuracy. But complex load

cases combined with complicated compo-

nents are still very difficult. One major problem

is material parameters: In fiber composite

materials they are always governed by the di-

rection of loading – this is why we have start-

ed by working on the test bench with a Chem-

nitz-based partner to determine the parame-

ters defining the load directions involved (ma-

terial types) before we get down to our com-

putations. This is also a tremendous challenge

for the manufacturers of commercial software

tools: They need to reduce the vast quantities

of data to such a level that leaves the engineer

with information that’s actually important.

You are part of the “Open Hybrid LabFac-

tory” in Wolfsburg. What are the project’s

aims?

VW wants to work with partners from indus-

try, Lower Saxony’s universities and IAV to

scrutinize the entire process chain involved in

manufacturing fiber composite materials with

a view to halving the costs of fiber compos-

ite parts. Apart from our knowledge of com-

puting lightweight components, the project’s

also benefiting from our expertise in textile ma-

chinery. Component impact behavior will play

a key part – unlike steel, fibers don’t yield but

break very quickly. This is why we need new

methods for running trials on these compo-

nents, with test results not only serving to cal-

ibrate our material models – they can also be

factored into new fiber manufacturing meth-

ods from the very beginning. IAV could bring

in its comprehensive know-how in material and

component testing. This also goes for my work

within Germany’s only cluster of excellence in

the fiercely contested field of lightweight de-

sign.

Professor Kroll, many thanks for talking

to us.

automotion | Driving Forces 19

• Head of the Department of Light-

weight Structures and Polymer

Technology, Chemnitz University

of Technology

• Director of the Institute of Light-

weight Structures

• Director of the Cetex Institut für

Textil- und Verarbeitungsmaschi-

nen GmbH (textile process engi-

neering)

Professor Lothar Kroll

20 Driving Forces | automotion

Full Functionality on Half the WeightBuilding blocks for tomorrow’s lightweight cockpit

automotion | Driving Forces 21

The cockpit’s a central component in

any vehicle: It not only accommo-

dates key functions – it is also a ma-

jor contributor to occupant safety. Despite

these exacting demands, intelligent light-

weight design could halve its weight.

A typical cockpit today weighs in at around 60

kilos – of this, 11 kilograms go on the air-con-

ditioning unit and instrument panel each, 7 on

the cross member and 14 on the cable har-

ness. “This relatively high weight comes from

the many functions accommodated in the

cockpit, and from the key part it plays in en-

suring occupant safety”, says Wolfgang Krisch,

head of Cockpit Development at IAV. “It needs

to hold the steering unit, instrument panel, air-

conditioning unit and infotainment system. The

cockpit cross member must also be rigid

enough to resist vibration from the combus-

tion engine. And finally it needs to provide

components with a secure hold in the event

of a collision and be able to absorb powerful

forces.”

The cockpit’s to weigh just 30 kilosby 2020

Can a system as central as this be made much

lighter? Krisch is convinced intelligent light-

weight construction will provide the key to halv-

ing cockpit weight by 2020. Above all, new air-

conditioning concepts, composite design

cross members and lighter instrument panels

are set to take 30 kilograms off its weight –

without occupants needing to fear function-

al sacrifices or compromises on safety.

Recent years have already seen automotive

manufacturers use new materials in an attempt

to reduce cockpit weight. “Initially it was made

of steel, then aluminum joined the scene,

and finally attempts were made to use mag-

nesium sheet”, Krisch reports. “But this caused

problems in production: As magnesium takes

far longer to weld, the components heat up to

high temperatures that can deform them.

Longer welding times also bump up costs.”

This is why IAV initiated a consortium in 2009

that is looking into new ways of working mag-

nesium sheet and involves Thyssen Krupp and

Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht.

Combination of profiles and cast nodes for the cockpit crossmember

To get around the heat problem from welding

magnesium, the consortium has opted for

lightweight components that combine profiles

and cast nodes. Rather than welding the var-

ious metals used in the cockpit cross mem-

ber, they are joined by means of cast nodes in

aluminum or magnesium. “This way, we can al-

ways use the right material at the right place

without having to join metals that can’t be

welded or soldered”, Krisch says. “This means

we can get the cockpit cross member’s

weight down to half that of an all-steel version.”

The weight of the cockpit cross member in

electric vehicles could be reduced even fur-

ther if design specifications were to lower their

demands: “In conventional vehicles, the cock-

pit cross member needs to be particularly stiff

to prevent the combustion engine from mak-

ing it vibrate”, Krisch explains. “Because an

electric motor doesn’t vibrate, we’d have no

problems using cockpit cross members that

are less rigid and therefore far lighter.”

Krisch also sees plenty of further potential in

the instrument panel. At present, most of its

plastic components are made of polypropy-

lene. Before it is cast, some manufacturers

charge it chemically or physically with nitrogen

gas. VW and BMW use this technique to pro-

duce thick-walled components with a sand-

wich-like character. “In the casting process the

nitrogen acts as a lubricant, significantly re-

ducing the material’s viscosity when it’s in-

jected onto the mold”, Krisch explains. “This

would also make it possible to produce thin-

ner plastic components – rather than 2.5 mil-

limeters, they could also be produced in a wall

thickness of 1.5 millimeters without any sig-

nificant effect on their mechanical properties.

This alone means a weight saving of 40 per-

cent in the components we’re talking about, as

Daimler has demonstrated.”

Tomorrow’s air-conditioner: Diffuser rather than vents

Among the heavyweights from the cockpit is

the air-conditioning unit, with its fan and heat

exchanger putting major strain on cockpit

structure. Krisch has a completely different set-

up in mind: “Instead of up to five separate per-

sonal air vents in the cockpit, we should start

using a diffuse flow of air to save weight. On

top of this, a small ceramic heat exchanger can

be used to provide adequate air heating and

also give occupants their own supply of radi-

ated heat – this approach is particularly at-

tractive for electric vehicles that don’t have any

waste heat from a combustion engine for heat-

ing.” IAV’s own studies have shown these as-

sumptions to be correct. But turning this into

practice will involve changing the require-

ments currently made in the specifications on

vehicle air-conditioning.

Krisch also sees the need for changes to the

development process if the most is to be

made of the potential lightweight design of

the cockpit – in particular, he would like to see

simulation being used sooner and on a broad-

er scale in configuring the structure of all com-

ponents. “Needless to say, OEMs are already

using simulation to reduce cockpit weight – but

often at such a late stage that all components

have been defined and exist in the form of CAD

data. Component weight is then hard to opti-

mize”, Krisch says. “Simulation could be far

more beneficial and cost no more if it were

used earlier on – because even the best idea

in the world is no good if it is a fortnight late in

coming.”

Contact:

wolfgang.krisch@iav.de

Plastic components are usually 30 to

50 percent lighter than ones made

of steel. But many manufacturers are

still avoiding the material because they are

afraid of problems with quality. IAV’s polymer

experts have proven that lightweight con-

struction and high quality are in no way con-

tradictory: Their fender weighs about half as

much as a component made of steel and

meets the highest demands on producibil-

ity and looks.

If you ask Jörg Sebastian about the benefits

of polymers, the expert can hardly contain his

enthusiasm: The material not only makes

components lighter and cuts fuel consump-

tion – it is also corrosion-proof, resistant to mi-

nor damage, better at protecting pedestrians

and helps to cut motor vehicle insurance

premiums. “But that’s not all”, says the manager

of IAV’s Polymer Technology and Compo-

nents team. “Plastic parts can also shorten de-

velopment times, make it easier to integrate

components and give designers plenty of flex-

ibility.”

This makes polymers the ideal material for

lightweight design – despite skepticism on the

part of many manufacturers. “French pro-

ducers in particular have been using plastic

body styling parts on a grand scale for a

number of years”, Sebastian reports. “In Ger-

many, though, there seems to be reservations

on account of many manufacturers fearing

quality problems.” The fact is, using the ma-

terial really does demand a sound expertise in

design and production – in return, though, poly-

mers reward developers with weight savings

of 30 to 50 percent.

Thermal expansion from coating

Thermal expansion in plastic components is

a challenge – when coating them for instance:

As a process commonly applied in the auto-

motive industry, electrophoretic painting ex-

poses components to temperatures of up to

205 degrees Celsius, resulting in linear ex-

pansion of up to 20 millimeters depending on

component size. But apart from this method

of “online painting”, there are two alterna-

tives: “Inline coating”, for instance, where plas-

tic parts are not assembled until they pass

through the electrophoretic painting process

which means they are heated to no more than

160 degrees Celsius. And then there is the op-

tion of fitting ready-painted parts to the vehi-

cle body. The drawback of “offline coating”:

Color-matching between plastic and steel

surface is debatable.

