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Interview with EV Measurement Consultants Coty Harrison and Cristian Loris of Yokogawa Check & Measurement
When measuring {the electrical} energy of advanced electrical automobile (EV) programs, novice engineers would possibly instinctively attain for normal devices like oscilloscopes, information acquisition (DAQ) programs, and digital multimeters (DMMs). Though these gadgets play beneficial roles in electrical testing—oscilloscopes for analyzing time-varying alerts, DAQs for dealing with intensive information, and DMMs for primary electrical measurements—they aren’t designed for correct and traceable electrical energy measurements.
These standard instruments share a standard limitation: they aren’t optimized for exact energy measurement, focusing as an alternative on correct DC or sometimes clear AC RMS readings. Counting on oscilloscopes, DAQs, and DMMs for energy measurement can jeopardize product design by introducing vital, typically undetectable errors.
For correct energy measurement in intricate EV programs, a purpose-built energy analyzer is important. Such gadgets seize three basic parameters—voltage, present, and energy—whereas additionally measuring further crucial parameters wanted to judge effectivity and total system efficiency.
To delve deeper into the significance of purpose-built energy analyzers, we spoke with consultants Coty Harrison and Cristian Loris from Yokogawa Check & Measurement. Established in 1911, Yokogawa is a world chief in offering a big selection of merchandise that measure electrical and optical alerts, in addition to different important engineering parameters, utilized in fields comparable to vitality, manufacturing, and more and more in electrical automobiles and renewable vitality applied sciences.
Charged: Why are purpose-built energy analyzers important for EV system growth?
Coty Harrison: In EV functions, it is essential to keep up measurement accuracy throughout varied frequencies and situations. Subsequently, having a system that captures a variety of components and channels is important.
"We designed our newest energy analyzers to attain precision with an error margin as little as 0.03%. This empowers producers to confidently validate effectivity enhancements within the 1-2% vary, which is significant for aggressive progress."
As an illustration, when growing and testing a brand new EV traction motor design, engineers want programs that allow complete measurement {of electrical} parameters alongside mechanical metrics like pace and torque.
In the course of the validation part, accuracy is especially crucial, as producers should confirm that their merchandise meet strict effectivity and efficiency requirements earlier than they go into manufacturing or are delivered to clients. As EVs have gained reputation and competitors has intensified out there, engineers have begun to design extra modern and sophisticated options, necessitating extra refined measurements. Our latest energy analyzers are designed to offer that stage of precision.
With the arrival of recent supplies like silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), which assist increased switching charges, instrumentation has needed to evolve to maintain tempo with these calls for. For EV functions, supporting sampling charges of as much as 10 mega samples per second (MSps) per channel is now important. Coupled with 18-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion, this ensures dependable information even at excessive frequencies, enabling correct validation of EV motors and inverters and discerning real effectivity good points from measurement inaccuracies—this distinction is essential for automotive efficiency tuning.
Charged: Are you able to elaborate on the EV traction motor design instance? How does an influence analyzer contribute to product enchancment?
Cristian Loris: EV effectivity straight influences automobile vary, which is a major concern for customers. Minor enhancements in motor effectivity can considerably improve vary and reduce vitality consumption. Exact measurements are essential to optimize efficiency throughout varied hundreds, particularly below advanced driving situations.
Two foremost challenges come up. First, measuring energy with a recognized, traceable specification is unattainable if utilizing devices targeted solely on DC specs or AC RMS. AC energy—particularly in noisy, switched environments—requires integration at excessive pattern charges, alongside issues for line filters and nil crossings. Secondly, motors inherently signify inductive hundreds, which introduce energy issue variations that may considerably degrade measurement accuracy, generally by as a lot as 30% or extra utilizing normal instruments.
Energy analyzers, designed for traction motor functions, make the most of specialised algorithms to handle energy calculations throughout various load situations. Moreover, sign conditioning is significant to cut back noise and uphold sign integrity in high-power programs. These analyzers are additionally constructed to log information persistently over prolonged durations, making certain traceable information information for certification—an important side of EV powertrain testing, which frequently includes extended measurements.
"Harmonics and distortions in present and voltage waveforms result in vitality loss and might have an effect on EV motor efficiency. Energy analyzers able to precisely measuring harmonic content material assist engineers mitigate these inefficiencies."
