Loughborough part of partnership looking at driving forward powertrain research
Loughborough has been announced as one of six universities who will work with the Digital Engineering and Test Centre (DETC), a ‘spoke’ of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), on a project to help drive forward powertrain research.
The three-year Virtually Connected Hybrid Vehicle (VCHV) project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of real-time virtual powertrain testing using distributed ‘hardware-in-the-loop’ (HiL), a technique used to undertake efficient and cost effective testing of control systems.
The objective of the team is to develop six different hybrid powertrain sub-systems which will be distributed around the UK but tested together in real-time. Loughborough-based researchers will work on Hybrid Controls and Communications (CTRL). The researchers at the five other partner universities will work on the internal combustion engine, electric motors, power electronics electrical energy storage (fuel cells) and electrical energy storage (batteries).
Jon Horsley, DETC programme director, commented: “We think this project is expected to have high commercial value; the ability to perform distributed testing could take nine months out of the product development cycle since original equipment manufacturers would no longer have to wait for valuable prototypes from Tier 1s to be available before testing complete powertrains.”
The DETC is a unique joint industry-academic centre of excellence within Loughborough University London on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. By identifying cross-sector collaboration opportunities, the DETC strives to help solve some of the upcoming challenges facing the automotive industry in the fields of design, development, manufacturing, testing, validation and verification.
As an APC spoke, DETC also brings specific functional, technological and regional capability to the APC network helping to deliver the reality of a Propulsion Nation – a coordinated national resource of facilities and expertise.
View the press release on the Loughborough University website for further information and resources.
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2020 QS World University Rankings and top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey.
Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2020, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020 and 8th in The UK Complete University Guide 2020.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
Specialising exclusively in postgraduate-level study, Loughborough University London is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers cutting-edge master’s and PhD degrees, as well as business collaboration, research and enterprise opportunities.
The seven specialist institutes at Loughborough University London include: Design Innovation, Digital Technologies, Diplomacy and International Governance, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, International Management, Media and Creative Industries, and Sport Business. Close industry partnerships with a wealth of leading businesses and creative organisations means teaching and learning is informed by real-life challenges and driven by true industry pressures.