Sustainable Automotive Technologies 2013

Legislation claims a sustainable handling of existing resources. For this reason all newly registered vehicles must emit less then maximum 130 g/km CO

2

on average by 2015. Car manufactures are therefore forced to use new approaches in the fields of propulsion technology and assistance systems. For the development of such efficient vehicles new methods are needed which exceed the determination of the consumption at the chassis dyno or the road test. It is necessary that the results concerning the real consumption as well as the distribution of the energy losses are available at an early stage of the development cycle. Furthermore, the safeguarding of the functionality of new highly networked powertrain systems is an important aspect. Here, the energy flux analysis at the vehicle test bed comes into place. As integrated validation environment it will be referred to as Function and Energy Flux Simulator (FES). With FES, real driving situations are emulated by means of a vehicle dynamics simulation. With dynamometers the occurring wheel torques are impressed on the vehicle. At the FES, driving scenarios and the environmental conditions are exactly reproducible so that the results are significant. In addition, a continuous superordinate process for validating the energy efficiency which reaches from the office simulation to the trial at the test bed as well as to the road drive with portable measurement systems was set up.

This paper provides results of extensive trials using a 50/50 blend of unheated vegetable oil and diesel fuel in an unmodified vehicle on roads in Victoria, Australia. The work was inspired by the success of an on-road trial using 100 % waste vegetable oil in 2004 and positive indications in the literature. As well as being a sustainable alternative fuel, vegetable oil has the added safety advantage of having a much higher flash point than any other. Constant routes were used analogous in-part, to using prescribed drive cycles. Results were logged and bar-charts comparing fuel consumption for various fuel blends are presented. There was no clearly discernible difference (within the uncertainty of the measured data) in fuel consumption between the 50/50 blend and diesel fuel.

On market, high pressure storage systems have a shape of cylinder with a high specific inner diameter and length. The state of the art structure is only a metal liner or assembled with composite material, like carbon, by wrapping. The liner is used to barrier coat for hydrogen. A metal container is heavier as a hybrid structure. The rear weight is very important for emission and performance of vehicle. Therefore the relation between metal and the fibre/matrix layers define the potential of lightweight strategy. Another aspect is the capacity of gaseous storage system, because the constructed size is enormously with the result of losing convenience. The designer can reduce the container dimension with the result that the range decreased or raise the working pressure up and create more weight. The costs of manufacturing are very important, too, because the yearly availability of fibre and matrix define the material costs. The new hybrid concept of a hydrogen container depends on the lightweight potential, storage capacity, material and manufacture costs.

According to leading automobile manufacturers, hydrogen vehicles will be commercially available within the next few years. Up to now, a number of pre-production models have covered millions of test kilometres and proven to be sufficiently reliable for market launch. Nevertheless, there are still some reservations with respect to safety. The concerns are nourished by the fact that the physical properties of hydrogen differ significantly from the properties of conventional fuels like gasoline and diesel. Thus, the development of hydrogen vehicles requires a radical rethinking of the fuel system. In this context the question arises, which system components should be chosen and where they should be positioned in order to minimise the overall risk. The answer to this question can be given with the help of a quantitative risk analysis (QRA). The risk associated with the interrelated system components depends on a set of non-linear equations and thus requires non-linear numerical approaches. One such non-linear approach is the gradient descent method. Using this method, the safety of an automobile hydrogen system was optimised. The following article summarises the basic approach and the outcomes of the optimisation study.

This paper presents three-point bending analysis of a porous beam using the finite element method. This novel porous structure emulates the structure of trabecular (cancellous) bone at the metaphysis of a rabbit. Segments of the bone were scanned using a high-resolution CT-scanner. The bone geometry was recreated and a finite element mesh was generated using software MIMICS. The finite element model of the bone structure was developed and a quasi-static three-point bending test was simulated in ABAQUS. This approach can be utilized in design of side intrusion bar of passenger car as these would be subjected mainly to a bending load during the event of a side collision. In this work, the load carrying capacity and specific energy absorption were determined when the properties of aluminium alloys 6061T6 were applied to the geometrical models of the rabbit femur metaphysis structure. This biomimetic design approach can be generally used to develop novel load bearing lightweight structures inspired by the structural properties of animal bones. Lightweight structures developed this way are expected to increase stiffness at a significantly reduced weight.

