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2011
Conference Paper
Titel
Product development & testing requirements for electric wheel hub motors
Abstract
Referring to the "Federal Government's National Development Plan for Electric Mobility" it is Germany's aim to become the lead market for electric mobility and to keep the leadership in science and automobile industries. The goal is to achieve one million electric vehicles on Germany's roads until 2020. To be competitive on this market new design optimized for electric vehicles need to be developed. One promising technology for the electric power train is the wheel hub motor. As they are integrated in the wheel, gears and drive shafts are obsolete enabling large potential for savings. In this paper the design and safety challenges for wheel hub motor engineers are described. Beside basic design features, the main focus is on loads for motor and chassis dimensioning. In particular the effects of increased unsprung masses are discussed on basis of measurement data collected with the Fraunhofer concept car. It turns out that due to higher unsprung masses some of the wheel and chassis components are subjected to increased stress on a moderate level. Finally rig testing concepts for wheel hub motors are presented to ensure the structural durability and operational reliability under the influence of acting wheel forces.