Development and realization of an in-wheel suspension concept with an integrated electric drive

Abstract

By the electrification of the drive train, new degrees of freedom also result for the design of new suspension concepts. Especially through the combination of mechanical and electrical components, potentials for future mobility can be raised. These new opportunities offer the potential for electric lightweight suspensions, include integrating drive units into the chassis, creating space through new packaging variations, reducing unsprung mass and incorporating individual wheel drives to apply new driving strategies. However, the processes, methods and process models involved in the development of electric vehicles, drive trains and chassis must be systematically supplemented during the development and applied in the product development process. A possible development approach, which ranges from concept development through optimization of vehicle dynamics and mechanical design to the prototype validation of a concept, was developed within the framework of the project “Lightweight, Energy-efficient Integrative Chassis with Hub-motor Technology” [1, 2, 3, 4]. In particular, the paper presents the development process, the software tools used to develop the mechatronic suspension concept and the prototypical realization and detailing.