The properties of composites allow outstanding new designs with unknown features. Composite structures with fibre reinforced elements are widely used in the design of aerospace structures. In 1967, the BO 105, a product of the former helicopter division of MBB, now Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH, flew for the first time. This innovative helicopter was equipped with the first serial “hinge- less” rotor system. The fibre composite blades were attached to the head with the help of the “lug” element. This made possible the simple design of the rotor without damper elements. The shear stiffness is very low for unidirectional composites. In the metal world the shear modulus G is high and linked to the Young's modulus and the Poisson's ratio by the formula G = E/2(1 + υ). The low shear stiffness of composites allowed the “Flexbeam design” of the EC 135 with a “bearingless” and “hingeless” concept. The shear modulus G and as a consequence the torsional stiffness are the important features of this paper, they allow the given different design concepts. The mechanical behaviour of composite materials allows the design of outstanding basic structural elements such as plates and shells having a high range of different stiffnesses, in plane and out of plane. These elements are often used for the attachment of vibration absorbing structures. In this paper several applications of anisotropic structures are described and possible use is shown.

Innovations are constantly in demand, not only in engineering. Nature’s living organisms also have to prove themselves again and again. Over the course of millions of years, they have continuously developed new strategies, materials and techniques to prevail against their competitors. So why shouldn’t engineers draw their inspiration from nature? No matter if on land, in the water, or in the air: Nature’s patents work brilliantly, there is no copyright, and they hod endless surprises. There are many cases where engineering is already inspired by nature today: 1. Self-cleaning surfaces designed following the example of lotus leaves; 2. Drag-reducing surfaces designed on the model of sharks’ dermal denticles; 3. Lightweight rims designed like diatoms; 4. Mussel glue as an ideal adhesive; 5. The atomic adhesion of geckos; 6. Nacre (mother of pearl) as an ideal composite material; 7. Spider silk is superior to the best high-tech materials; 8. Lignin as an alternative to plastics; 9. Self-sharpening knives following the basic patent of beaver teeth.

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is an emerging field of research in the area of lightweight design. The introduction of expensive carbon fiber resin plastic materials in the automotive industry may in the future justify the application of a monitoring of the load bearing structure via sensors to save weight and costs. Reasons for this additionally lie in the brittle and complex failure behavior of carbon fiber materials. The authors in this paper aim to give an introduction into the principle of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), basics of fatigue of fiber resin composite materials as well as the possible application of these principles for the automotive industry. In addition to this an SHM concept and further results of the experimental research work since October 2011 are depicted. The investigations and experiments leading to this paper have been supported by Honda R&D Europe (Deutschland) GmbH with a research grant.

To date, little is known about the recyclability of End of Life Vehicles in Australia. This study, the first of its kind, attempts to fill the gap by presenting data collected from the dismantling of 1,115 ELVs at an Australian auto-recycler using an excavator-based multi-dismantling machine. The dismantled components grouped by rough metal content are compacted and weighed before being sold to the respective recycling markets. The findings are put into perspective by comparing them with available data from Europe. The material composition of the Australian fleet is aggregated to highlight the call for the auto recycling industry, which relies on revenue from the sale of used parts, to adopt machine-based dismantling as a value-added activity. This business strategy has the potential to significantly benefit the industry’s sustainability by capitalising on overlooked revenue streams.

The usage of lightweight materials is in general highly preferred due to better mechanical behaviours of the materials (e.g. fibres). Besides this, the possibility to influence economic effects in a positive way is also important, which can be realised in saving material costs due to a certain weight reduction or focussing on fuel consumption reduction especially in the transportation sector. So the main industry sector has a certain interest to support the research and adaptation or rather replacement of state of the art materials with lightweight material. This paper shows a possibility to implement a metallic lightweight material, called Flex-Metal-Mesh, within the protective sector, which is rather reluctant to change standard materials and to adopt new developments. Therefore, the challenge is to convince people that this system fulfils the wanted requirements and is working in a proper and reproducible and therefore in a reliable way. For this reason, the potential of the here mentioned system was investigated in various experimental tests and simulation procedures. The focus of the following documentary deals with the validation aspect of such a system.

