Design and Optimization of a Three Stage Electromechanical Power Unit using Numerical Methods

Abstract

The advent of electric vehicles has changed the face of the automobile industry. The drive system properties of vehicles such as eBikes or electric cars differ fundamentally from those of a diesel engine. The lack of a conventional internal combustion engine has made the vehicles considerably silent. Nevertheless, previously hidden sources of vibration and noise have become more dominant. In addition to these emissions, other structural properties such as compliance and deformation also appear as relevant factors for the original equipment manufacturer. Usually, deterioration of these variables affects the efficiency of the power unit. In this paper, a simulation template is created to understand and analyze these properties of the drive unit. Furthermore, new enhancements to improve the key indicators, such as strain energy, natural frequencies, etc., are shown, thereby creating a potential method flow to develop better performing drive units. Numerical optimization tools are used to simulate structures with complex shapes that exactly meet the mechanical constraints and use as little material as possible. In this work, two optimized variants of electromechanical drives are presented. The first scenario illustrates the optimized model with an objective of minimizing the strain energy of the structures, whereas the second task aids in the development of a variant with superior dynamic properties than the current drive units. Ultimately, several numerical calculations are validated using experiments.