“Most manufacturers prefer online coating be-

cause it involves hardly any color differences

between plastic and steel components”, Se-

bastian explains. “The relatively high level of ex-

pansion during the drying process is man-

ageable though – by initially fitting plastic

components only loosely. The use of sliding

elements gives the plastic fender the chance

of expanding and returning to its original po-

sition after coating.”

Once produced, components can often be ex-

posed to high levels of temperature as well:

Parking a vehicle in the blazing sun can heat

components to as much as 70 degrees Cel-

sius and make them expand. “This isn’t a

problem, though, if it is taken into account

when designing them”, Sebastian says. “Se-

lecting the right zero point the fender can ex-

pand from towards the front end, coordinat-

ed gap widths and joint dimensions as well as

cleverly designed solutions in the headlamp

zone are all ways of coping with problems of

expansion.

Coating process demands a goodmeasure of care and skill

Many vehicle components are provided with

openings for direction indicators or air inlets,

making them complicated to produce: “When

melt streams meet in molds as a result of cores

or multi-point gating, different temperature pro-

files produce unwanted flow lines”, Sebastian

explains. “The flow lines resemble hairline

cracks – something coating doesn’t hide but

exacerbates.”

But there is also an answer to the problem, as

shown by a fender Sebastian and his team

have designed as part of an in-house devel-

opment project. “In simulating the filling

process, we selected the number and position

of gates to optimize melt flow”, Sebastian re-

ports. “This allowed us to control and improve

the position and size of the flow lines with ex-

treme precision.”

Far lower weight and good pedestrian protection

IAV’s fender is configured for a typical stan-

dard-size car and, apart from the flow line is-

sue, also takes into account every demand

coating and vehicle life place on compo-

nents in terms of thermal expansion – despite

belonging to the larger ones of its type, meas-

uring 1200 mm in length. All the same, using

polymers and particularly low wall thickness-

22 Driving Forces | automotion

Underestimated LightweightPlastic has loads of potential – a fender from IAV demonstrates how easy it is to resolve alleged problems

automotion | Driving Forces 23

es give it a weight of just 1.6 kilograms – a

comparable fender made of steel would weigh

around 3 kilograms.

Pedestrian protection also benefits from us-

ing polymers: “The material and design we

went for easily let us meet a HIC of below 1,000

demanded for head impacts“, Sebastian re-

ports. “But besides the fender’s contours, it is,

of course, always necessary to consider the

underlying body-in-white structure and, if

necessary, implement appropriate measures,

such as damping elements between fender

and bodyshell.”

More courage to embrace polymers

Sebastian and his team have been focusing at-

tention on using polymers in automobile man-

ufacturing for 20 years, gathering a wealth of

experience from numerous development ac-

tivities at production level. As far as he is con-

cerned, the material is indispensable in light-

weight design despite the specific demands

it makes: “I wish as many manufacturers as

possible would pluck up more courage, sit

down with polymer experts and embark on

projects”, Sebastian says. “The weight savings

are considerable – and with experienced part-

ners, a solution can be found to all of the al-

leged problems.”

Contact:

joerg.sebastian@iav.de

Selecting the right material and design easily made

it possible for the plastic fender developed by IAV

to meet a HIC of below 1,000 demanded for head

impacts.

On the Search for the Most Efficient Hybrid Vehicle

24 Driving Forces | automotion

Abattery is not the only possible so-

lution: Flywheels as well as hydraulic

and pneumatic systems are also

suitable for storing energy in hybrid vehicles.

In his dissertation, IAV expert Igor Trivic

looked at which variant is the most efficient

– with a surprising result.

When you speak of hybrid vehicles today

most people immediately think of a combi-

nation of combustion engine and e-motor. But

there are also a number of other options for

buffering the energy recovered from braking:

Mechanical flywheel accumulators as well as

systems based on oil and air pressure. “In my

dissertation I wanted to examine how effec-

tive these alternatives are in comparison to the

electric storage systems that are already es-

tablished”, reports Igor Trivic, who works on en-

ergy management in IAV’s Powertrain Ad-

vance Development division.

Computations using IAV’s VeLoDyn tool

To do this, Trivic simulated and compared three

different full electric hybrids (HEV, Hybrid

Electrical Vehicle) as well as a hybrid vehicle

with flywheel (HSF-HV, High-Speed Flywheel

Hybrid Vehicle), one with a hydraulic accu-

mulator (HHV, Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicle) and

one with a pneumatic storage (PHV, Pneumatic

Hybrid Vehicle). His computations were per-

formed using IAV’s VeLoDyn (Vehicle Longi-

tudinal Dynamics Simulation) tool that is

based on Matlab / Simulink and can reproduce

the longitudinal dynamics of any vehicle. The

mid-size base vehicle was propelled by a

1.4-liter four-cylinder engine (delivering 90 kilo-

watts of power) with automated manual trans-

mission. To compare the alternatives fairly, Triv-

ic used a cycle-independent operating strat-

egy based on the Equivalent Consumption

Minimization Strategy (ECMS).

The three electric hybrid vehicles HEV 1,

HEV 2 and HEV 3 were configured as parallel

hybrids – the electric motor / generator was

connected directly to the transmission’s input

shaft. This not only allows the vehicles to run

on all-electric power or only on the combus-

tion engine but also on both forms of propul-

sion at one and the same time. They differed

in relation to the size of e-motor and lithium-

ion battery: HEV 1 had an electric motor de-

livering 50 kilowatts and a maximum of

440 newton meters as well as a battery with

a 1.3 kilowatt-hour storage capacity. HEV 2 and

HEV 3 were fitted with an electric motor with

an output of 17 kilowatts and 150 newton me-

ters. The batteries had a gross storage ca-

pacity of 0.9 kilowatt hours (HEV 2) and

0.43 kilowatt hours (HEV 3). Weight-wise, the

overall storage systems differed very little:

1,570 kilograms for HEV 1, 1,533 kilograms for

HEV 2 and 1,519 kilograms for HEV 3.

Flywheel accumulator: A principle re-discovered

In the HSF-HV, a high speed flywheel was re-

sponsible for buffering braking energy instead

of the battery. “This is no new concept: Back

in the 1950s, Switzerland had the Gyrobus

that sourced the energy for its electric drive

system from a flywheel”, explains Trivic. And

when Formula 1 changed its regulations in

2009, the interest in kinetic accumulators

started to grow again.” In his simulation

An energy storage technology familiar for years could be a match for electric systems

Trivic used an 8-kilogram flywheel with a di-

ameter of 23 centimeters and maximum

speed of 48,000 revolutions per minute. “It is

capable of storing a maximum of 625 kilo-

joules of energy”, he says. "Per kilogram,

that’s the equivalent of 4.2 watt hours com-

pared to 5.5 for a typical battery.”

Unlike the kinetic accumulator, hydraulic so-

lutions are nowadays widespread in the off-

road segment, technically perfected and in-

expensive to manufacture. Mounted be-

tween two tanks, they have a hydraulic pump

that can also serve as a motor. During

recharging, it pumps oil from a low-pressure

into a high-pressure tank – when energy is re-

quired for propulsion, the direction of oil flow

is simply reversed. The motor used for sim-

ulation in the HHV had a maximum power out-

put of 125 kilowatts and the overall hydraulic

vehicle weighed 1,606 kilograms.

The simulated PHV used a combination of

compressor and compressed-air tank that is

filled with air on braking and turns the com-

pressor into a motor when it is needed for

propulsion – a simple and highly cost-effec-

tive solution. “In this case we can also use the

hot air from the exhaust manifold”, Trivic ex-

plains. “It insulates the hot compressed-air

tank and can deliver additional energy when

discharging the tank.” But compressed air

cannot be used for storing large amounts of

energy – which is why the PHV was shown to

be the poorest of the systems simulated.

Hybrid needn’t always mean electric

Comparing consumption of the various hy-

brid solutions, the HSF-HV comes out slight-

ly better and the HHV only a little worse

than the HEV variants. “All systems managed

to boost combustion engine efficiency in the

NEDC from 23 percent in the base vehicle to

over 30 percent”, Trivic summarizes. “Mean ef-

ficiency of the overall hybrid system showed

major differences though: With a value of

68 percent, the HSF-HV came out on top in

front of the HHV. The three electric hybrids

trailed behind by over 10 percent on this

score.”

The HSF-HV was helped to its triumph by the

fact that only one form of energy (kinetic en-

ergy) was at play, keeping transfer losses low.

Although the result might shift somewhat

under boundary conditions other than those

assumed in this simulation, the HSF-HV will

definitely remain an interesting alternative – not

least under the aspect of costs.

At the moment, Igor Trivic is repeating his sim-

ulations for other driving cycles to provide a

broader basis for comparison. But initial IAV

customers are showing a lot of interest in his

results.