Coty Harrison: In traction motor growth, a number of key parameters should be measured. First is powertrain effectivity, which necessitates correct voltage and present readings from each the battery and inverter supplying the traction motor. This activity will be difficult as a result of high-frequency switching waveforms usually encountered in dynamic situations.
Subsequent, the ability issue impacts vitality switch from the battery to the motor. Reaching a better energy issue, ideally as near unity as potential, enhances vitality effectivity and minimizes losses—making it important to measure and management.
Furthermore, harmonics and distortions in present and voltage waveforms result in vitality losses which will hinder motor efficiency. Energy analyzers that precisely gauge these harmonics help engineers in decreasing these losses. Lastly, measurements of torque and pace are essential for precisely assessing motor output.
By combining these exact measurements, engineers can attain a complete understanding of a motor’s effectivity.
Charged: Is the validation stage the first use for energy analyzers?
Cristian Loris: Sure, energy analyzers are predominantly utilized in the course of the validation stage of EV programs to benchmark effectivity and assure that merchandise meet efficiency expectations forward of mass manufacturing.
"Earlier than finalizing designs and delivery elements to clients, producers depend on energy analyzers to benchmark parts with excessive accuracy. At this stage, they create detailed spec sheets for elements, the place approximations are inadequate, and exact energy measurements are important."
Coty Harrison: The validation part encompasses component-level assessments (like these from chip producers), preliminary system integrations (comparable to Tier 1 suppliers), and manufacturing ranges (automobile OEMs)—making certain the correctness of all the manufacturing course of.
Usually, element producers can function with gadgets which have decrease accuracy (round 1%) in the course of the design part. Nonetheless, previous to finalizing design work and dispatching merchandise, they make the most of energy analyzers for exact benchmarking, which is crucial for the creation of correct element specs.
Charged: Which Yokogawa merchandise do EV engineers generally use for energy evaluation?
Coty Harrison: Our Yokogawa WT collection energy analyzers are particularly designed for this objective. Not like conventional measurement instruments, our analyzers incorporate remoted voltage inputs and exact present measurement capabilities, needed for cycle-by-cycle energy metric seize. Instruments missing AC sign testing will face challenges in dynamic measurements typical in EVs or different programs with various energy elements.
Cristian Loris: Following the automotive trade’s push for electrification, we have built-in options that assist multi-motor programs and enhanced sampling charges to accommodate excessive switching frequencies.
For instance, our WT5000 mannequin helps as much as seven components to seize correct present and voltage readings. Present sensing is achieved via a shunt resistor, with temperature and frequency compensation taken under consideration. For assessing motor pace, torque, and mechanical energy, the analyzer options as much as eight enter channels via two modules, permitting for the analysis of 4 motor programs concurrently.
"Energy analyzers present each remoted voltage inputs and exact present measurement capabilities, that are essential for precisely capturing cycle-by-cycle energy metrics. Instruments that lack AC sign testing will battle with measurements within the dynamic situations seen in EVs or different programs with shifting energy elements."
Charged: The place else are energy analyzers utilized past the EV sector?
Cristian Loris: Whereas the automotive area is a big driver of innovation, our energy analyzers are additionally extensively utilized in industrial motor growth, which accounts for roughly 60% of worldwide electrical energy consumption. Enhancing effectivity in these programs considerably reduces vitality utilization and operational prices.
Charged: Are you able to share your roles at Yokogawa and the way you assist EV programs engineers?
Coty Harrison: I’ve been with Yokogawa for eight years, beginning in software engineering, the place most of our technical personnel start as a result of complexity of our testing gear. After gaining hands-on expertise, I transitioned into technical gross sales and ultimately grew to become the North American Gross sales Supervisor for our check and measurement division.
Cristian Loris: I additionally started in software engineering about two and a half years in the past, integrating our merchandise into clients’ testing setups, which allowed me to watch the trade’s challenges firsthand. I’ve since transitioned to Product Supervisor for our decarbonization and electrification product strains, together with our energy analyzers for the EV sector.
We carefully collaborate with EV programs engineers to assist decide essentially the most appropriate testing merchandise for his or her particular functions after which help in customizing and implementing them into their workflows.
Be happy to take a look at a associated webinar by Yokogawa Check & Measurement to achieve additional insights into successfully benchmarking information and troubleshooting vitality effectivity points in EV powertrains.
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