This paper presents a dynamical life cycle inventory study of the Australian car-fleet energy consumption when the steel in car bodies-in-white is replaced with aluminium or a composite material. The results show that both lightweight BIWs have net energy benefits over steel BIWs. The energy benefits of composite BIWs are greater than for aluminium BIWs because energy consumption during the production and use stages is lower for composite BIWs. The results also suggest that the energy benefits to the fleet might be limited by competition from steel BIWs, which, together with the growth in the car fleet, prevents the car-fleet energy consumption from declining.

How New Things Come Into The World! From the hand axe to the automobile; from the idea that the Earth rotates around the Sun to self-cleaning surfaces; from bronze via iron and steel through to innovative composites—brilliant ideas, ground-breaking inventions, unprecedented techniques, and new materials have determined human life from time immemorial. However, while the hand axe was the universal tool 1.8 million to 50,000 years ago, nowadays a new tool is required every two to three years, say a new operating system, to ensure we can work efficiently: See Windows 8. Product cycles have become shorter, too. A new cell phone every year, and new car models are released every three to four years, or at least completely overhauled versions. Developers today are under enormous pressure in terms of innovation. But is there some common ground, something uniting, which can be extracted from the history of innovation? This presentation tries to find an answer to that very question, focusing on the development of the car and its current challenges, with bionics offering numerous solutions. With amusing and illuminating examples from history, psychology, art and literature the secret of fantasy, creativity and hence of innovation will be unravelled.

The manufacturing process for high performance composite materials is typically slow due to labour intensive lay-up processes followed by long cure cycles of thermosetting resins. Thermoplastic materials be can processed by fusion bonding, a welding process based on the diffusion of polymer molecules across the bond interface at elevated temperatures. This process can be orders of magnitude faster than a typical thermoset cure. Furthermore, when coupled with a placement technology such as automated tape placement (ATP) or filament winding, the composite can be bonded in situ as it is placed. The part is ready for finishing as soon as placement or winding has completed. This approach shows much potential for flexible and automated manufacture of lightweight and high performance automotive structures, including high pressure storage vessels for gaseous fuels. The placement rate must be maximised for production, however maintaining composite quality is nontrivial due to the highly dynamic behaviours at the nip point. A small parametric study was performed to investigate the effects of laser power and consolidation force. A laser-assisted tape placement system was instrumented with temperature and pressure sensors so as to measure the temperature and pressure profiles experienced at the bond interface in the nip point region. The recorded temperature and pressure profiles were fed into a bonding model to predict the resulting strength. Mechanical tests were performed on Carbon/PEEK lap shear samples and compared with strength predictions.

This research provides an overview of potential ways how to set prices for certain technologies, features and specifications for passenger cars focusing on the original equipment manufacture’s (OEM’s) view. After a short introduction, the first part presents a decision model whether a feature can be priced at all. Seven questions guide the OEM to the result if pricing is applicable or not. According to the presented decision model, it is not possible to set prices for features which are not part of the actual car. Furthermore, pricing for options is limited to features that provide a higher benefit than disadvantage. For standard functionalities, a price can be set if there is already a price established within the field of competition. Pricing sustainable features is also possible if the OEM acts as the first mover under the condition that the feature which is intended to be priced is not linked to a matter of legislation. If it is a matter of legislation but giving a pricing signal to competitors is possible, assigning a price to the feature is still feasible. The second part of this research addresses the pricing process. The first step to find the optimum price position for a sustainable feature is to set price boarders. Afterwards, various details need to be taken into account. This research presents a set of suitable ways to reflect the corporate strategy, competition, characteristics of the feature to be priced, market and communication within the pricing process. In addition, it sharpens the view on different ways to offer sustainable features by presenting two examples from practice.

An application of a novel methodology in a redesign of the load bearing subassembly of an automotive seat adjuster is presented. This novel methodology efficiently evaluated concept variations at a higher rate than the traditional approach based on FEA and therefore enables a comparison of the objective spaces rather than undesirable point design comparisons. This significant increase in efficiency increased the amount of generated knowledge that was presented to the design engineer in a form of the Pareto front comparisons. The comparisons of the Pareto fronts allowed for a clear identification of Concept #3 as the preferred solution, given the load-bearing and the light weighting criteria only. The results also indicated that Concept #2 could also be promising solution after major enhancements, as it showed potential to outperform the current solution in some cases.

