Drive System Design (DSD), a global specialist in the engineering and development of electrified propulsion and actuation systems, is projecting a significant increase in its off-highway work this year, from 5% in 2021 to 35%.

This growth is in line with DSD’s strategic priority to heighten its commitment to meeting the needs of the off-highway sector. In the third quarter of 2022 in Europe, the economic sectors responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions were manufacturing (23 %), electricity, gas supply (21 %), households and agriculture (both 14 %), followed by transportation and storage (13 %)*.

In-line with its expansion into the off-highway sector, DSD is making its debut at iVT Expo. iVT is a global showcase of the components, services and technologies that go into making the next generation of industrial vehicles and improving the associated development, manufacturing and testing processes.

At the Expo, held in Cologne, Germany (28 – 29 June), Elena Belenguer, Engineer at DSD will take to the stage to deliver a technical presentation discussing how cross platform strategies can improve efficiency when moving towards electrification for off-highway vehicles. The talk will give insight into existing electrification challenges within industry, in addition to DSD’s approach to de-risking, reducing cost and development time in electrified powertrain design. In addition, DSD experts will also be on stand 2056, to discuss the application of its propulsion and actuation expertise in the off-highway space.

Lee Sykes, Commercial Director at DSD, commented: “With the global off-highway electric vehicle market set to grow at a 14.1% CAGR from 2023 to 2030, DSD is proud to leverage its core strength in complex electrification engineering to serve the off-highway sector. With our unique combination of toolsets and expertise, we are committed to being at the forefront of addressing the sustainability challenge in the industry and enabling our customers to realize the benefits of embracing electrification.

“We are excited to make our debut at iVT Expo and showcase our expertise in heavy duty transmission design, motor and power electronics development as well as the critical control systems that bring these to life,  enabling us to provide electrified solutions to this sector.”

• Drive System Design, with engineering centers in the UK and USA, provides premium engineering services to automotive, commercial vehicle, off-highway, defense and aviation industries
• Acquisition enables Hinduja Tech to expand its eMobility services from development to production
• Drive System Design to continue as an independent entity within Hinduja Tech and Hinduja Group

CHENNAI, India – December 6^th, 2022 – Hinduja Tech (HT), a world-class engineering services company, acquired Drive System Design (DSD), an award-winning and globally trusted engineering consultancy known for developing innovative solutions for electrified propulsion systems. DSD currently provides advanced engineering to automotive, commercial vehicle, off-highway, defense and aviation industries from locations in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Asia.

The acquisition enables Hinduja Tech to provide end-to-end electrified propulsion systems design and development capabilities, enhancing its full-vehicle design and development position.

“The acquisition of Drive System Design is an important milestone in Hinduja Tech’s growth journey in the eMobility Industry. DSD has been focused on futuristic powertrain technology (ePT) since its inception over 15 years ago and has a state-of-the-art infrastructure in the UK and United States,” said Kumar Prabhas, CEO, Hinduja Tech. “Both of these markets have high-end engineering talent and are leading the charge in the transition to electric mobility. As this demand increases, the combination of HT and DSD strengths will enable offering the best-in-class eMobility solutions for global markets.”

HT has been rapidly expanding its position in the outsourced engineering services industry with 70+ clients globally and is aiming to accelerate its growth to meet the surging demand for electric mobility. With the acquisition of DSD, HT will add cutting-edge design and testing labs, along with advanced engineering capabilities, in the UK and United States.

“We believe that HT is the right partner at the right time and see this as a tremendous opportunity for the long-term future and expanded capabilities of DSD,” said Mark Findlay, CEO of Drive System Design. “As part of the HT family, DSD will be able to increase its reach through HT’s global business model and full vehicle development and integration expertise. It is an ideal complement to DSD’s advanced engineering capabilities in transmission, driveline, motor design, power electronics and simulation.”

About Hinduja Tech

Hinduja Tech, part of the multi-billion dollar Global Business Conglomerate, Hinduja Group, is the integrated Product Engineering and Digital Technologies Solutions provider for the mobility industry with a proven global delivery model. As a partner of choice, Hinduja Tech works with leading automotive organizations (OEMs & Tier-X Suppliers) and disruptive mobility players in the USA, India, Mexico, Canada, Europe, China, and Japan. Hinduja Group has its presence in over 38 countries and employs a total of 200,000 people. Hinduja Group has a significant presence in Commercial Vehicle Engineering & Manufacturing verticals.

