Akabench

In the field of Vehicle Systems, the Akabench is a test bench on which an electric two-speed powertrain is operated and tested. Among other things, the focus is on investigations of the mechanical efficiency of the transmission. The test bench is a long-term loan from the Darmstadt AKASOL AG and is mainly used in education.

Test bench setup
Test bench setup

Since 2014, the Akabench is used at the IMS for investigations on shifting processes in electric multi-speed drives and on mechanical transmission losses. The driving machine is a transmission-integrated high speed asynchronous machine with a maximum speed of 24,000 rpm. The transmission is designed as an automated two-speed transmission with electromechanical shift actuators. In addition to the specific investigation of stationary operating points, the test bench design also permits hardware-in-the-loop operation, in which driving cycles can be automatically performed, for example.

Modeling of the transmission in commercial software
Modeling of the transmission in commercial software

The measurement data on the loss characteristics of the transmission are the basis for the validation and optimization of power loss modeling approaches. Both the IMS own and commercial software are used here. For the two-speed powertrain, the entire range from virtual modeling to real testing on the Akabench can be covered. The methods and contents from research on the Akabench are also transferred to education.

  • Investigation of the mechanical efficiency of the transmission
  • Use in the Master's course "Electric Vehicle Drive“ (German only)
Drive Motor

Highspeed Induction Machine
Power: > 20 kW
max. Speed: 24.000 rpm
Transmission Two-stage Automated Manual Transmission (AMT)
Number of speeds 2
Load Machine Induction Machine
rated Power: 18 kW
nominal Speed: 2.830 rpm
max. Speed: 9.000 1/min
nomimal Torque: 60 Nm