Abstract
The commitment of the European Automobile
Manufacturers Association to achieve an average new passenger car fleet CO2 emission value of 140 g/km until 2008 requires a re-evaluation of existing powertrain concepts in respect to CO2 emission reduction potential and its impact on consumer acceptance.
Due to the many possible design options, an efficient development environment is necessary which allows for a rapid optimization of powertrain components as well as the overall vehicle system. AVL established a new methodology based on the integration of software tools for an advanced vehicle simulation, engine performance and exhaust gas after-treatment as well as cooling and lubrication circuits.
In the following this integrated simulation methodology is outlined and applied to the investigation of various powertrain design concepts and its potential on CO2 reduction and consequential impact on vehicle driving performance.
In particular engine downsizing, different engine concepts for gasoline and diesel fuels, hybrid drive train layouts and the impact of control and thermal energy management strategies have been studied.
It will be shown that by a combination of design options a 1350kg vehicle with good driving performance with 90g/km CO2 emission can be realized.