Contact:

igor.trivic@iav.de

automotion | Driving Forces 25

HSF-HV (Mechanical Hybrid) Layout

To the differential

Engine Main clutch

AMT

Continuously variable transmission (CVT) Primary AMT shaft

Clutch

Step-up gear

Secondary AMT shaft

Clutch

High-speed flywheel (HSF)

Motocross Going SilentIAV has developed the off-road prototype of an electric motorbike

About a year ago, a team from IAV

presented an initial prototype of

an enduro bike based on a mo-

tocross model from Husqvarna and causing

quite a sensation at many shows. Now the

second machine is ready: Following start-up

and calibration in November, the electrified

TC 250 can start off cross country and

take part in racing.

When the development project began, IAV’s

experts first had to define the requirements on

a cross-country, competition-class bike. “We

did this by taking a look at various real-life race-

tracks, going on test rides with GPS data

loggers and evaluating data from Husqvarna.

In a simulation we also worked out what kind

of power output the different sections demand

and what speeds the bikes go at on them”, re-

ports Project Manager Christian Wanner. An-

alyzing well-known motocross tracks, for in-

stance, revealed an average racing distance

of 32 kilometers and an average speed of

50 kilometers an hour.

Developers used MX2 competitionas reference

The aim of the developers was to achieve a

similar type of performance to that of coun-

terparts from the MX2 competition – they

cross the starting line with a combustion en-

gine of up to 250 c.c. and race for 30 minutes

plus two laps. But with performance and good

handling on one side of the coin, and high bat-

tery capacity with good range (and associat-

ed high weight) on the other, the design goals

are far from compatible. The project team de-

cided clearly in favor of optimum performance

at a reasonable weight – as battery technol-

ogy advances, the standard battery mod-

ules familiar from the automotive segment can

easily be replaced with modules of a higher en-

ergy density. For the e-Husqvarna, this means:

The battery has a capacity of 2.5 kilowatt hours

and the e-motor delivers 15 kilowatts of con-

tinuous power and a peak output of 25 kilo-

watts for a maximum of ten seconds.

From concept to test

The project started in November 2011 with the

“bare” frame of a Husqvarna TC 250-type mo-

tocross bike. The e-bike then passed through

all stages of overall vehicle development –

starting from the concept phase and specifi-

cations, safety requirements and functional

safety to software and hardware development,

design development, engineering, prototyp-

ing, calibration and testing phase with final re-

lease. “This could only be done because the

project involved many departments from IAV’s

Vehicle division and with the support we also

had from the Rosberg Engineering Team as

well as various suppliers like HERMS and

Freudenberg”, Wanner says.

Besides the specially developed electric mo-

tor, the electric motorbike also has a

high-voltage battery with 30 lithi-

um-ion cells, a capacity of

2.5 kilowatt hours and a

weight of around 25

kilograms. Together

with the battery man-

agement system

from IAV, it is ac-

commodated in a

watertight casing

and connected

by two short ca-

bles to the elec-

tric drive system

that combines

the power elec-

tronics and e-mo-

tor in a compact

self-contained

unit.

This compact design

was only made possible

with complex modifications

to the frame – involving cutting

the entire downtube out of the

frame that was fixed in a jig and replacing it

with a box section made of high-strength

steel.

26 Driving Forces | automotion

GRP, CRP and ABS plas-tic skin

The developers also came up

with something unusual for the

e-bike’s outer skin: “The fairing

is made of GRP, CRP and ABS

plastic and was created entirely at

IAV from the initial sketches and

preliminary models to the final design”,

Wanner says. “We not only kept a

close eye on the e-bike’s weight

but also wanted to give it a

special look.”

October 2012 fi-

nally saw the elec-

trified Husqvarna

complete. Once started up

and calibrated, its developers

naturally could not wait to

take it out for initial

trials. During test

rides, the engi-

neers were con-

stantly able to

monitor their

motorcycle’s

per formance

from afar: From

its built-in Blue-

tooth / WLAN interface, the bike sent tele-

metric data to its developers’ iPhones and

iPads, including information on battery charge

state and motor output as well as fault mes-

sages. “We did this using IAV’s modular app

adapter system that makes is extremely easy

to develop automotive applications”, Wanner

reports.

On the way to Varese

In future, the developers also want to test their

electric Husqvarna in motocross races as a

way of comparing it with conventional ma-

chines. “There still isn’t a separate class for

electric motorcycles”, Wanner says. “But for

training at least, they would make an alterna-

tive even today: The riders could practice on

them almost in silence and wouldn’t have to

travel all that far from the nearest residential

area anymore.” But nothing has yet been de-

cided as to when the first mass-produced

electric motorbikes will at all be available for

purchase – Wanner and his colleagues defi-

nitely want to present their “demonstrator” to

Husqvarna in Varese, Italy. The bike’s tech-

nology and design are indisputably sound ar-

guments for taking the idea further.

Contact:

christian.wanner@iav.de

automotion | Driving Forces 27

Patent and product liability lawsuits in

the USA are a menacing scenario for

many companies as they can result

in high damage payments and fines. This

makes it all the more important to be pre-

pared in the best possible way for pending

litigation. IAV provides companies with sup-

port in establishing the facts of the case in

advance of court proceedings – so-called

eDiscovery.

Before the court hearing, anyone sued in the

USA in civil-law product liability and patent in-

fringement disputes may be requested to dis-

close all relevant documents and make them

available to the court as well as the plaintiff. This

phase of the proceedings is known as “dis-

covery” and is followed by a review of all doc-

uments submitted – which can often take well

over a year. With more and more information be-

ing stored on computers in electronic form,

there is now a special form of this process:

eDiscovery is about tracking down all files, e-

mails and other documents in a company net-

work that could be of significance for the par-

ticular action.

Huge quantities of data go into the “big hopper”

This is where IAV helps its customers. “In an ini-

tial step, we get together with the client and de-

cide which members of staff might be holding

relevant data”, says Utz-Jens Beister, head of

Corporate Product Management at IAV and re-

sponsible for the Discovery Services section,

describing the procedure. “We systematically

collect the documents from the staff con-

cerned and store them on secure servers.” The

vast amount of data is then processed and an-

alyzed by special software: Texts scanned in are

first translated into computer-readable docu-

ments by means of character recognition. The

software then searches for all documents

containing specific keywords. The “big hopper”

finally delivers a long list of documents that may

be important for the proceedings.

“In some cases this can mean we have to

process and evaluate over 100,000 files”,

Beister says. This is done by a team of busi-

ness lawyers, engineers and IT experts which,

if need be, is joined by experts from IAV’s spe-

cialist departments. They have to read and

classify each document to see whether it is rel-

evant to questions from the plaintiff’s counsel.

A seemingly never-ending task: “Often we only

have six to eight weeks for an eDiscovery pro -

ject”, Beister reports. Then we have to submit

the documents to the court and plaintiff’s at-

torneys in the USA.”

Higher credibility and technical ex-pertise in preparing for litigation

Clients benefit from IAV services in more

ways than one: “Before the court, it is more

credible if the defendant hasn’t collected the

documents itself”, adds Dr. Lars Siebert, at-

torney from the BMT law firm. “IAV also has the

technical expertise to judge the content of

documents that are often very technical – this

is something neither regular discovery serv-

ice providers nor law firms have.” Together with

the client’s lawyers, IAV’s experts assess the

technical circumstances that could be in-

ferred from the documents.

Beister and Siebert would not advise any de-

fendant German company to take an uncoop-

erative stance: “Or the US judge could soon find

in favor of the plaintiff”, Siebert explains. “The

US and also the UK with its new Bribery Act are

exporting their legal systems and with it Dis-

covery and Disclosure around the globe”,

Siebert says. “The legal situation in Germany,

on the other hand, is entirely different: Here, ev-

idence must be produced by the plaintiff and

data are only seized in criminal proceedings –

by the district attorney.”

International experience and familiar-ity with the common tools

IAV’s service started up five years ago when a

customer found itself in a class action lawsuit

in the USA. Further cases followed, prompting

IAV to set up a dedicated office for the eDis-

covery team and specializing in customers from

the automotive industry. “It liaises and works

regularly with big law firms in the USA and Unit-

ed Kingdom”, Beister explains. “This international

experience is a further bonus our clients can

benefit from.”

Added to this is familiarity with many software

tools for eDiscovery: “We have benchmarked

the software products commonly used in this

field”, Beister reports. “We know the tools that

are available and are not chained to one spe-

cific solution – in our projects. This lets us fo-

cus on clients’ wishes and save them a lot of

time and money with our efficient support.”