HT Global Office Locations: US, India, Mexico, Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, China, and Romania

Drive System Design (DSD), a company specializing in the rapid engineering and development of electrified propulsion systems and Alvier Mechatronics, an engineering service company with special competence in advanced materials and production methods for sustainable, high-volume applications, are joining forces to provide the mobility industry with engineering services to support sustainable electrified propulsion solutions across automotive, commercial vehicle, off-highway, marine and aerospace applications.

The two companies signed a joint operating agreement to combine DSD’s expertise in full electrified propulsion system design encompassing simulation, prototyping and validation, with Alvier Mechatronics’ industry-leading capabilities in powder metallurgy and electromagnetic design. This collaboration will unlock significant improvements in the development of electrified systems, and bring innovative turnkey solutions to the industry, including:

• Speed-to-market increase by combining metallurgical and electromagnetic phases of development and reduced prototype lead-time.
• Sustainability improvements in the use of CO2, resulting in an overall reduction during the development process, to complement both companies’ ability to reduce CO2 production during system operation.
• Expertise from the combined experience and resources of Höganäs AB, DSD and Alvier Mechatronics.

“This collaboration will capitalize on the combined skills and capabilities of each company to serve our new and existing customers in exciting ways,” said Daniel Hervén, CEO, Alvier Mechatronics.

“Working with Alvier Mechatronics is a great opportunity for DSD to diversify its contribution to the advancement of sustainable electrified propulsion across an array of critical industries,” said Mark Findlay, managing director, DSD. “It is a company with trusted capability in the industry, and we look forward to pushing the boundaries of sustainable electrification.”

About Alvier Mechatronics:

Alvier Mechatronics is part of the Höganäs Group, market leader in metal powder. As a start-up company founded in 2018 with the ambition to develop knowledge driven eDrive solutions Alvier Mechatronics offers companies a fast track to build high-performance and integrated eDrive solutions through advanced engineering services. From concept ideation through design, simulation, validation and prototyping to building a-samples, we use a systematic approach to obtain lower weight and a reduced number of parts while increasing overall efficiency.

For more information, visit alviermechatronics.com.

Drive System Design (DSD), a company specializing in the rapid engineering and development of electrified propulsion systems and associated technologies, has developed a new method and strategic plan to better support clients in designing and developing electric motors and inverters that best fit their needs.

DSD has observed that many motor and inverter manufacturers, as well as system integrators, often take their electrification development programs directly to a dynamometer (dyno) test cell, only to uncover critical issues that need to be overcome, which can stop the programs in its tracks. With this seemingly direct approach, months are added to the project timelines in order to find and fix unforeseen integration issues.

To help save its customers months of time and tens of thousands of dollars, while ensuring a more robust, reliable concept before ever touching a dyno test cell, DSD has created a new Motor Control Development Method consisting of four key phases that it will now implement for most electric motor and inverter development projects.

“There is immense benefit in minimizing project risk by following our four-phase approach. Too often, a push to be first-to-market ends up incurring more cost and time,” said Jon Brentnall, president, Drive System Design. “Ultimately, this approach will enable our customers to be first-time capable, meaning they will be set up for a successful pairing of the inverter and motor once the product reaches the dyno test cell. This will speed up final validation and significantly reduce the risk of needing extra hardware iterations, saving our customers both time and money while delivering a more high-quality product.”

Below is a look at DSD’s four-phase approach, with many companies currently skipping from Phase 1 to Phase 4:

• Phase 1 – Concept evaluation and design with advanced co-simulation. During this phase, control algorithms, finite element analysis (FEA) motor models and the power electronics model are designed and developed. A closed loop advanced co-simulation of the entire system will then be performed. By driving the system model with more representative control signals rather than simpler idealized inputs, early-stage identification of electromagnetic challenges along with accurate early-stage data for larger system analysis activities like noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), can be achieved.
• Phase 2 – Detailed design and validation with Control Hardware-in-the-Loop (C-HIL). DSD will utilize inverter control board hardware with deployed software and a real-time simulation of the motor model. The C-HIL hardware emulates motor behavior and sensor feedback such that a large proportion of the software and low voltage hardware validation can be performed. This phase allows for development and validation of safety monitoring and fault handling without risking hardware failures. Software development time is reduced for subsequent phases through bug fixing at this stage.
• Phase 3 – Component level testing with Power Hardware-in-the-Loop (P-HIL). At this stage, a large proportion of the inverter validation will take place by running full power through the inverter with deployed software and utilizing a battery and a high voltage motor emulator. The motor is modeled but real current and power is being pushed through real inverter hardware to validate its power stage and control. When a novel motor design is in the manufacturing stage, DSD can leverage its open platform inverter, to quickly and efficiently develop, calibrate and validate the motor controls for that application in this phase of testing.
• Phase 4 – System level testing and validation on a dyno test cell. The motor will enter the dyno test cell at this stage as a final system validation and characterization utilizing inverter and motor hardware as well as the battery emulator. Going through the previous stages ensures this phase will be as short, cost effective and efficient as possible.

