CBM+ for Wheel Hub Drive Vehicles
Abstract
Recently, the military and automotive industry have started to consider the application of electric wheel hub motors for vehicle propulsion. Where typical electric and hybrid-electric vehicles utilize an electric motor with a traditional drivetrain, wheel hub motor driven vehicles do not contain a transmission, differentials, or drive shafts. Individual motors at the wheels has several advantages: decreased breakdown risk due to redundant drive components, greater control through torque vectoring, and removal of efficiency losses from the gear train. However, non-traditional motor designs are required due to the confined area of the wheel hub and the integration of power electronics, friction brake, and cooling system. This complexity, and a lack of field experience ina variety of operational and environmental loads, suggests that reliability of early systems may be lower than existing technologies, adding safety and operational risk. Condition based maintenance (CBM) is a maintenance philosophy designed to improve asset reliability/availability and reduce cost through the application of health and usage monitoring to better inform maintenance decisions. Although CBM on wheel hub motor drives may offer reduced maintenance costs, additional research and development is needed to develop the appropriate CBM methods.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 24, 2019
- Source ID
- N000141912184
Entities
People
- Michael Thurston
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- United States Navy