Contact:

utz-jens.beister@iav.de

28 Driving Forces | automotion

Competent Litigation SupportA team of specialists collects and analyzes documents for eDiscovery

automotion | Driving Forces 29

Focus on User FriendlinessIAV Cassiopeia: universal platform for terminal development

More and more commercial and

special-purpose vehicles are be-

ing fitted with display and control

terminals. IAV uses the IAV Cassiopeia plat-

form for developing special products of this

kind. The system’s hardware and software

supports all standards from the automotive

world – slashing the time taken to develop

new terminals.

Whether control terminals for agricultural ma-

chinery or special-purpose vehicle assistants

for Volkswagen: IAV can look back on many

years of developing information systems for

commercial and special-purpose vehicles.

Since 2009, its engineers have been helped

by IAV Cassiopeia, a combination of hardware

and software that gives them a platform for

developing this type of product.

Cassiopeia comes with two processors:

One provides interfaces, such as CAN and

UARTs, with the other being responsible for

calibration and the user interface. “The op-

erating system IAV Cassiopeia uses is Win-

dows CE 6.0”, explains Björn Schneider,

Project Manager at IAV for developing as-

sistants for special-purpose vehicles. “The

software provides a host of capabilities,

such as power and audio management or

data links with the outside world. It also

gives us broad flexibility in developing new

solutions.” This is also due to the applications

development framework Schneider and his

colleagues have set up.

Platform for all manner of terminals

IAV Cassiopeia provides the starting point for

developing all kinds of control and display

terminals at IAV. For instance, it helped in de-

veloping Volkswagen’s special-purpose ve-

hicle assistant: It combines the facilities for

controlling and displaying numerous police

vehicle functions (flashing blue light, radio

communication, task management and nav-

igation) in one device – immense progress

because to date police officers have been

confronted with an array of displays for the

different services. IAV Cassiopeia can also

be used for developing other telematics

products, such as accident data recorders

that need to communicate with the outside

world, or terminals for cranes, construction

machinery and floor conveyors.

To work on special assignments, for exam-

ple, the platform can also be extended by

hardware modules that provide further in-

terfaces. “This quickly gives us an initial

hardware version and we don’t need to

make any prototypes“, Schneider reports.

“This saves us six to twelve months in the de-

velopment process.” Functions can be test-

ed out straight away in the vehicle because

all components are configured to be robust

and suitable for automotive use. “IAV Cas-

siopeia can also cope with difficult boundary

conditions of the type encountered in cranes

and harvesters”, Schneider says.

IAV Cassiopeia is configured to provide

sufficient resources for updates and addi-

tional functions. IAV is currently using it as the

basis for developing the next generation of

Volkswagen’s special-purpose vehicle as-

sistant that will provide even more comput-

ing power. Work is also in progress on an ex-

tension board and driver that will integrate

WLAN and Bluetooth as new interfaces into

the system.

Contact:

bjoern.schneider@iav.de

“More Flexibility in CO2 Limits”Discussion on regulations to 2020 is hotting up – the automotion interview on the status quo

30 Trends | automotion

Dr. Martin Koers is head of Economic and

Climate Protection Policy at the German

Association of the Automotive Industry

(VDA).

Martin Koers is head of Economic and

Climate Protection Policy at the Ger-

man Association of the Automotive

Industry (VDA). He spoke with Karsten Löwen-

berg, Senior Consultant at IAV’s Consult-

ing4Drive subsidiary, about the new CO2 limit

values for 2020 and possible trends in the pe-

riod beyond.

Löwenberg: The European Union is plan-

ning to set a fleet limit of 95 grams of car-

bon dioxide per kilometer by 2020. What

stance does the German automotive indus-

try take on this issue?

Koers: Basically, the automotive industry was

quick to acknowledge this target. From 2006 to

2015, European manufacturers will have re-

duced CO2 emissions from 160 to 130 grams

per kilometer – that’s a cut of 19 percent in nine

years. The next stage is so see a further saving

of 35 grams per kilometer – in other words,

27 percent in only five years. This would make

the European target the world’s most stringent

CO2 limit. Whether it can be achieved largely de-

pends on what the provisions actually demand.

Löwenberg: What might they look like?

Koers:: Instead of just rigid limits, incentives

should be created for innovations to get CO2-

reducing technologies to the market early on.

The current regulations, for example, provide for

what are known as eco-innovations. These are

technologies that save fuel but are not meas-

urable in the test cycle – such as solar roofs. Un-

fortunately, the process involves so much red

tape in practice that no innovations of this type

have been recognized yet. This concerns all

technologies that save less than 1 gram of CO2.

But if a car, say, has five eco-innovations, each

avoiding 0.8 grams of carbon dioxide, they

could add up to save 4 grams. These CO2 sav-

ings aren’t acknowledged though. Even more

questionable is the current “market penetration

clause”. This says that technologies with a mar-

ket share of over 3 percent are not allowed to be

recognized because they would then no longer

be innovative in nature. Yet from the aspect of cli-

mate protection, we should be pleased for such

technologies to be as widespread as possible.

This is why the new legislation should foster in-

novations and not stifle them with bureaucrat-

ic hurdles.

Löwenberg: Will you be able to push these

ideas through?

Koers: It is important we end up with a set of

rules that’s well-balanced. Negotiations are still

in their early stages. It was only a few weeks ago

that the EU Commission presented an initial pro-

posal. But we are already seeing plans for many

flexible arrangements from the first phase up to

2015 to be withdrawn in the next step. One ex-

ample being “super credits” – these are multiple

credits currently awarded for particularly fuel-effi-

cient vehicles with a CO2 emission of under 50

grams per kilometer: In 2012 each car counts as

3.5 vehicles in calculating fleet emissions, from

2020 it is only to count for 1.3 vehicles. On top

of this, these vehicles are to emit no more than

35 grams of CO2, with a maximum of 20,000 ve-

hicles to be recognized per manufacturer. Be-

tween 2015 and 2020, alternative drive systems

are to go without any recognition whatsoever.

This will reduce the incentive for manufacturers

to put particularly efficient vehicles – which, by

their nature are more expensive to develop – on

the market as soon as possible. Other countries

are more innovation-friendly. In China, by com-

parison, each such car counts as five.

Löwenberg: Is any phasing-in planned for

the 95-gram target?

Koers: This option is not included in the EU Com-

mission’s proposal as it stands at present. It is

all the more important for regulations to create

intelligent opportunities for innovative tech-

nologies. Given a vehicle’s relatively long lifespan

and development cycles in excess of ten years,

it will be hard to meet the 95 grams per kilome-

ter target spot on by 2020. On top of this, we

don’t know today whether and to what extent

consumers are likely to accept new energy-sav-

ing drive concepts – we are seeing from electric

vehicles that they are still simply beyond the

budget of many potential buyers.

Löwenberg: There is also discussion about

banking and borrowing systems and the in-

troduction of CO2 emission trading. What’s

the status quo on this score?

Koers: Banking and borrowing is about achiev-

ing flexibility over time – in the way practiced, for

instance in the USA or South Korea. If a manu-

facturer meets the targets sooner, it can have

this credited to an account and use this credit

up again in times of non-fulfillment. This bene-

fits climate because green technologies enter

the market earlier. But we can’t say at the mo-

ment whether this type of system will come to

Europe. In some circumstances, trading emis-

sion rights would make sense from a macro-

economic point of view. As a general principle,

we should look at all regulatory options beyond

2020.

Löwenberg: As there any other changes

facing the automotive industry after 2020?

Koers: To begin with, let’s hope there’s agree-

ment next year on regulation up to 2020. We feel

it is far too early to commit to specific limit val-

ues for the period that follows. Even the current

95-gram target makes it necessary for vehicles

with alternative drives to penetrate the market

on a relatively high level – but exactly how this

market will develop in coming years is any-

one’s guess. One other point: A new test cycle

is being drawn up that’s to replace the familiar

NEDC. This will significantly change the method

used for measuring CO2. To make sure our

companies can plan for the future, it must be en-

sured that the present test cycle provides the ba-

sis for 95-g/km CO2 measurement in 2020.

Only the values in effect after 2020 can be de-

fined on the basis of a new measurement pro-

cedure.

Löwenberg: Besides electric vehicles, we

will be using classic combustion-engined

vehicles for many decades to come. By how

much can their fuel consumption still be re-

duced?

Koers: To get away from oil, we are following a

broad-based strategy resting on the three pillars

of “save, add and replace”. There’s still plenty of

fuel we can save by optimizing gasoline and

diesel propulsion – some 25 percent by the end

of the decade. Adding means cutting CO2 emis-

sions through hybridization or alternative fuels.

Replace ultimately implies that new technologies

will gradually replace the classic combustion en-

gine – such as battery or fuel-cell powered

electric vehicles.