As an initial investment to fulfill its new motor development strategy, DSD has acquired a C-HIL rig, which will be housed at its technical center in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Additionally, DSD will be partnering with the Auburn Hills-based rig supplier to have access to their P-HIL rig and motor emulator, with plans to invest in one of its own next year.

“Real-world issues can now be predicted or reproduced and solved prior to – or in parallel with – dyno or test cell work,” said Brentnall. “This new approach and equipment will further advance DSD’s turnkey capability of delivering motor controls and electrification across a range of markets.”

Through DSD’s method, customers will now be able to better optimize their time, as a large proportion of the inverter software and hardware can be developed and validated through Phase 2 and 3 while the motor hardware is being made. Further, the method is adaptable for various vehicle types, including automotive, trucking, off-highway, defense and aerospace.

With the immense value of taking a more comprehensive approach to motor and inverter design and development like DSD’s, the company predicts that most companies tackling similar projects, including key competitors, will adopt a similar approach in the next five to 10 years.

DSD has been officially presented with its Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade

Drive System Design (DSD) has been officially presented with its 2020 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in International Trade following delays due to the pandemic. The award recognises the sustained growth of the company, which over the three years prior to the pandemic achieved substantial year-on-year growth with overseas sales rising 155%.

“We are delighted to be presented with such a prestigious award and I am hugely proud of everybody at the company, without them, this would not be possible,” said Mark Findlay, Managing Director of Drive System Design. “The award goes someway to reflect the amazing achievements of our team, who are developing state-of-the-art electric propulsion technologies. They are directly contributing to a greener more sustainable future, right here in Warwickshire.”

Tim Cox, His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire, and the Royal Family’s representative for the area said, “Warwickshire is at the heart of the automotive industry in the UK and Drive System Design is an excellent example of top British engineering in the area. The Queen’s Awards are the highest honours for a UK business and bring with them a great level of credibility and prestige. Drive System Design is thoroughly deserving of this accolade.”

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, the most prestigious business award in the UK, was established in 1965. The International Trade category recognises outstanding growth in overseas earnings and rewards companies for demonstrating steep year-on-year growth internationally. The Awards celebrate the success of exciting and innovative businesses that are leading the way with pioneering products or services.

DSD is at the leading edge of British engineering, developing next-generation electrified powertrains for the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers and global Tier 1 suppliers. The company employs 80 people at its headquarters in Leamington Spa, which has grown by more than 10% in the last 12 months alone. Internationally it has 120 employees, with a technical centre in North America and locations in Asia and Australia.

Test program to sign off the RT advanced new ultra-high power density hypercar e-Machine

Hypercar and EV technology company Rimac (pronounced ‘Rim-ats’) wanted to sign off its advanced new ultra-high power density e-motor. Therefore, they were looking for a suitable external partner. Drive System Design (DSD) was able to work as an extension of RT’s engineering team to utilize DSD’s latest high-performance e-motor test rig at DSD’s facility in the UK and carry out an agreed test program to validate the new product. In addition, DSD provided the e-motor’s engineering sign-off and captured extensive test data for use by Rimac’s engineers.

Destined initially for a specific customer application, the 3-phase IPM motor is one of the many products proposed in the Rimac Technology portfolio developed for their OEM client base. DSD fully characterized the performance and efficiency of the motor to validate earlier simulation carried out by RT, including automotive standard tests for peak and continuous power output and mapping of MTPA (max torque per amp) and MTPV (max torque per volt).

