SAIC-GM's PHEV layout and analysis of the 2.0Plus intelligent hybrid system

We have talked about this before. For several plug-in electric vehicles currently on the market, a simple and crude method is adopted. For example, a generator driven by a small engine is installed at the back of the electric vehicle to charge it when there is a shortage of electricity. This method is currently adopted by several electric vehicles. It is a relatively crude method.

The above method is simpler and more crude, with low requirements for technology and supply chain. A so-called PHEV can be assembled quickly to let consumers see the product in a short time. If the requirements are not high, the launched products will have more short-term market impact. However, we see that SAIC-GM does just the opposite. It adopts the DHT method. The drive motor is deeply electromechanically integrated with the entire transmission, and the motor and gears are integrated together, sharing the oil cooling system. There is no three-wire harness between the motor controller and the motor, because they are connected together with a few short connectors, realizing the dance between the motor and gears, making full use of the advantages and disadvantages of batteries, motors, and engines, and truly realizing the effectiveness of plug-in hybrid vehicles.

This system does not launch a specious product to consumers, but uses the above system to fully consider the consumer's application scenarios, especially the status, advantages and disadvantages of each component, and considers the energy consumption and cost of all components around the consumer scenario to provide consumers with the best product.

For good scene usage, more consideration should be given to the overall thinking. In addition to the power system, there is the whole vehicle architecture. It is not only for the current product design, but also for the sustainable upgrade of the system. These are the VIP electrical architecture adopted by General Motors. The full name of VIP electronic architecture is Vehicle Intelligent Platform (vehicle intelligent platform) electrical architecture.

Bosch Electronics and Electrical Architecture Technology Roadmap Forecast

Bosch once released a forecast of the technology roadmap for electronic and electrical systems, focusing on several stages of electronic and electrical architecture: distributed electronic and electrical architecture stage, (cross-)domain centralized electronic and electrical architecture, and vehicle centralized electronic and electrical architecture.

For example, General Motors DMS uses artificial intelligence technology to determine whether the driver is focused, and thus determines whether it is safe to activate the Super Cruise intelligent driving system. There are many things like this.

At present, GM's VIP electrical architecture has the following characteristics:

First, it undertakes the task of brain data transmission. It is reported that as the nerve center of the vehicle, the VI electrical architecture can process information at a speed of 4.5TB per hour, which means 1.2GB of data is transmitted per second. When 100M Ethernet is still scarce, the VIP electrical architecture is likely to use Gigabit Ethernet, which is the basis of the Ren and Du meridians. The VIP electronic architecture supports WI-FI connection, which enables vehicles and vehicle software to be easily upgraded online, allowing customers to enjoy cutting-edge technology. The VIP electronic architecture will eventually be connected with other vehicles, traffic lights, and traffic facilities, opening up unlimited travel possibilities.

Second, the ability of remote upgrade. In the era of smart cars, cars are no longer a single product. They are a tool that connects car companies and car owners. Remote upgrade is the language of communication. The VIP electrical architecture realizes vehicle-level OTA upgrades. We have seen that forward-looking technologies including the Ultium technology platform, Super Cruise super intelligent driving system, and a new generation of active safety systems are constantly evolving through online upgrades. This is a symbol of the era of smart cars.

Third, information security. If you have Mao, you must have a shield. VIP electrical architecture adopts multi-layer network security protection, which is constantly evolving and preventing risks. This is also a standard feature in the era of smart cars.

SAIC-GM calls the plug-in hybrid 2.0 era "2.0 Plus" technology. As a highly modular platform, this system has the flexibility and scalability for continuous iteration and upgrading, bringing users a more lasting high-quality experience.

This system is very close to Chinese consumers. Its powerful performance comes from the newly developed exclusive physical and control architecture, covering several key aspects:

▶ The core of the system is the new generation plug-in hybrid electric drive unit, which is developed by Pan Asia Automotive Technology Center. This electric drive unit has a wide range of peak power coverage of the front drive motor family, while the rear drive motor provides strong power supplement. The Ecotec 1.5T engine has also achieved a synchronous upgrade of the deep Miller efficient combustion system, which not only improves fuel economy, but also has the strongest power performance in the same hybrid class.

It should be noted that the system developed by GM in North America was mainly based on power splitting. This American-developed system has good performance in all aspects. However, it is a bit difficult to increase the iteration and speed of this system. Therefore, the P1P3 architecture built by Pan Asia engineers this time has realized a dual-electric control integrated system with a power of 3.35Wh/kg.

Key features include:

◎ The peak torque density of the motor is higher than 14.4Nm/kg, and the power density is higher than 7.8kw/kg;

◎ Oil cooling solution, flat wire design and other technologies, combined with the application of ultra-thin low-loss silicon steel sheets, achieve a peak motor efficiency of up to 97.8%;

◎ The motor is developed according to the world's most stringent rotor durability specification with a cycle life of more than 250,000 times from 0 to 18,000 rpm;

◎ The inverter module with the highest power density in the plug-in hybrid field has a power density of over 40kw/L, a maximum inverter efficiency of 98.7%, and an electric drive system peak efficiency of 96.1%.

From the data on paper, we can see the confidence of Pan Asia’s engineers that this system is effective.

▶ In terms of batteries, the new generation of plug-in hybrid batteries adopts the Auton Energy standard, has a dedicated battery formula and multiple safety protection measures, and achieves the ceiling of safety, life and energy consumption. Through rigorous testing and experiments, plug-in hybrid batteries have demonstrated excellent cycle life and safety performance, providing users with reliable protection.

This battery is developed from the AUTO pure electric standard to match the plug-in design, with a cycle life of over 3,300 cycles (CLTC).

◎ Exclusive battery cell formula, using fine carbon coating and other technologies and processes, combined with rigorous 1.6 million hours of high-throughput battery cell testing, covering five dimensions and more than 100 tests in all-round usage scenarios, to achieve fast-charging batteries without lithium deposition throughout their life cycle.

◎ The plug-in hybrid battery pack has 360-degree multiple safety protections, forming an indestructible safety fortress for the power battery.

◎ SAIC-GM's plug-in hybrid battery does not spread thermal runaway and does not cause open flames at an ambient temperature of 50°, so the design is reliable.

What’s interesting is that the battery management algorithm uses the advanced n-Tau battery AI big data management model to achieve accurate estimation of the battery status. The SOC calculation error of the lithium iron phosphate battery is less than or equal to 2%, which ensures that consumers do not need to fully charge the battery once a week.

The plug-in hybrid system adopts the industry-leading triple Ai intelligent control algorithm. Through "vehicle-cloud integration, collaborative prediction, and dynamic control", it maximizes the performance of the plug-in hybrid hardware system with multiple energy sources and multiple power flows, ensuring global optimization in all scenarios, all operating conditions, and the entire life cycle.