SAE Update - November 2021 - 17

FOCUS:POWERTRAIN
AND PROPULSION
SAE Fellow Mazen Hammoud has been a
member of SAE for 33 years.
Today, however - with the
advent of EVs - this method
gives us the potential to start
with a clean slate:
" With purpose-built electric
vehicles, there's an opportunity
for system optimization, " he said.
" So, the primary function is
providing the transportation and
the range for the battery, but at
the same time, it's providing the
energy for climate control, and
entertainment or safety systems.
So it is a perfect opportunity for
system engineering. The
powertrain goes from being a
standalone system that you
optimize and then drop in the
vehicle to a rolling chassis on
which you build the top hat. It
becomes a full vehicle
optimization. "
UPDATE
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts when
it comes to vehicle engineering.
Stefan Koidl from Robert Bosch LLC explained that
having excellent individual components within an
electric vehicle powertrain doesn't necessarily
translate into success. " At the end of the day, it's a
product that we need to sell to the end-customer, " he
said. " And if we're not looking at it from a complete
systems point of view, we can have the best battery in
the world from LG. We can have the best control
module from Bosch. We can have the best
autonomous system from Motional. But if it doesn't all
come together and include the requirements from the
beginning, the proper integration - and at the end -
the validation and certification, then we have great
individual pieces, but not a great product. The system
as a whole makes a great product. "
Advancing a systems approach will require
leadership buy-in.
LG Energy Solution Michigan President Denise
Gray explained that moving the systems engineering
approach from an idea to standard practice will likely
require buy-in from decision-makers. She proposed
the notion of a 'chief systems officer' ... someone who
recognizes the benefits of a balanced, flexible
approach and understands the tools and processes
that need to be in place.
" I go back to 30, maybe even 40 years ago when I
first started. I was working in an organization and I
was in the powertrain division, " she said. " And I
remember when there was a software electronics
position that was previously underneath the engine or
underneath the transmission. And it was pulled out to
become equal in that discussion. I really do think the
organization made a big fundamental shift in how
they approached the issues that we needed to work
November 2021
17
SAE International
SAE Update - November 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SAE Update - November 2021