Durability testing was carried out 24/7 for four weeks, using cycles accurately constructed from data collected during simulated high-speed laps of the Nürburgring track, frequently used for supercar development and evaluation. DSD’s motor testing was thus effectively HIL (hardware in the loop) testing, with the test rig operating in a highly transient ‘path following’ mode.

The entire program, including rig development and the test activities, took just twelve weeks, and DSD is confident this can be shortened for subsequent projects. The test rig can accommodate motors up to 450 Nm torque and 350 kW power output, running at up to 25,000 rpm. The test rig can also be configured to test motors up to 1,000 Nm up to 9,000 rpm. The complete cell includes a gearbox, drive motor, battery emulator, coolant conditioning systems, HBM power analysis, HBM precision torque sensors, NI data acquisition and rig automation system.

The Inverter calibration is demanding and complex. It requires a very accurate setup for a motor that is delivering supercar levels of performance. It would normally take several months of fine-tuning to ensure the inverter accurately controls a motor over very dynamic drive cycles and during incredibly precise efficiency mapping. Still, DSD only had a couple of weeks.

DSD writes its inverter and rig control system software to tailor advanced features to the customers’ needs. For this application, software was implemented that allowed rapid, fully automated mapping of the inverter calibration and implementing a torque control structure capable of safely ‘driving’ the Nurburgring for hundreds of laps.

RT’s global reputation as a leader in high-performance EV systems is founded on the highest technical standards, making it an acutely demanding customer. DSD was delighted to be accepted as an engineering partner, contributing its test and development know-how to complement RTc’s testing facilities and departments. In addition, the program exemplifies DSD’s ‘Under one roof’ capability, which integrates electrical, mechanical, software, control and analytical skills within the same facility.

“Rimac Technology is focused on designing, engineering, testing and manufacturing state-of-the-art technology for our OEM clients. As a fast-developing company with a demanding high-performance EV projects pipeline, we often face testing facilities capacity. Therefore, it’s important to us to find external partners with the necessary testing capacity to meet the rigorous testing standards we expect,”said Miroslav Macan, Chief Powertrain & Power Electronics Engineer at Rimac Technology.“DSD provided really close and effective collaboration with our in-house team, working seamlessly as an extension of our testing facilities to deliver a wide range of verification and validation testing services.”

About Rimac:

Rimac Automobili and Rimac Technology designs, engineers, and manufactures electric hypercars and high-performance EV components for the global automotive industry. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Zagreb, Croatia, it currently employs 1200 staff across four sites, creating core EV systems, from power-dense drivetrain systems to highly advanced autonomous driving infotainment technologies.

Major Rimac shareholders include Porsche and Hyundai Motor Group, and the company has also recently announced that it is the major shareholder of Bugatti in a joint venture with Porsche. Operating at the leading edge of EV technology, Rimac has always created its core product technologies by growing internal talent and developing the key competencies in-house. In addition to the design and manufacture of its hypercars, such as the Concept One and Nevera, Rimac Technology develops and supplies components to Aston Martin, Cupra, Renault, Automobili Pininfarina, Koenigsegg and others.

To learn more about the project, get in contact today with our team at DSD.

Drive System Design (DSD), a company specializing in the rapid engineering and development of electrified propulsion systems and associated technologies, has added several new members to its team following significant electrification business growth.

Among the six new team members at its Farmington Hills, Michigan, facility are individuals who have strong backgrounds at Tier One suppliers and original-equipment manufacturers. Specialties range from motor controls to transmission systems, e-axles and more.

“There has been a tremendous amount of growth, both in personnel and diversification of business, taking place at Drive System Design and we’re excited to add these exceptionally talented engineering experts to our team,” said Jon Brentnall, President at Drive System Design. “Collectively, their impressive backgrounds will help us further broaden and enhance our electrified propulsion expertise as we continue to tackle a range of electrification initiatives spanning automotive, defense, aerospace, commercial vehicle and marine sectors.”

With the addition of the new team members, DSD now has 35 employees at its Farmington Hills facility, with expectations of adding another half a dozen team members by the end of 2022.

Information about each of the new team members can be found below.

