Since the 2015/2016 season FIA regulations have allowed teams to develop their own powertrain. The interplay between the electric motor, including the power electronics and the transmission, and the chassis are vital for success in the races and both software and the driver have a significant role to play in this.
“With a fixed ratio, we would need a high torque, relatively heavy motor,” explained Dr Simon Opel, director special projects motorsports at Schaeffler. “We have therefore decided to go with three gears - the motor is lighter and this gives the driver more direct control over the motor speed.”
The challenge for the drivers Lucas di Grassi and Daniel Abt includes finding the right sailing and recuperation phases. This is particularly the case with braking, where timing is everything, as the braking energy is returned to the battery by the electric motor and the mechanical braking is also delayed.
Whether it is understanding the system, cooling the motor, developing new materials or recuperation (gaining energy from braking), the expertise moves directly from the race track to the development engineers. Schaeffler has doubled its team of component developers for electric vehicles in a short space of time and is focusing heavily on new solutions for electrification of the powertrain in volume-produced vehicles.
Into the future with a wide product portfolio
A typical example is the economical launch pad into the world of electric drives provided by the 48V hybrid module, which is designed in a so-called P2 arrangement between the internal combustion engine and the transmission. This allows vehicles to move off using electric power only, to maintain the speeds required in city traffic purely electrically and to capture braking energy. This means they already offer significant potential reductions in CO2 and at minimal cost.
Powerful, high-voltage drive concepts provide longer stretches of purely electric driving. The P2 high-voltage hybrid module from Schaeffler, with its wide torque range, offers a great deal of potential in terms of reducing consumption and emissions from road vehicles. This will go into production in 2017.
Electric axles are another type of drive. Here, the electric motor provides traction to whichever axle is not driven by the internal combustion engine. An electric axle therefore allows hybrid vehicles to have all-wheel drive and can also be used for vehicles with purely electric drive.
The wheel hub drive vision
The wheel hub drive for purely electric drives, the so-called ‘E-Wheel Drive’, shows how Schaeffler has been able to incorporate the drive technology into the wheels of the vehicle. It is a vital component for new vehicle concepts such as small buses or taxis in urban areas of towns and cities. In wheel hub drives, all the necessary components such as the electric motor, the power electronics, brakes and cooling are located within the wheel rim. This saves space and leaves room for future ideas and concepts as well as offering manoeuvrability, easy parking and absolute eco-friendliness for tomorrow's mobility.