Löwenberg: Many thanks for talking to us.

automotion | Trends 31

32 Trends | automotion

Learning for the Next GenerationIAV measures the strain on e-vehicle components –parts are to be robust and low in cost

automotion | Trends 33

Which loads do e-vehicles come

up against in practice? How do

motorists use their electrically

propelled cars? And what does this mean

in terms of designing components? Using

its AMeDA measurement data platform in

fleet tests, IAV records a wide range of in-

formation for optimizing vehicle compo-

nents. The aim: To make the next genera-

tion of electric cars significantly cheaper

without compromising on performance.

“When we first started developing e-traction

components for mass production, we had

very few empirical values on user behavior

and the demands on component life”, ex-

plains Karsten Müller, Senior Vice President

of E-Traction Systems at IAV. “But in our de-

velopment projects we still had to rate their

life expectancies to make vehicles last more

than ten years.” To assess the demands at

least on components like the battery, e-mo-

tor and power electronics in the development

process, IAV’s engineers set store by fleet

testing and evaluating measurement data us-

ing IAV’s AMeDA tool. The software records

all data that make it possible to deduce

component strain and user behavior.

“From our experience we know that the life

of components suffers particularly badly

when they are exposed to extreme loads. The

worst of these are extremely low or high tem-

peratures, standing on inclines and driving

over curbs because these involve high torque

at low road speed”, Müller says. “This is why

we are interested to know how often worst-

case scenarios of this type occur in practice.”

To this end, IAV AMeDA measures factors like

current load in components – this being a

good indicator of the strain components

are exposed to under real driving condi-

tions. The developers can then use this in-

formation to extrapolate how often the worst-

case scenario will occur during the vehicle’s

demanded lifespan and configure the com-

ponents concerned in the appropriate way.

Need to improve the power electronics

Measurements show: Although the long-

term experience with components is still

limited, they are shown to be very robust in

everyday use. “When you consider what an

early stage development is at, it’s astonish-

ing how rarely they break down“, says Müller.

“In the first generation of e-vehicles, manu-

facturers have gone for maximum reliability

and over-rated many parts – making them de-

pendable but also unnecessarily expensive.”

In particular, there are few instances of e-mo-

tor and battery failure. However, there is a

need to improve the power electronics: For

instance, the IGBT semiconductors used

have shown to cause problems when ex-

posed to high temperatures and temperature

fluctuations – this has often led to mechan-

ical stress in the components. The plug con-

tacts for the high-voltage cables are also ex-

posed to high mechanical strain and should

be made even safer.

Using the data gathered, component manu-

facturers can in future make components that

are both robust and inexpensive. “In terms

of current load rating and temperatures, the

aim is to set the bar at just the right height –

not too low, but not too high either”, Müller

says. “This will allow the second generation

of e-vehicles entering the market in 2014 and

2015 to become cheaper with no loss of

performance, making them better able to

compete with conventional vehicles.” This

will apply all the more to the third generation

that is expected to come out in 2017 and

2018.

In analyzing traveling range, low temperatures

have shown to be a problem, as expected,

because in these conditions they are not only

required to supply power for the e-motor but

for heating too. “This is why range is more or

less halved in winter”, Müller reports. This

means that the manufacturers should really

make air-conditioning more efficient, such as

by using surface, steering wheel and seat

heaters instead of conventional air heating.

“A further option would be to make a heat

pump out of the air-conditioning system.

Then it could be used in winter for heating as

well”, Müller explains.

IAV AMeDA also provides information on user behavior

IAV AMeDA has also taught Müller and his

team a lot about user behavior. “Motorists use

electric cars far differently from conven-

tional vehicles”, Müller reports. “For instance,

they drive about town much more. A typical

pattern can also be seen in the way they

recharge the battery: They begin by recharg-

ing very often, later on they become braver

and the cycles get longer.” This information

is particularly crucial for the battery’s life:

Every recharging cycle makes it age a little.

But the depth of discharge is also important

– i.e. the difference between energy content

before and after recharging. “Cycles with a

low depth of discharge are best for the bat-

tery“, says Müller, summing up.

Evaluation of IAV AMeDA data has also re-

vealed some other interesting information –

such as about consumer driving behavior:

The e-motor’s relatively high level of torque

tempts many users to drive in a sportier way.

“At traffic lights you can leave any car behind

in an electric vehicle”, Müller grins.

Contact: karsten.mueller@iav.de

34 Projects | automotion

Contactless ChargingInductive charging is technologically feasible – as demonstrated by a conceptvehicle from PSA Peugeot Citroën

In fact, the “Citroën C-Zero” from PSA

Peugeot Citroën is a “classic” electric ve-

hicle with a battery that is recharged by

cable. But in March 2011, the French au-

tomaker got together with IAV and HaloIPT

and launched a project to equip the vehicle

with an inductive charging system. Six

months later, and the “WiPi” (Wireless Plug-

In) was ready. Since then, it has been prov-

ing in practice that inductive recharging is an

attractive option for electric vehicles.

“We had to integrate the inductive charging

system from an outside manufacturer into the

concept vehicle in next to no time”, says IAV

technical project manager Dr. Rolf Gabel, de-

scribing the challenge. “We also had to make

the charger onboard the Citroën C-Zero think

it had a socket – this is why the rectified volt-

age from the secondary coil is converted

back into 220 VAC by a power inverter.” On top

of this, the vehicle was also to remain suitable

for everyday use and still have enough ground

clearance despite the secondary coil on the

underbody. A smart-phone app from IAV

makes the charging system convenient to use:

the user’s cell phone displays whether the car

is correctly positioned over the primary coil. If

it is, all it takes is a press of the touch screen

to start the charge cycle.

All this was only possible because a team from

various IAV departments was committed to the

project with so much enthusiasm. Beside the

Technology Monitoring division, the Systems,

Electrics, EMC, Light and Vision, Electronics

Development, Interior and HMI Electronics

sections as well as the workshop in Gifhorn

and IAV France were also involved in con-

verting the C-Zero.

automotion | Projects 35

Concept vehicle demonstrates feasibility of inductive charging

“In the meantime, we are using the converted

Citroën C-Zero to present the concept of in-

ductive charging to other teams or depart-

ments”, reports Bernard Sahut from the Re-

search and Advanced engineering department

at PSA Peugeot Citroën. This department is re-

sponsible for advance-development projects

and technical feasibility studies. “This way, we

are not only able to explain the technology but

also demonstrate the system’s economic

feasibility.” In this automotion interview he

speaks about the project and the prospects

of inductive charging.

How was the idea born to build an induc-

tively charged concept vehicle?

Sahut: We are convinced that the battery-

powered electric vehicle is suitable for use

about town – and, with limitations, also for com-

muters from the suburbs. But there’s an ac-

ceptance problem with consumers because

driving ranges of 500 to 800 kilometers won’t

be possible with lithium-ion batteries by 2020.

This is why we decided to study the improve-

ment of the charging system as a way of mak-

ing electric vehicles more attractive.

In what ways can this be done?

Sahut: Express charging in five minutes, for in-

stance. But this can cause new constraints to

the battery. Alternatively, we can reduce the ef-

fort for the user and make recharging as con-

venient as possible. The inductive process is

an attractive solution because it saves the driv-

er the need to handle charging cables which

may be sometimes dirty. PSA Peugeot Citroën

gathered experience with contactless charg-

ing as long ago as 1996 in the TULIP project

– initially we wanted to find out what progress

has been made and so we studied the relevant

literature. The result: Although this system is

without any technical obstacles, there still is

a lot a development work to be done in get-

ting the details right.What made you decide to

work with IAV?

What made you decide to work with IAV?

Sahut: Costs and mutual trust were the main

reasons for our decision: We had already

worked together in the scope of the literature

study and were confident that IAV could bring

the project to a successful close despite the

tight schedule. Yet we still decided to get sev-

eral quotes for building the concept vehicle,

and IAV left us in no doubt here either: The

team managed to complete the project on our

tight budget.

Were your expectations met?

Sahut: Yes, because the project was effi-

ciently managed and our work together well

organized. We were always in a position to see

exactly how the project was progressing

which meant we knew we would be able to

meet the deadline for presenting the concept

vehicle internally. In particular, I’d like to point

out that the teams from IAV and HaloIPT (now

QualcommHalo) were always extremely quick

in responding to our requests. The way the re-

sults were presented to our management

was also a real success – not least thanks to

the smart-phone app IAV developed. And

something else we also came to appreciate

during the course of the project: IAV covers the

entire bandwidth of expertise – from the pow-

er electronics and wireless communication be-

tween infrastructure, vehicle CAN and mobile

terminal to charging the electric powertrain.

What potential do you see for inductive

charging?

Sahut: Above all, we see potential for provid-

ing convenience in long-term charging with-

out cables and on low power. Although charg-

ing power could also be increased to some-

where in the region of ten kilowatts, it’s best to

stay with the three kilowatts that are available

everywhere in Europe. Whether recharging ‘on

the fly’ is something that may be an attractive

option long-term remains to be seen. We’ll start

though by concentrating on stationary solu-

tions at low power because these too provide

the capability of lengthening traveling range

on a noticeable scale – you only have to think

about charging points on public car parks: In

one to two hours, they can help to increase

driving range up to 30 kilometers. That would

be sufficient for inner-city driving.