AK Arafat, Principal Controls Engineer

As Principal Controls Engineer, AK Arafat will be responsible for executing motor control projects and helping shape DSD’s development of motor design, analysis and test processes through continual R&D investment. Most recently a Technical Specialist in power electronics at Cummins, where he worked for three years, AK Arafat brings a breadth of experience in high power electric power conversion, motor controls, inverter software creation and optimization, and electric machines to DSD. He has invented 17 technologies and published 29 research papers on motors, controls and diagnostics throughout his career. Additionally, he has led cross-functional and global teams in a variety of initiatives, including investigating existing motor drive functionalities and failure modes. He has also tested, calibrated and validated multiple electric drive units for heavy-duty EV commercial applications.

Arafat earned a master’s degree in electric engineering from the University of Akron, Ohio, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronic engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.

Taechung “TC” Kim, Chief Technical Specialist

Joining DSD as a Chief Technical Specialist, Taechung “TC” Kim, will be responsible for leading full-scale electric drive unit design and analysis projects, while mentoring the team around him. With a strong engineering background, Kim is able to draw from extensive experience with e-axles and simulation for NVH and transmissions. Prior to joining DSD, Kim worked as a Lead Transmission Engineer at Wrightspeed Powertrain Inc. He also previously worked as a Senior Principal Engineer of model-based design for Toyota Motor North America in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Senior Manager and Senior Research Engineer of powertrain CAE for Hyundai and Kia Motors in Korea. During his career he was the Design Lead for an EV commercial vehicle e-axle with range extender options project, in which he developed a high ratio four-speed co-axial transmission for durability, NVH and controls for a Class 7 and 8 vehicles.

Kim earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Ohio State University, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York.

Andrew Jamieson, Principal Engineer

Andrew Jamieson has been hired on as a Principal Engineer. He brings more than 15 years of experience as a Design Engineer, Senior Design Engineer and most recently Technical Specialist at MAHLE Powertrain. Jamieson has had a vast amount of experience with engines and mechanical systems from automotive to marine to defense applications throughout his career. He has designed and developed a novel crank train arrangement for a powerboat engine and led a team designing the housing assembly for a military cross-drive transmission, among other projects.

He earned a master’s degree in automotive product engineering from Cranfield University in the U.K. and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Napier University in the U.K.

Mario Escareno, Senior Control Engineer

As a Senior Control Engineer, Mario Escareno will work on an array of control software development, demonstrator vehicle calibration and system simulation projects at DSD. Most recently, Escareno served as an Electrified Controls Systems engineer for Ford Motor Company, where he worked for nearly a decade. During the course of his career, Escareno has developed control systems for electric and hybrid vehicle high level functions, managed controls integration and program management for more than 24 programs, and worked on various functional safety and failure protection assignments.

Escareno earned a professional certification in architecture and systems engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as a master’s degree in business administration from TecMilenio University and a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the National Polytechnique Institute in Mexico City.

David Loki, Transmission Engineer

David Loki is joining DSD as a Transmission Engineer, following a Product Engineering role for eAxle Pursuit at Linamar. Previously Loki has worked to design and develop a differential disconnect mechanism for use in AWD electric vehicle applications and as an analyst and build coordinator for a dual motor, hybrid multi-speed transmission in a commercial vehicle application.

Loki earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from University of California, Davis.

Matt Emmerson, Transmission Engineer

Coming to DSD with a substantial background in testing and development, Matt Emmerson will now take on the role of Transmission Engineer. Most recently he worked as an 8-speed Transmission Development Engineer for GM. Emmerson brings a breadth of experience in design and analysis engineering as well as testing. Additionally, he has created and coded many universal advanced data post-processing development tools as well as several automatic transmission tests and tools that supported advanced transmission functionality and controls.

Emmerson earned a master’s degree in industrial & systems engineering from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Additional capability accommodates torques up to 2500Nm

26^th April 2021, Leamington Spa, UK – Leading electrified powertrain engineering consultancy, Drive System Design (DSD), is helping commercial vehicle (CV) manufacturers and their suppliers meet the challenges of powertrain electrification. The company’s recent expansion of its test facilities, adding two further test cells for high-performance hybrid axles and e-machines, reflects a growing demand for outsourced test capacity suitable for electrified CV powertrains.

The first of the new facilities can deliver input torque up to 2,500Nm and power up to 525kW, with 350kW and 1,100V of battery emulation; the second accommodates e-machines up to 350kW. The new cells complement existing DSD facilities, which include a 450kW highly transient ETPS machine (Engine Torque Pulse Simulator) for hybridised powertrains and three battery emulators.

