Problem

The definition of uniform modular architectures is very complex and time-consuming due to the high number of component alternatives. In recent decades the OEMs have tried to better meet the customer needs, which has led to an exponential growth of the developed products and derivatives. To cope with the increasing variety of products, it is necessary to apply modular strategies. They are an effective tool to reduce development time and costs. These topics are of central importance in the field of electromobility, as there are neither established platforms nor predecessor vehicles to guide development engineers.

Goal

The Institute of Automotive Technology is therefore developing in cooperation with AUDI AG a methodology for the parametric definition of modular architectures. This is to be based on physically and empirically scalable components and distance replacement models. In addition, a longitudinal dynamics simulation must be implemented with which the power, torque and voltage requirements of the various components can be calculated. The new methodology not only automatically scales the dimensions according to the vehicle requirements, but also automatically generates and evaluates an enormous number of vehicle architectures. This reduces the time and resources required at the beginning of vehicle concept development.