Finally, this project has been a successful ex-

ploratory study, showing the feasibility and

user-friendliness of the concept, but that will

need further investigation before a production

application could be proposed to end cus-

tomers.

Contact:

rolf.gabel@iav.de

steffen.kuemmell@iav.de

A primary coil in the ground genera-

tes a magnetic field that induces an

electric current in a secondary coil in

the vehicle. This makes it possible to

transfer energy with a high level of ef-

ficiency – without any contact or wear

whatsoever.

Inductive ChargingTechnology

Bernard Sahut, PSA Peugeot Citroën

The “Lionheart” funded project has the aim of sensing the vehicle battery’s statemore precisely and understating aging mechanisms

36 Projects | automotion

Looking into the Heart of the Rechargeable Battery

automotion | Projects 37

Unlike the gasoline tank, an electric ve-

hicle’s battery is an extremely com-

plex system and one that ages – all

the more important for the battery manage-

ment system to know at all times how much

power the energy accumulator can still pro-

vide and to deliver information for optimum

operating strategies. A joint project between

IAV and the Fraunhofer Institute (IKTS) is de-

veloping new approaches for understanding

and precisely diagnosing the lithium-ion

rechargeable battery.

What a thought: The driver of an electric car

is about to pass another vehicle on a country

road – and right in the middle of the oncom-

ing lane the battery runs out of steam because

it can no longer deliver enough short-term

peak power. Hazardous situations like this must

be avoided at all cost by the battery man-

agement (BMS) and vehicle control system by

constantly checking the plausibility of driving

strategy, driver request and state of the energy

storage system. Apart from this, the BMS is re-

sponsible for ensuring the battery makes it to

the end of its typical service life of ten years

under a variety of user profiles. In other words:

The BMS must guarantee top performance for

a maximum possible lifespan – only this way

can expensive traction batteries pay off for the

consumer.

Practice then looks like this: “Normally, the

rechargeable battery must deliver a continu-

ous current of approximately 20 to 80 am-

peres, with peak vales of up to 400 amperes

sometimes being necessary in a passing

maneuver”, reports Daniel Tittel, BMS Algo-

rithm Development Team Manager at IAV. “To

prevent its life expectancy suffering from this,

we must know exactly where the limits are and

how long the battery can cope with these max-

imum loads.” Conversely, such information is

also important for quick-charging the battery:

Measurements show that while the battery is

charging it is exposed to aging mechanisms

different to those of discharging, and that at

cold temperatures even low currents can re-

sult in damage.

Rechargeable batteries are exposedto defined current profiles

Cooperating with the Fraunhofer Institute for

Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS) in

Dresden and funded by the European Union

and the Free State of Saxony, IAV experts are

therefore using the “Lionheart” project to in-

vestigate how the battery’s interior changes

under load and which methods are capable of

measuring its current state easily and reliably.

“At IAV Chemnitz and IKTS in Dresden, we ex-

pose lithium-ion rechargeable batteries to

defined current profiles and measure the ef-

fects on their capacity and internal impedance”,

Tittel reports. “After these tests, the Fraunhofer

colleagues open up the batteries to inspect

the internal chemical and mechanical changes

as well. For instance, we were able to observe

that mechanical degradation of the electrode

materials needn’t automatically be associat-

ed with a cell’s electric function. Furthermore,

the influence internal cell pressure has on life

expectancy appears to be quite considerable.

This meant we were also able to give the col-

leagues from Mechanical Design some valu-

able pointers in respect of clamping forces

needed in the module.”

On the road, it is the temperature of the bat-

tery cells that gives the best indication of the

energy accumulator’s state. “But to make

control as precise as possible, we would have

to fit each single cell with its own temperature

sensor – that would involve about 100 sensors

per battery plus the associated wiring”, Tittel

says. “This is far too complicated and costly

for mass production. This is why we are work-

ing on algorithms that accurately measure cur-

rent and cell voltage without sensors in order

to infer cell temperature from theses values.”

To do this, though, the experts first need to

gain a better understanding of what exactly

happens inside the cells under specific loads.

“This is why we are developing a highly detailed

model for the thermal and electric processes

taking place in the battery”, Tittel reports.

“For instance, we want to find out when

hotspots occur in the cells which can’t be iden-

tified from the outside. We’ll get information on

heat distribution from our colleagues in CFD

Simulation. Validation will then take place on

the new test benches at the Chemnitz Test

Center.” At the end of the project, they want to

equip a control unit with a real-time model that

is capable of accurately inferring temperature

distribution inside the cells on the basis of the

current profile.

Impedance spectroscopy suppliesdetailed information

Unlike any static measurement of current

and voltage, the impedance of a battery cell

can provide even deeper insight into the en-

ergy storage system. “For this purpose, the cell

is excited from the outside with a harmonic cur-

rent signal”, Tittel explains. “We then use a high-

precision A/D converter to measure the volt-

age, carry out a Fourier analysis and, from this,

determine the cell’s complex impedance. Im-

pedance spectroscopy delivers accurate in-

formation on battery aging and temperature

in its cells.” IAV is working with a chip manu-

facturer to develop an integrated circuit that

generates the sinusoidal current and takes

care of evaluating the signals. “When used in

production, this chip will also supply important

information for diagnostics, such as on the

contact between the anode and arrester or on

remaining battery life.”

The Lionheart project has been running since

2010 and will finish in the coming year. Better

understanding of the processes taking place

inside a battery may help electromobility to

gain greater acceptance among consumers

– and prevent an electric vehicle from running

out of steam during a passing maneuver.

Contact:

daniel.tittel@iav.de

38 Projects | automotion

Uncompromising SafetyIAV has developed an intrinsically safe control unit for monitoring combinedheat and power systems

For two years, power supplier Licht-

blick has been fitting German house-

holds with small combined heat and

power units (CHP) from Volkswagen that

are based on a two-liter gaseous-fuel engine.

Volkswagen chose IAV as its partner for de-

veloping the system to control this eco-

friendly energy generator. The safety of

these CHPs is ensured by the control unit for

electronic gas safety (EGS) that is configured

with two channels and monitors their oper-

ation in full.

Functional safety is ensured by using moni-

toring functions, e.g. for the temperature of the

cooling circuit and exhaust branch, intake

pressure, the pumps in the engine circuit as

well as current and voltage in the generator. In

the event of problems, the EGS control unit can

close the gas valve, shut down the CHP and

interrupt the electric connection to the mains

power supply. It also delivers messages for di-

agnosing CHP faults that can then be analyzed.

The EGS monitors itself

The control unit not only needs to keep watch

over the other components of the CHP – it is

just as important that it also permanently

monitors itself: “With the EGS being a com-

ponent relevant to safety, its failure mustn’t put

CHP monitoring at risk in any way”, explains

Wolfgang Rech, sub-project manager re-

sponsible for the software. “This is why we’ve

configured the unit’s hardware and software

to let it immediately identify its own faults and

reliably shut the CHP down.” Intrinsic safety is

provided by a special monitoring layer in the

software that the developers have integrated

between the hardware abstraction layer (HAL)

and application layer (AL) – it has the purpose

of implementing the “dual channel with com-

parison” principle and is responsible for mon-

itoring the control unit for correct operation

and checking the input signals for plausibili-

ty.

Status bits describe the quality of signals

To do this, two microcontrollers working side

by side cyclically exchange their measurement

values and computation results. “Each con-

troller compares its own measurements with

Controller µc1

Data logging µc1 Set SR, VG, GR relays

Application Layer µc1

Plausibility check

Monitoring layer µc1 (to DIN EN60730-1 Appendix H)*

Monitoring of theCHP’s physical variables

Plausibility check

Hardware abstraction layer µc1

Hardware µc1

Controlled variables (SR, VG, GR relays) Computation results

Controller µc2

Set SR, VG, GR relays Data logging µc2

Application Layer µc2

Monitoring layer µc2 (to DIN EN60730-1 Appendix H)*

Monitoring of theCHP’s physical variables

Plausibility check

Hardware abstraction layer µc2

Hardware µc2

Controlled variables (SR, VG, GR relays) Computation results

Plausibility check

automotion | Projects 39

those of the other controller. If they diverge too

far from each other, a status bit is set”, Rech

explains. “Further status information describes

the input signal’s correct value range as well

as the reference voltage of the A/D convert-

er. With measured values fed in via SPI, a sta-

tus bit is set if communication breaks down.

