Hybrid and Electric Mobility Technologies on Show

Modular hybrid rear axle for P3 and P4 applications added to range of HEV transmissions: here are the highlights from Oerlikon Graziano’s presence at CTI Symposium in Berlin.

by Alma Castiglioni

The latest edition of CTI Symposium, the annual international meeting place on latest automotive transmission, hybrid and electric drive technologies, took place in Berlin, in December. Oerlikon Graziano, together with Vocis, attended the event and showed its latest technologies, among which H-RAM, the company’s innovative hybrid rear axle module.
Vocis, which joined the Oerlikon Graziano Group in 2006, specialises in advanced solutions for automotive transmissions with an activity covering software, hardware, prototype design and application engineering.

Compact, integrated design for the rear module
H-RAM is a compact and highly integrated design that can be configured as a P3 motor arrangement or a stand-alone P4 electric axle. It combines the propshaft input from a conventional powertrain with an electric motor connected through a two-speed planetary drive and incorporates the final drive and differential which may be open, or featuring a mechanical or electronically controlled LSD. In the P3 arrangement, tests by Oerlikon Graziano have shown efficiency gains of up to 8 percent compared to a P2 architecture, when running the WLTP cycle (*) in EV mode.
The compact size of H-RAM enables OEMs to package a complete hybrid system within the sub frame of the rear axle without modification of the standard ICE powertrain, a considerable advantage for vehicle platforms that are shared between hybrid and non-hybrid models. The P3 configuration with planetary gearing enables efficient running in pure EV mode and the capability of very strong e-Boost at low speeds in a high gear, enhancing the performance feel of the vehicle. The descriptive technical presentation traces the evolution of H-RAM, based on experience from OGeco, the company’s electrified high performance DHT solution, then explains the technical details and specification of the unit, including performance data, and outlines current development status. The first application of the unit is in a high-performance vehicle with peak wheel torque of 12,000Nm in hybrid mode and a potential maximum speed in E-mode of over 300 Km/h. In addition to H-RAM and OGeco, Oerlikon Drive Systems will display its EMR3 single-speed transmission for battery electric vehicles, its 4SED 4-Speed, twin-motor, electric drive and modular transmissions for 48V and high voltage hybrid applications.