“As global pressure grows to reduce transport’s contribution to climate change, commercial vehicle manufacturers are turning to electrification in the same way as passenger car manufacturers,” explains David Kelly, Director, Drive System Design. “This has resulted in a significant increase in worldwide demand, not only for design and development work but also for outsourced validation testing. These additional facilities have extended our ability to provide this for a wide range of hybrid and electric powertrains, and have been configured with sufficient torque capacity to accommodate most commercial vehicles below class 8.”

DSD’s testing activities extend beyond routine durability and design validation to encompass many specialised areas, such as transmission control system and shift comfort development. For some clients in the CV sector, electric propulsion requires new skills beyond their established expertise, where DSD’s input is proving invaluable. Even for those more experienced in electric propulsion, the sheer volume of testing required to bring new electrified powertrains to market is causing bottlenecks in capacity that can only be resolved through outsourcing to trusted partners.

“The duty cycles appropriate for electrified CV powertrains are very different to those for passenger cars, so we are providing engineering support to customers moving into this sector for the first time,” says Kelly. “On the other hand, even customers with long experience in CVs are being surprised by the speed with which the market is changing and are struggling to accommodate the upsurge in test requirements using solely in-house facilities.”

DSD is continually developing its automation capabilities within the new facility to help speed up testing. This has been particularly effective in the case of hot and cold environment testing, which is proving to be one of the great challenges in electrified systems. According to Kelly, tests that previously took six weeks to complete can be finished in half that time with suitably configured automatic control.

Alongside physical testing, DSD is also at the forefront of powertrain and driveline simulation. The growing diversity of propulsion systems and the increasing complexity of their control mean traditional validation techniques are often too slow, too inefficient and too expensive to meet new vehicle programme targets, if used in isolation.

Instead, DSD uses a combination, according to Kelly. “Simulation and physical testing are complementary and highly effective when used together,” he says. “For example, traditional test point based cycles often don’t accurately represent the real world, but using fast, real-time Rig-In-The-Loop (RIL) simulation subjects the system to much more realistic testing. It also allows the interaction between hardware and software to be more thoroughly validated early in the programme, resulting in a more mature solution before investing in prototype vehicles.”

Drive System Design (DSD), a company specializing in the rapid engineering and development of electrified propulsion systems and associated technologies, has created an open platform inverter from scratch that enables quick and efficient development of motor control systems from initial concept to first prototype.

This inverter solution features reliable and specializing hardware, paired with a flexible, modular plug-and-play software and is being used by DSD to service a range of industries including automotive, commercial vehicle, aerospace, marine and defense.

As a critical component in the application of electrified propulsion to any sector with a need to convert a direct current (DC) source to alternating current (AC), engineers are faced with an array of options when designing an inverter to drive and control an electric machine. By using the DSD open platform inverter, customers gain access to every aspect of the inverter, including the hardware, drivers and software. Additionally, DSD’s engineers teach them how to start developing their own code and configure a motor control solution quickly and easily, significantly reducing project risk.

Customers that utilize DSD’s open platform inverter can realize up to three times the cost and time savings in comparison to starting to build an inverter from scratch.

“One of our core focuses at Drive System Design is to swiftly provide innovative and optimized solutions that leverage our unique systems expertise and enable our customers to walk away with the IP in hand – ultimately providing a turnkey support package,” said AK Arafat, Principal Controls Engineer at Drive System Design. “Initially we set out to create an internal research tool, but soon realized how far ahead our customers could be by taking advantage of our flexible open platform inverter that can accommodate a whole range of motor technologies that off-the-shelf solutions cannot.”

In creating the rapid prototyping unit, DSD incorporated significant additional inputs and outputs (IO) to facilitate development, diagnostics and monitoring. Open access to this IO means that customers can do more than just drive the typical three-phase motor topology, with the additional analog and digital IO providing far more signal monitoring and performance measurement than an off-the-shelf equivalent. The open platform inverter is configured to drive a three-phase machine in standard configuration, but DSD can readily modify the power stage to drive six-phase machines, or even an extra actuator for a park-lock or similar system, by leveraging the flexibility of the control platform.

The modular design approach also has eliminated the need for modifications to the control board and central processing unit, allowing the open platform inverter to be configured for IGBT or SiC applications. Further flexibility is afforded by the AURIX™ TriCore™ microcontroller, allowing safety functions to be implemented within a single device. Ultimately, the open platform inverter enables a rapid and customized

solution that overcomes roadblocks that customers typically would encounter when trying to meet the specific needs of their motor and associated system.