This gives each signal its own status that is

passed on with the measured value to the ap-

plication layer.” It is exchanged between the

controllers together with the measurement

signal – should only one of them establish a

fault, the algorithms in the application layer of

both controllers assume that the signal con-

cerned is implausible.

In addition to checking plausibility of the sen-

sor signals, various self-tests run through in the

monitoring layer. Their task is to identify a faulty

controller. To this end, the two processors

monitor each other’s computing results and

their timing. RAM and ROM as well as the con-

troller registers are also regularly tested. In-

ternal program flow control checks whether

the functions called match the expected se-

quence. The EGS self-tests also identify run-

time errors, such as a stack overflow or com-

puting times being exceeded for individual

tasks. If any of the self-tests reveals a fault, both

controllers shut the CHP down and go into an

endless loop. The EGS can then only be

restarted by manual reset.

The safe state is reached in the CHP when it

is shut down. “The shut-down paths are of re-

dundant configuration”, Rech explains. “To

switch the gas supply on, for example, it is nec-

essary to activate the gas relay and a series-

connected safety relay.” A relay can only be ac-

tivated if several conditions are met: Each con-

troller must activate ‘its’ transistor via an out-

put so that the relay winding is switched

through to the supply voltage. Both con-

trollers must also operate a watchdog that

switches on the relay supply. This prevents a

faulty controller from “inadvertently” activat-

ing a relay.

Monitoring functions in the application layer

In the application layer, the EGS control unit

uses the plausibility-checked sensor signals

to monitor the CHP’s physical variables – for

example, the generator’s electric power out-

put, the exhaust gas temperature, the CO sen-

sor signal and correct operation of all relays.

“The miniature power plant can only start

operating if all values fall within the specified

range”, says Dr. Hieu Tran, who was responsi-

ble as project manager for overall EGS de-

velopment.

The unit costs for an EGS control unit are a

fraction of those for a commercially available

safety PLC that first needs programming as

well – also incurring development costs. In ad-

dition, most CHPs have so far had to be ac-

ceptance-inspected by TÜV in situ. “As the

CHP and underlying safety concept with EGS

control unit have been type-approved and cer-

tified by TÜV und DVGW, these individual ac-

ceptance procedures are much simpler on site.

This also saves costs”, Dr. Tran says.

Contact:

marco.siebert@iav.de

nils.falke@iav.de

dr.chi.hieu.tran@iav.de

wolfgang.rech@iav.de

EGS: Standards met

Functional safety:

Safety requirements on gas burners

(e.g. DIN 13611)

Software relevant to safety:

DIN EN 60730-1, a derivative

of DIN 61508

Prescriptions for electromagnetic

compatibility:

e.g. DIN 55014, DIN 61000

The standard on combined heat

and power units, DIN EN 50465,

was partly modeled on the

Volkswagen CHP.

Input signals, sensors

Inter-processorcommunication

Both controllers must trigger WDs toswitch on the relay supply

T1

T2

Relays

uc1

uc2

WD activatesrelay supply

40 About IAV | automotion

Seven undergraduate and PhD students received awards for their out-standing achievements

IAV Awards the HermannAppel Prize for the Ninth Time

Automobile pioneer and IAV founder

Hermann Appel would doubtlessly

have found pleasure in the disserta-

tions and theses that were awarded the prize

bearing his name on November 8, 2012. They

focus on a wide range of different issues

from the world of automotive engineering –

including patient comfort in ambulances.

Which vibrations and movements are pa-

tients exposed to while they are on the road

in an ambulance? How could their comfort be

improved? These are the issues addressed

in the diploma thesis written by Sebastian

Damm from Braunschweig University of

Technology and receiving a special prize. The

award winner examined the way in which the

base vehicle’s sprung and unsprung mass-

es as well as the stretcher table with its gas

spring behave while the vehicle is traveling.

Damm did some pioneering work – today

there are few studies that deal with patient

comfort in ambulances. Apart from him, a

special prize also went to Alexander Lampe

from Berlin University of Technology: His

Bachelor’s degree dissertation looked at

ways of optimizing a HEV operating strate-

gy.

Hermann Appel Prizes in three segments

The Hermann Appel Prize is awarded in

three segments, each in the categories of

Bachelor’s / Master’s degree dissertation as

well as thesis. In the “Electronics Develop-

ment” category, Dr. Tobias Carsten Müller re-

ceived a prize for his dissertation on “Neur-

al Models for Off-Board Diagnostics in Com-

plex Vehicle Systems” (Carolo-Wilhelmina

University of Technology in Braunschweig).

The diploma thesis “Configuring and Start-

ing Up an Active B6C Rectifier” by Tobias

Schnelle was also awarded a prize (Chemnitz

University of Technology).

In the “Powertrain Development” segment, an

award went to the dissertation on “Laser Di-

agnostic and Numerical Investigations on the

Influence of Fuel Composition on Spray For-

mation in Direct Gasoline Injection” by Dr. Lars

Zigan (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg).

Georg Winkler (Graz University of Technolo-

gy) received a prize for his diploma thesis en-

titled “Study of an EGR Stratification in the Su-

percharged Diesel Engine”.

In the “Vehicle Development” segment, Till-

mann Meier was given an award for his

diploma thesis on “Analyzing the Market Po-

tential for an Innovative Air-Conditioning

System Based on the Example of the Cool-

Steam Combined Cooling, Heating and Pow-

er System in Bus and Rail Transport” (Berlin

University of Technology).

New applications can be submittedfrom January 2013

The prizes are worth a total of € 15,000 and

were presented before some 150 guests in

a ceremony at the Berlin-Brandenburg Acad-

emy of Sciences. The jury includes experts

from automobile manufacturers, compo-

nent suppliers and universities. The call for

entries for the 2013 Hermann Appel Prize will

be getting underway in January with a clos-

ing deadline of June 30, 2013.

Contact: diana.reuter@iav.de

The winners of the Hermann Appel Prize 2012 (from left to right): Tobias Schnelle, Dr. Lars Zigan, Alexander Lampe,Sebastian Damm, Dr. Tobias Carsten Müller, Tillmann Meier, Georg Winkler.

From Engine to Electromobility We provide the drive

Getting the automotive world ready for tomorrow‘s carbon emission targets – that is our job. We already

developed 120 mpg cars (2 liters per 100 km), electric drive systems and hybrid commercial vehicles

back in the 80s. Today, our focus is on meeting the many goals and demands that come with tomorrow’s

mobility. As a leading provider of engineering services to the auto motive industry, we offer more than

30 years of experience and a range of expertise that is second to none. Working with first-class facilities, we

have no fewer than 5,000 members of staff all eager to get your project done wherever you are – from

engines and battery systems to power electronics and energy management: your targets are our mission.

To find out more and discover our unrivaled wealth of expertise, go to www.iav.com

2013 | 30 Jahre IAV

42 About IAV | automotion

Since June 2012 IAV has had a base

in Italy. The office is located in

Formigine near Modena. It is from

here that Manager Franco Ferretti works

with manufacturers such as Fiat, Ferrari

and Maserati as well as suppliers like

Eldor.

IAV Italy’s focus is on developing

powertrains. “In future, we want

to concentrate on developing

engines and clutches”, says

Ferretti, who previously

worked as technical di-

rector at development

provider High Perform-

ance Engineering (HPE)

in Modena. “But at the

same time, my team

of highly qualified en-

gineers will also be

able to give other IAV

operations support

with their projects.”

Contact:

franco.ferretti@iav.de

New: IAV now also in Italy

IAV is expanding its activities in Chemnitz

and will be opening a new development

center in 2014. This will give the compa-

ny a basis for further growth. The project got

underway in August, 2012. When the first con-

struction phase is completed, the develop-

ment center will create around 150 addition-

al jobs.

Traditionally an automotive hub, Chemnitz has

been one of IAV’s operating bases since as

long ago as 1990. In these 20 years or more,

the development center has grown so much

that the company had started to burst at the

seams with its activities at the Kauffahrtei

site. This prompted the search for premises

with the potential for expansion.

Over the next few years, IAV will be con-

structing a new development center with

office and technical buildings on the 7.3

hectare site on the Stollberger Tor industrial

park near Chemnitz. The new workshops as

well as ultra-modern test benches for com-

ponents, combustion engines and electric

motors will make the operation attractive for

IAV Expands Chemnitz Development Center

IAV Opens Branch in Beijing

Since 2002 IAV U.K. has been

responsible for the UK and

Irish markets. Initially, all acti-

vities focused strongly on one cus-

tomer – in the meantime though

our subsidiary has managed to

broaden its client base significant-

ly. Ralf Wascheck handed over the

responsibility to Dirk Schiefer in

mid-2012.

