Sensor solutions for increased e-vehicle productivity

Optimized driving dynamics, safety, efficiency

To ensure safe, cost-effective and sustainable e-mobility, innovative sensor solutions play a key role. They also help predict maintenance needs timely, to prevent expensive breakdowns, repair and accidents.

It can be taxing to accurately determine and mitigate all relevant forces impacting a vehicle on the road. In addition, the latest advances in automotive technology keep introducing new materials, components and mechanics – adding to the challenge.

Electric vehicles, for instance, no longer feature disconnecting clutches nor similar gear stages as traditional ones. Their high-voltage batteries shift the center of gravity. Unique rotation and brake forces differ materially from traditional vehicles. All of which tends to create new areas of pressure, strain, friction, rotation, vibration and shock absorption.

Highest standard of automotive testing: the ASC IMU 7

Therefore, the accurate testing, evaluation and implementation of appropriate measures to manage all critical factors – and their compounded impact – becomes a crucial determinator in the production and safe operation of efficient, sustainable e-vehicles and machinery.

To that end, German inertial sensor specialist ASC Sensors offers a convenient, superior solution: The modular ASC IMU 7 (Inertial Measurement Unit 7), packed with high-precision, stable capacitive accelerometers and vibrating ring gyroscopes, covers all six degrees of freedom required to meet the highest standards of automotive testing. In collaboration with global car, truck, bus, agricultural and other commercial vehicle and original equipment manufacturers, the ASC team tailors its flexible IMU to their very needs.

Drivetrain vibration damping & hv battery safety

For example, the low number of gear steps in e-vehicles reduces friction and damping. A major resulting problem is the unchecked development of vibrations caused by internal (torque changes in the electric engine, brake interventions) and external excitation (uneven road surfaces, potholes, etc.). The uniaxial and triaxial MEMS based gyroscopes integrated in the ASC IMU 7 – extremely insensitivity to external vibrations, with very low latency, four measurement ranges (75 °/s to 900 °/s), a bias stability of 12 °/hr and an angular random walk of 0.2 °/√hr – are ideally suited to help determine and reduce those vibrations in the drivetrain through adequate damping measures.

While ASC’s accelerometers are instrumental in testing and refining ever more powerful high-voltage batteries. The industry keeps assessing their operational stability through shock and vibration tests, sled tests and so-called misuse scenarios, such as driving over curbstones and other obstacles.

These thorough evaluations of complex battery structures require extremely accurate and reliable measurements. Triaxial ASC 5521MF accelerometers used in this feature a wide frequency range (DC to 7 kHz), extreme robustness (shock resistance <6000 g) and particularly low noise with resolutions of only a few micro-g. This combination of characteristics enables the precise detection of even the slightest vibrations, while leveraging cost-efficient sensor technology. Rigorous safety testing also plays a critical role in getting hv batteries certified against a range of diverse national and international norms to obtain marketing permission. Here, too, the breadth of ASC’s capacitive accelerometers and IMUs is of decisive advantage.

Unique flexibility and efficiency

For all innovative drive concepts, ASC’s IMU ‘toolbox’ features ultra-precise, broad operating range sensor technology packed into small, robust housings. Its modular concept offers hundreds of flexible measurement range configuration options to support every aspect of vehicle, battery and component analysis. Based on this unique concept for efficient customization, the ASC IMU 7 helps capture all parameters to meet the complex demands of manufacturers and test engineers.

Never has it been easier to test, monitor and optimize all relevant factors for improved vehicle and component efficiency, driving dynamics, safety, comfort and productivity in real-world conditions.