Individual mobility is a basic human need. However, with the growth of global population, wealth, and technological development this need has led to long-term sustainability challenges with climate change and global gridlock being perhaps the most pressing issues. Solutions are complex and require changes in vehicle technology, infrastructure, driver behaviour, vehicle numbers, business models and inter-modality. While the path to solve the climate change challenge is rather established there is as yet no blueprint for the global gridlock issue. An integrated approach and strong cooperation between stakeholders is required.

Schapiro (

2011

) introduced the BARM as an internal combustion machine, and Schapiro (

2012

) introduced the BARM as an external combustion machine. This article introduces the thermodynamics of an external combustion BARM in the physical approximation (

Chap. 3

), designed specifically for exploiting thermosolar energy. The economic and political aspects are discussed in Clause

4.3

. A comparison between BARM and Stirling machines is the primary focus of this article. The efficiency of both machines as thermosolar energy exploiters is compared under two scenarios: in the first, the Stirling machine has no heat recuperator and the BARM no heat exchanger. In the second scenario, the Stirling machine is equipped with a heat recuperator and the BARM machine with a heat exchanger. That efficiency is dependent on the power flow through the machine has been taken into consideration. The thermodynamic description, that is the modelling of these processes, is a physical approximation valid not only for BARMs, but for all rotational volume displacement machines in similar application, for instance, in Pyatov (

2010

) and Pyatov and Schapiro (

2010

).

For Audi, sustainability is an important goal in order to continue functioning economically and competitive, protect the environment and guarantee a liveable future for generations to come. For Audi, corporate responsibility is a long-term strategic orientation that runs like a continuous thread through all processes, products and decisions. The goal is to pave the way for eventual CO

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-neutral mobility with Audi products, to use resources sparingly along the entire value chain, and to demonstrate an enduring sense of responsibility for the workforce and for society as a whole. Anyone planning for future sustainable mobility first needs to adopt a new and broader perspective. For example, Audi no longer just considers the CO

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emitted while driving, it rather analyses the entire life cycle of a car–from its development and production to the phase of customer use and finally recycling. A central issue in this comprehensive analysis relates to the origins of the types of energy used to drive vehicles. In the case of electrically powered cars, for example, environmental impact is only really improved if the electricity they consume was generated from renewable resources. Following this idea to its logical conclusion, it becomes clear that the focus must shift towards new types of fuels. Therefore, Audi is the world′s first carmaker to become directly involved in the development and production of renewable fuels that do not rely on biomass. Audi is addressing the entire range of drive technologies here, and the future fuels are called Audi e-power, Audi e-hydrogen, Audi e-gas, Audi e-ethanol and Audi e-diesel. The first step is the Audi e-gas project, in which the Ingolstadt company is producing an entire chain of sustainable fuels. With this project, Audi intends to provide tremendous impetus to renewable energies. The German energy industry could also benefit from the conceptual approach of the Audi e-gas project over the mid-term, because it must address the open issue of how to store eco-electricity efficiently and independent of location. The Audi e-gas project starts with wind, water and carbon dioxide sourced from a biogas plant. The end products are renewably generated eco-electricity (Audi e-power), hydrogen (Audi e-hydrogen) and synthetic methane (Audi e-gas). Over the mid-term, Audi also wants to create options for replacing liquid fuels by innovative renewable fuels that are no longer energy crop-based and do not compete directly with food production. Right now, the brand is working with a specialist partner from the USA to produce synthetic ethanol (Audi e-ethanol) and synthetic diesel (Audi e-diesel).

A methodology to derive a computational efficient electro-thermal battery pack model is showed. It is taken the accuracy of 3D modeling from finite element method with an automatic technique of model order reduction. Approximation errors are under 2 % for a solution speed-up of three orders of magnitude for the thermal part. The electrical battery model is implemented and the electro-thermal coupling is done at the system level. This idea is demonstrated with a 10 cells battery pack.

