Sakor Technologies announces turnkey test system for hybrid and electric vehicles
30 July 2014
p> Sakor Technologies, Inc., a recognized leader in the implementation of instrumentation products for dynamometer testing, announced the availability of its complete testing system for hybrid and electric vehicles (HEVs). The system features one or more AccuDyne AC motoring dynamometers; a high-voltage DC battery simulator; and a DynoLAB PT data acquisition and control system.
AccuDyne dynamometers can be used for testing active components such as engines and electric motors as well as passive components such as transmissions, generators and alternators. AccuDyne dynamometers are available in models from 5 kW through 3 MW.
The battery simulator can support continuous power to 1,500 kW and voltage ranges to more than 900 VDC; continuous current in excess of 2,800 amps DC; and transient overloads up to 200% for up to one minute.
The complete turnkey testing system can be configured to automate all types of performance, durability, and quality control testing, including complex in-use and road load simulations for both drivetrain components and electric motors and drives.
The testing system has been used extensively by major HEV manufacturers, including Tesla Motors, UQM Technologies, and Magna Electronics.
AccuDyne dynamometers offer full 4-quadrant operation with seamless transition between loading and motoring modes. The high voltage DC battery simulator provides reliable, repeatable power independent of battery charge state. Since the AccuDyne and battery simulator are both fully line-regenerative, the resulting system can recapture most absorbed power and is therefore extremely energy efficient.
This feature greatly reduces overall system operating costs. The system is fully automated by Sakor’s DynoLAB PT control system, which offers complete automation of all types of test cycles used in performance, durability, and quality control testing.
The system can also test high-voltage batteries typically used in HEVs. The testing can include standard charge/discharge cycles, as well as road-load profiles representative of what the battery would see in an actual vehicle under real world road conditions.
The new system takes advantage of Sakor’s more than 25 years of experience testing combustion engines and powertrains as well as electric motors.
Our skills and success in building systems to test combustion engines, powertrains, and electric motors make us unique in the industry. In addition, our cost effective technology is extremely “green” in its own right because the energy recaptured during regeneration modes is recycled rather than being rejected as waste heat. This feature greatly reduces energy use and overall system operating costs.
—Randal Beattie, president of Sakor
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