Opal-RT & ETAS Team Up to Streamline Automotive Power Electronic Design Processes

Hardware-in-the-Loop testing of electric motor controllers used in electric powertrains requires simulation of electric signals and mathematical models at substantially higher rates compared to traditional powertrains with internal combustion engines only. To meet these requirements, ETAS Inc. and Opal-RT Technologies have joined forces to integrate components of Opal-RT’s eDRIVEsim simulation platform with the ETAS LABCAR product line.

eDRIVEsim is an advanced real-time, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulator and control prototyping platform that is ideal for designing advanced control systems or for performing HIL testing of controllers used in high-speed electric motors, power electronics, and other electromechanical systems. Fully integrated with MATLAB/Simulink from MathWorks, eDRIVEsim also includes a number of specialized modeling libraries developed by Opal-RT, which enable real-time simulation of even the fastest power electronic systems with a sub-microsecond time step.

The technology partnership will result in the launch of a new product, xEV-LABCAR, an open-architecture, PC-based LABCAR HIL system that includes Opal-RT developed libraries and Simulink®-based models with advanced power electronic capabilities, for testing complete hybrid-electric power trains, including engine controllers, multiple electric motor controllers, transmission controllers, and battery controllers.

 “Continued pressure from government authorities to promote electric vehicles as an environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional internal combustion engines is driving investment in new high-fidelity engineering tools,” said Carl Squire, President, ETAS Inc. “Opal-RT has an excellent reputation as a leading developer of real-time simulators for fast-switching power electronic automotive applications. By partnering with Opal-RT, ETAS can now provide our users with an integrated solution combining powerful HIL tools, and management of ECU calibration with superior, high-fidelity power electronics simulation.”

Opal-RT's eDRIVEsim is a powerful and fast real-time simulation platform for HIL testing of power electronic controllers and ECUs in applications such as high-speed electric motor drives, power converters, hybrid drives and distributed energy generation and distribution systems. eDRIVEsim can also be used as a rapid control prototyping system for designing advanced controls
 

“ETAS is a trusted brand of HIL test systems for automotive ECU development, used by thousands of automotive engineers around the globe,” said Jean Belanger, CEO of Opal-RT Technologies. “As a result of this partnership, these engineers will now have access to the industry’s best platform for electric powertrain ECU development, calibration and simulation, ensuring that the growing demand for high-quality electric vehicles will be met on time and within budget.”

Joint development of the xEV-LABCAR platform by both the ETAS and Opal-RT R&D teams is now underway. General availability of xEV-LABCAR is expected in the second half of 2010.