The frequent failure of road transportation networks, resulting from traffic incidents, system overloading and lack of optimised support systems is becoming a problem in keeping modern cities functioning, because those incidents affect both, personal mobility and transportation of goods including everyday commodities. Inefficient systems lead to a waste of resources (infrastructure and energy). Therefore not only efficiency of vehicles but efficiency of whole systems needs to be considered to increase sustainability in road transportation. This paper shows the approach using Autonomic Road Transport Systems (ARTS) and gives an overview on upcoming challenge for vehicle manufacturers and scientific society.

Cylinder block bore distortion has a significant role in the lubricant oil consumption and subsequent block piston assembly failure. The paper discusses the methods to quantify the distortion levels in the cylinder block caused by the heat treatment involved. The optimization of the heat treatment process is discussed in detail with the specimen test, cylinder block individual tests and aggregate vehicle tests. The results show a new philosophy for cylinder block bore distortion-ring conformability.

The present paper presents practical and theoretical aspects of the solid state heating and heat treatment of aluminium and aluminium alloys. The analysis contains practical results from the development and production activity of BETE AG. The present paper will emphasize the heat transfer through radiation. These technologies become an increasingly importance due to actual environmental restrictive policies. The present paper will focus on the energy reduction during the (pre)heating respectively the cooling phase (see Fig.

1

).

Fig. 1

Heat treatment cycle for aluminium castings

Fig. 2

Roller passage kiln with flat flame gas fired infra red burners––concept BELTE––LOI; Pre-heating and solution heat treatment zones

Fig. 3

Theoretic CO

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print for 1 kg Al between 20 and 500 °C

Fig. 4

Theoretic CO

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print for 1 kg Al–3 kg Fe frame support (worst case) between 20 and 500 °C

Fig. 5

Theoretic CO

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print for 1 kg Al–0.333 kg Fe frame support (best case) between 20 and 500 °C

Due to the increasing awareness to reduce CO

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emissions, it is important that car producers (OEM) get transparency about their energy consumption. Especially the production emission is becoming a focus topic in the next years. Hence, it should be started to minimize the energy consumption in a sustainable way. Therefore, this chapter presents a new approach to design a sustainable Energy Chain, which considers all elements beginning from the energy supplier to the end customer. Additionally the energy consumption is assessed, whether it is value-adding or not. This helps to find the levers to reduce energy consumption without reducing the level of quality and quantity. For the implementation of the Energy Chain a suitable software architecture is necessary. This chapter shows possible software modules for energy planning.

Battery second use (B2U) has recently been the subject of attention from not only the automotive and electrical power grid industries, but also governmental institutions, researchers, and the general media. Most observers see Battery second use as an opportunity to maximize the value of the battery throughout an extended lifetime in order to offset the high costs of the battery system in an electric vehicle (EV) application. The viability (or combined economic and technical feasibility) of B2U depends on the battery design, use in the vehicle, reprocessing requirements, integration strategy, the secondary application, and the development of the battery market. Currently the uncertainty integrated along the entire value chain makes it difficult to assess the practicality of a secondary use strategy. We will shown that, with the current state of the market, only the vehicle OEM is capable of facilitating Battery second use strategy through the optimal design and development of the vehicle battery system. This paper will present of a method that extends the tools and information from the vehicle development to enhance the accuracy of current B2U evaluation methods. The method proposed could eventually be used for lifecycle optimization during the early development stages of an electric vehicle. Allowing the OEM to design the battery system and operational processes necessary to maximize the value of the battery system and mitigate the costs and associated with relatively new battery technologies.

A major aspect for safe and efficient operation of battery electric vehicles (BEV) is the thermal management of their battery systems. As temperature uniformity and level highly affect the system performance and the lifetime, a well-defined thermal management system is substantial for high market penetration of next generation BEVs. A lot of different operation scenarios for BEVs can be conceived, with all of them having in common that at some point there is a maximum peak in heat dissipation. This worst case scenario (e.g. during fast charging) must be covered by the system design. Therefore new innovative solutions for the vehicle thermal management system have to be found, including new materials as well as adapted operation strategies. The effect on overall energy consumption, driving range, curb weight and the flexibility that can be achieved by including latent heat storage elements into the cooling system will be presented.