Though the original development of the open platform inverter came out of DSD’s work in automotive, it has been adopted for an eVTOL project known as InCEPTion (Integrated Flight Control, Energy Storage and Propulsion Technologies for Electric Aviation), which is led by Blue Bear Systems Research and encompasses a consortium of organizations, including DSD. The goal of the project is to develop a modular and highly integrated electric propulsion unit, and DSD is leveraging a SiC version of the inverter for this application.

“Our inverter technology and expertise has been tested and proven in the automotive space and we are now adapting it for electrified aerospace applications like eVTOL, as well as the defense and marine markets, where we think the speed to market will be a key asset,” said Lee Rogers, Senior Engineer at Drive System Design. “Onboard power generation and other power electronics are becoming even more paramount in the age of electrification and our team of expert engineers is prepared to support customers in each of our core markets in identifying the best solutions to fit their needs.”

Beyond a strong inverter offering, DSD has an in-house team of power electronics and software engineers who complement the company’s expertise in motor and transmission design, simulation and testing. Plans for a dedicated motor test rig in 2022 will further advance DSD’s turnkey capability to deliver motor controls and electrification across a range of markets. The company has also recognized a demand for on-board power distribution in the defense and aerospace sectors, fueling plans to expand its DC-DC converter capabilities in the future.

Our unique in-house AePOP (Aerospace Electrified Powertrain Optimisation Process) simulation tool is used to assess thousands of design iterations quickly

The objective of the AePOP project, which is funded by the Driving the Electric Revolution challenge at UK Research and Innovation, has been to develop a toolchain that brings critical performance development into the very earliest stages of electrified propulsion system design in aerospace.

AePOP evaluates the trade-offs between vehicle range, mass and cost by simulating thousands of detailed propulsion system candidates to enable significant design optimisation at the architecture selection stage of a project. The toolchain can be applied to single vehicles or to determine the most cost-effective family of propulsion systems for a range of vehicle types.

As a result, it reduces development timescales and accelerates the certification process.

The initial study has been aimed at small eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) vehicles with a payload of 150-400kg. However, the optimisation process can also be applied to autonomous drones and regional and sub-regional aircraft.

“The eVTOL industry is a fast-growing sector globally, and there is an opportunity for the UK to become a leading centre of expertise,” said John Morton, Drive System Design Engineering Director. “The demand for non-contact deliveries is growing, including the delivery of medical supplies catalysed by the COVID-19 crisis, and eVTOLs could be a significant part of the future solution. In addition, they offer the opportunity to reduce traffic on our roads, improve our air quality and potentially reduce delivery costs.”

The project has adapted and utilised our in-house electrified powertrain optimisation process (ePOP), a bespoke simulation tool proven and rigorously tested on automotive applications, which is now being used for aerospace propulsion systems.

The initial study investigates its potential to create a highly optimised, modular, scalable propulsion system to suit most fan-driven eVTOL vehicles.

The AePOP tool can simulate the performance of vehicles over a range of mission profiles and use cases to determine their energy usage. It requires the definition of key vehicle parameters, such as mass and aerodynamic characteristics. Then, each vehicle type is modelled with multiple (up to 10s of thousands) detailed propulsion system candidates, and their performance is evaluated in a single simulation process.

The key enabler to this process is the detailed characterisation of subsystems and components, which allows the process to model complete propulsion system variants for simulation. This data is generated by a mixture of bespoke design, automated design and selection from an extensive library of propulsion system elements.

It incorporates e-motor topology and technology, multiple inverter technologies, simple propellers and ducted fans, and transmissions where required.

AePOP rapidly generates the necessary input data (mass, efficiency map, cost model etc.) for each electrified propulsion subsystem. This enables the simulation of a large number of combinations, compared through intelligent cost functions. It also has the ability to use third-party component input data, enabling an off-the-shelf certified component to be combined with bespoke optimised components.

“In our experience, the industry is hesitant to use transmissions for aerospace systems due to the perceived additional weight and servicing challenges,” said Morton. “During the course of the project, the benefits of transmissions in electrified systems became clear in detail. When designed using a whole system approach, the use of transmission can significantly reduce weight and cost. Therefore, the challenge becomes one of implementing these designs in such a way as to meet all the appropriate durability and service requirements.”