While he was Managing Director, Ralf

Wascheck had broadened the client

base from 2007 to mid-2012. IAV

U.K. now also covers a wider range of

activities: "Initially, business was do-

minated by calibration, troubleshoot -

ing and component development",

Ralf Wascheck recalls. "Today we also

work on projects ranging from info-

tainment to developing base engines

and combustion processes, algo-

rithms and exhaust gas aftertreatment

systems.” Since 2010 the IAV subsi-

diary has primarily been operating

as a sales office for the IAV Group's

portfolio, supported by its own staff

working as experts on site.

New targets already set

“Expanding the portfolio is paying

rewards and going down very well with

our customers”, says Ralf Wascheck,

who, after five years in the UK, is now

working as head of the High-Voltage

and Fuel Cell Systems department at

IAV in Gifhorn since mid-2012. Taking

over the reins from him as head of IAV

U.K., Dirk Schiefer wants to continue

expanding business in the United

Kingdom and Ireland over the co-

ming years. "My wish is to serve the

British market with high-quality engi-

neering from IAV on the basis of turn-

key projects", the new Managing Di-

rector says. He runs the company

from Berlin.

Contact:

dirk.schiefer@iav.de

ralf.wascheck@iav.de

Success in the UK

New head at IAV’s subsidiary

Since June 2012, IAV China has not

only been operating from Shanghai but

also had a branch of its own in Beijing.

The region is booming because apart from the

Chinese government, automobile manufac-

turers are also investing in research and de-

velopment there on a huge scale. In particular,

IAV China wants to carry out projects in vehi-

cle development, infotainment and telematics,

e-mobility and after-sales as well as testing and

validation in the Chinese capital.

In Beijing, IAV China is already working close-

ly with numerous European manufacturers.

“With the Chinese car market continuing

to put on strong growth and the activ-

ities of European and domestic manu-

facturers increasing locally, the site of-

fers excellent potential for expansion”,

says Kaweh Feyzi, who is in charge of

IAV’s Chinese branches. “In the new five-

year plan, the Chinese government

wants to spend around eleven billion eu-

ros on developing hybrid and electric ve-

hicles alone.” As a reliable partner of world-

wide premium automotive companies IAV is

committed to provide sustainable German in-

novative solutions and future technologies for the

entire vehicle in China.

Contact:

kaweh.feyzi@iav.de

customers and staff alike. With this move, IAV

is creating additional jobs. Further extension

phases are planned up to 2020.

Contact:

andreas.singer@iav.de

44 About IAV | automotion

IAV staged the seventh “Gas-Powered

Vehicles Conference” in cooperation with

the Research Institute for Automotive En-

gineering and Vehicle Engines Stuttgart

(FKFS) on September 24 and 25 under the

“Gas-Powered Vehicle – The Logical Way to

Reduce CO2” banner. Participants discussed

the latest technical developments and reg-

ulatory framework. During the driving event

that followed, they were able to test 17 dif-

ferent gas-powered vehicles and gather im-

pressions of their drivability.

“Gas-powered vehicles are an eco-friendly al-

ternative to conventional drive systems and are

already available today”, explains IAV confer-

ence director Iraklis Avramopoulos. “They re-

duce reliance on crude oil, emit less CO2

while at the same time providing the traveling

range and level of comfort familiar from con-

ventional vehicles. They are no more expen-

sive than conventional diesel vehicles either.

There are already about 900 CNG- and about

7.000 LPG-filling stations in germany. World-

wide exist already more than 20.000 CNG- and

52.000 LPG-filling stations.”

Room to expand market share ofgas-powered vehicles

All the same, their share of the market is sur-

prisingly low in most countries: There are

only some 100,000 compressed-natural gas

vehicles and approx. 650,000 liquefied pe-

troleum gas vehicles registered in Ger-

many, with the total figure worldwide

topping 30 million.

Among the topics included in the confer-

ence, representatives of automobile manu-

facturers and component suppliers, universi-

ties, associations and policy-makers dis-

cussed ways of promoting the penetration of

gas-powered vehicles. “Although the policy-

makers are watching the market and know the

benefits of gas-powered vehicles very well, as

emphasized by Dr. Veit Steinle from the Ger-

man Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and

Urban Development, they provided no

prospect of any special incentive beyond a re-

duced rate of fuel tax”, Avramopoulos re-

ports.

Over 90 participants from 14 countries – in-

cluding Japan, China, France, Germany,

Switzerland, the Czech Republic and the USA

– also had the opportunity to learn more

about the latest technical developments.

“Among the highlights was an injector for a

CNG direct-injection system for automobiles

from Daimler and Delphi, a CNG parallel hybrid

vehicle from Swiss-based EMPA and a dual-

fuel combustion process for hydrogen and

diesel from Graz University”, Avramopoulos

says.

Driving event on ADAC’s test track

Besides the presentations, the agenda also in-

cluded a guided tour of Sanssouci Palace on

day one and a driving event on day two – where

participants were given the chance on ADAC’s

nearby Driving Safety Center test site in Linthe

to test 17 gas-powered vehicles, including

world-first production models, like the VW eco

Up! with CNG engine and the LPG-powered

Ford Fiesta, that could not be ordered until De-

cember 2012. Also available was a BMW M3

endurance championship racing car running

on LPG. “Buzzing with excitement, partici-

pants tested the vehicles in glorious weather”,

Avramopoulos reports, who has since re-

ceived no end of positive feedback on the

event.

The next “Gas-Powered Vehicles Conference”

is planned for October 22 - 23, 2013 in

Stuttgart.

Contact:

iraklis.avramopoulos@iav.de

gasfahrzeuge@iav.de

The Clean AlternativeExperts from all over the world gathered in Potsdam for the seventh Gas-Powered Vehicles Conference organized by IAV und FKFS

automotion | Über IAV 45

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46 Messe | automotion

MarchMarch 5 – 7, 2013EMC 2013

Stuttgart, Germany

March 18 – 19, 2013CoFAT

Munich, Germany

AprilApril 3 – 4, 2013SIA – Automotive Power Electronics

Paris, France

April 8 – 12, 2013Hannover Messe 2013

Hannover, Germany

April 9 – 11, 201316th Russia Automotive Forum

Moscow, Russia

April 19 - 21, 2013SAE Transmission Symposium

Suzhou, China

April 16 – 18, 2013SAE World Congress

Detroit, USA

April 25 – 26, 201334th International Vienna Engine

Symposium

Vienna, Austria

ATZ 4/2013

“Limits to Active Safety”

benedikt.schonlau@iav.de

MTZ 4/2013

“Variable Valvetrain – Active Exhaust

Gas Temperature Management

in the Diesel Engine”

matthias.diezemann@iav.de

MayMay 13 – 16, 2013CTI Innovative Automotive Trans -

missions, Hybrid & Electric Drives

North America

Rochester, USA

ATZextra AEP

Electric Micro-Vehicles –

A New Challenge to Vehicle Safety

Daimler, Autoliv, IAV

JuneJune 6 – 7, 20131st International IAV Conference

on Engine Processes

Berlin, Germany

June 18 – 19, 20137th IAV Conference on Design

of Experiments (DoE)

Berlin, Germany

June 11 – 13, 201314th EAEC Congress

Dresden, Germany

June 13 – 14, 2013chassis.tech plus

4th International Munich Chassis

Symposium

Munich, Germany

June 18 – 19, 2013VDI – Drivetrain for Vehicles

Friedrichshafen, Germany

June 25 – 26, 201317th Conference on “Advances in

Automotive Electronics”

Ludwigsburg, Germany

ATZ 6/2013

“New Approaches to Energy-Efficient

Air-Conditioning in the Electric Vehicle

as the Spearhead of Innovation –

Actual Potential of the System

Approach Presented in 2011”

marc.priesel@iav.de,

claus.brinkkötter@iav.de,

jan.ackermann@iav.de

IAV’s Diary:This is Where You’ll Find Us!

IAV’s customer magazine automotion IAV GmbH

Ingenieurgesellschaft Auto und Verkehr

Publisher IAV GmbH · Carnotstrasse 1 · 10587 Berlin

Phone +49 30 39978-0

www.iav.com · contact@iav.com

Responsible for content Burkhard Heise (Marketing communication)

Editors-in-chief Volker Schiffmann, Sandra Kaspar (Marketing communication)

Editors Utz-Jens Beister, Kurt Blumenröder, Gerhard Buschmann,

Matthias Kratzsch, Dr. Gerhard Maas, Christian Müller-Bagehl,

Wilfried Nietschke, Thomas Papenheim, Wolfgang Reimann,

Diana Reuter, Ralf Richter, Thomas Rölle, Dr. Jörg Roß,

Stefan Schmidt, Michael Schubert, Sven Siewert,

Lutz Stiegler, Carsten von Essen, Prof. Dr. Bernd Wiedemann

Assistant Christian Buck

Picture credits Christian Bierwagen

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Graphic representation of the molecular structure of Carbon

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