This paper gives an overview of the costs for the usage of private conventional versus electric cars in Singapore. The focus is on the composition of the costs of purchasing and using a car in this city state. The purchase price is easily thrice that of a similar car in the European market due to the high Singaporean vehicle taxes. With the high purchase price, the influence of the operating costs on the total cost of ownership is comparatively low, especially for electric vehicles. Additionally, this work shows the results of a survey in which Singaporeans were asked about different mobility attributes. Time savings was found to be the most important attribute when travelling around in Singapore. Based on the important attributes, a second survey has been conducted focusing on the willingness-to-pay for each of these attributes. The initial results showed that the people accept an increased purchase price of electric vehicles if they are offered savings on the operating costs. However, the additional willingness-to-pay is lower than the calculated purchase price difference.

This paper presents the findings of a theoretical analysis of a two-speed Dual-Clutch Transmission (DCT) for electric vehicle applications. Electric drives incorporating DCTs can offer improved driving economy, range, acceleration and climbing gradeability, with potentially smaller electric motors (EMs). Through simulation, this paper studies the influence of road grade on EV performance and how motor downsizing impacts on vehicle range and acceleration performance. Particular attention focused on how such vehicles perform using a variety of different drive cycles. Results show that as expected range is heavily influenced by driving cycle. However, for a reduction in motor peak power there is minimal variation in vehicle range. Vehicle performance is also demonstrated to be reasonable through significant reduction in motor size.

The advantages of glass and carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (GRP/CRP) have so far been valued and utilized mainly for design layout. But other criteria such as weight, cost, ecological compatibility or disposability of a material are also becoming increasingly important. In terms of these aspects, the potential of natural fiber reinforced plastics becomes evident in the “Bioconcept Car” project.

We present an interdisciplinary approach to electric mobility based on three main research areas: Energy Management, System Architecture and Human–Machine Interface. A flexible energy management model is developed to suit the needs of arbitrary aggregated configurations in different hybrid vehicles. Our modular and data-centric vehicle ICT architecture reduces communication overhead, while addressing component plug-and-play and automotive safety. The classical human–machine interface is extended with a highly integrated HMI module which analyzes the interaction context. A drive-by-wire hybrid vehicle prototype has been constructed, the Innotruck, which serves as both testing ground for the developed concepts and a presentation area for communicating the results to public. Emphasis is placed on the societal importance of our work, impact and dissemination of results. More than 20 industry and research partners contribute directly to the project and the further development of the prototype vehicle.

Dynamic wireless charging refers to the ability to charge a vehicle while it is in motion using resonant inductive power transfer. This is achieved by embedding source coils in the road and including a pickup coil inside the vehicle, these coils are coupled to get the maximum power transfer. From the point of view of the vehicle, dynamic wireless charging systems theoretically solve the Electric Vehicle (EV) battery problem by delivering unlimited range and making it possible to use smaller batteries, which reduce the cost and weight, however the implementation will be limited by the availability of the charging infrastructure, which in turn is limited by its cost. This paper presents a literature review on the recent advancements of stationary and dynamic wireless power transfer used for EV charging addressing power limitations, electromagnetic interference regulations, communication issues and interoperability, in order to point out the technology challenges to transition from stationary to dynamic wireless charging and the implementation challenges in terms of infrastructure.

The hybrid electric and electric mobility constitutes a revolutionary technology for the automotive industry. In response to the stringent regulations and requirements enforced, vehicle manufacturers are developing new strategies, using hybrid electric or electric powertrain solutions. In order to reach the goal of using alternative powertrain solutions, it is important to integrate different devices from the early development stages and to optimize their behaviour. However, with a minimum of one electric machine, two different energy storage devices, and one transmission architecture, a hybrid electric powertrain triggers more concerns surrounding energy flows. The virtual mock-up hybrid electric vehicle was developed following the “V” cycle. Three basic steps during which the mechanical systems are developed in conjunction with the electronic systems characterize the virtual mock-up development. Starting by choosing the powertrain architecture it is needed to select the components and the control system design. In the end, the validation for the obtained mock-up is required. The powertrain components were integrated in the mock-up virtual hybrid electric vehicle to study their behaviour during a predefined driving cycle. In order to validate the mock-up vehicle, a real time simulation and testing rig has to be used to evaluate and improve interaction of control systems on several levels, indicating interaction problems between several virtual and physical components during an early stage of the system development process.