Real-time low-level simulation of hybrid vehicle systems for hardware-in-the-loop applications

A hardware-in-the-loop test bed allows a designer to evaluate hard-to-model aspects of a system component without having to build a complete system. This paper introduces a dynamic real-time electric vehicle simulator with facilities to evaluate a scaled-down battery pack or a traction motor. Key components, such as the drive motor or battery pack, are interfaced with a desktop computer running a real-time vehicle simulation. This setup allows fast evaluation of drivetrain components, direct testing with predetermined drive cycles, detailed evaluation of operational strategies and tradeoffs, and hardware tests of major components. An interface to a scaled-down battery pack was implemented and evaluated. Results are given for two lithium-ion battery packs run through the simulator.