Cayenne testing underneath excessive circumstances – actual and digital

Developed nearly, confirmed in actual life: Porsche is exhibiting how digital transformation and engineering experience work along with the brand new Cayenne Electrical. The brand new all-electric SUV is about to be unveiled in direction of the top of the 12 months and can then be supplied alongside the present combustion-engined and hybrid fashions. “This mission was the primary by which we moved instantly from digital whole-vehicle testing to pre-series manufacturing,” explains Dr. Michael Steiner, Deputy Chairman and Member of the Govt Board Analysis and Improvement. The ‘development’ stage of testing, which makes use of individually constructed prototypes, was not essential as about 120 take a look at automobiles, that are time consuming to construct, have been largely changed by digital equivalents. Engineers despatched digital prototypes on digital take a look at drives as early because the design part.

Preliminary element exams carried out nearly

Simulation and synthetic intelligence have radically modified – and shortened – car testing. That is based mostly on three pillars: exactly digitised routes starting from the Nürburgring to on a regular basis site visitors; the Weissach engineers’ a long time of expertise from subject testing; and the considerably elevated computing energy of recent techniques for real-time simulations. This enabled the engineers not solely to visualise the Cayenne nearly, but additionally to check it instantly a digital setting. In a growth part by which parts are initially out there in digital kind and may subsequently be simply modified, the consultants used digital actuality (VR) to carry out preliminary exams of the longer term SUV technology. The outcomes of the digital exams have been later verified with take a look at bench exams of actual, bodily parts.

State-of-the-art composite take a look at bench simulates real-world hundreds

A totally new composite take a look at bench was developed for this function. It permits the drive, battery, vitality administration and charging techniques to be examined collectively underneath real looking circumstances. The take a look at bench’s 4 highly effective synchronous motors may be programmed in such a method that they exactly simulate totally different highway circumstances, acceleration resistance and forces skilled throughout recuperation and braking. “The machines are so refined that we are able to even show totally different asphalt surfaces or tyre slip,” says engineer Marcus Junige. Environmental circumstances will also be absolutely simulated.

Everlasting comparability with the digital twin

“Our take a look at programmes are distinctive when it comes to their necessities,” says Junige. A spectacular instance is a lap of the Nürburgring-Nordschleife – on the restrict. The enter for that is supplied by the digital prototype. All simulated impulses are fed into the composite take a look at bench in actual time. “Below all circumstances, the car should all the time ship full energy as quickly as the driving force calls for it,” says Junige. This most energy launch is especially anxious for the thermal administration of the high-performance car: to be able to situation the battery optimally underneath all circumstances, the heating and cooling techniques are extra highly effective than in any earlier electrical Porsche. At each level in the course of the Nürburgring lap, the values measured on the composite take a look at bench are in contrast with what was beforehand calculated for the digital twin. This confirmed that the simulation is now so correct that there are hardly any deviations that want be corrected after buying the bodily take a look at outcomes.

Testing on the restrict and in all conditions

As exact because the simulation is, the ultimate tuning remains to be executed by people. “In actuality, solely people can carry out the ending touches,” says Sascha Niesen, Crew Chief General Car Testing on the Porsche Improvement Centre in Weissach. The significance of take a look at drivers’ expertise in completely balancing driving dynamics and management methods is especially evident on racetracks. Whether or not within the metropolis, on the freeway or off-road, the Cayenne Electrical is examined in all real looking utilization situations. A specific focus is on the administration of charging. “Regardless of how the Cayenne is pushed earlier than stopping, it should all the time be conditioned for quick charging,” explains Junige. Even site visitors jams are taken into consideration by the car to be able to make optimum use of vitality.

Checks underneath excessive weather conditions pose a specific problem. In sizzling areas such because the Gulf States or Loss of life Valley within the US, the local weather management and the thermal administration of the battery and drive system, amongst different issues, needed to bear demanding practical exams at temperatures of as much as 50 levels Celsius. In Scandinavia, the place temperatures attain minus 35 levels Celsius, chilly begins, local weather management, traction, dealing with and braking behaviour, and efficiency of the management techniques regarding driving dynamics have been all on the take a look at programme for the pre-production automobiles. And in each climatic extremes, the Cayenne Electrical had to have the ability to cost rapidly with none issues – hardly every other producer calls for extra from its automobiles than Porsche.

Higher precision, fewer sources, extra environment friendly growth

Endurance testing simulates a car’s life underneath circumstances so harsh that prospects would solely expertise them in excessive conditions. Below on a regular basis circumstances, the automobiles cowl greater than 150,000 kilometres in shifts inside a couple of months – in metropolis site visitors, on nation roads and on highways.

From crash laboratories and endurance runs to testing underneath excessive circumstances – the mix of digital preparation and real-world testing is proving its value in all areas. It makes the event course of extra exact and environment friendly. In comparison with a traditional growth technique, the timescale for creating the Cayenne Electrical was decreased by 20 per cent. On the identical time, state-of-the-art digital testing is extra resource-efficient too, due to decreased materials consumption.