Controlled Power Technologies is claiming a breakthrough in the development of a second generation stop-start system, which it says outperforms existing designs of modified starter motors and alternators in almost every respect.
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The system is being demonstrated to engineers and automotive experts this week at Europe’s largest conference for vehicle electronics, which is held every two years at Baden-Baden in Germany.
CPT says the production-ready SpeedStart system is an advanced solution that is more powerful, more efficient and more usable than first generation stop-start systems.
It’s the first design to integrate all the power and control electronics into a single electric motor assembly and by maximising the number of stop-start events the system aims to significantly reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions beyond the NEDC (New European Drive Cycle) measured minimum.
CPT believes the technology could prove timely in helping car makers meet EC requirements for two-thirds of its fleet to meet a 130g/km limit by 2012 and all the fleet to meet the limit by 2015, followed by a requirement to achieve 95g/km by 2020.
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By GlobalDataThe fully developed system also meets manufacturer requirements for a service life of 10 years or 250,000km (160,000 miles), which is in line with automotive industry standards for major powertrain components.
CPT says that with its high peak power of 3kW the uniquely liquid cooled unit is thermally stable even with extreme under-bonnet temperatures and powerful enough to cope with petrol (gasoline) engines up to 3.0-litres and diesel engines up to 2.5-litres, thereby covering most vehicles segments. Car makers can confidently apply the system with relative ease to existing vehicle programmes, according to CPT.
To demonstrate the technology, CPT has installed its SpeedStart system in a Volvo S40 equipped with a 2.0-litre common rail diesel, a size of engine which is common for European family cars yet a tough if not impossible challenge for existing stop-start systems.
CPT says that SpeedStart can not only cope easily with this high compression diesel engine, but also restart it in almost half the time required by a normal starter motor (0 to 750rpm in less than 0.4 seconds against typically 0.75 seconds).
Operating with up to 86 per cent efficiency, which is significantly more efficient than even the best alternators, the SpeedStart system employs ‘switched reluctance motor technology’. During comparisons with permanent magnet electric motors, this alternative technology came out on top in every aspect, CPT claims.
Significant advantages claimed include the ‘simple construction, accurate control and very high power density and efficiency’.
“CPT’s technical breakthrough has resulted in a state-of-the-art 12-volt system with the torque and power necessary to restart quickly, smoothly and more frequently, most modern diesel and petrol engines,” says CPT senior manager Mike Dowsett. “Unlike existing systems SpeedStart allows the vehicle to remain in gear when the engine is stopped, which is more natural for the driver and facilitates a faster restart.”
“We’ve also successfully addressed one of the major criticisms of first-generation stop-start systems – which cause many motorists to disengage them – and that is their intrusiveness and whether they are powerful and fast enough to cope with a driver having a sudden change of mind, which is not uncommon and what often causes a motorist to lose confidence in the existing technology,” says Dowsett.
“What we’ve proved is that it is possible to build a highly refined system that becomes almost unnoticeable to the driver,” he adds, “and once that has been achieved it creates the opportunity for car makers to offer stop-start as a standard feature on all models – thereby achieving a serious reduction in CO2 emissions. Currently, the market penetration of stop-start systems is about 5 per cent and it really needs to be closer to 100 per cent. Only by stopping the engine at every opportunity can the occasionally suggested 20 per cent fuel consumption saving in heavy urban traffic be fully realised.”
Though optimised for 12-volt systems, the SpeedStart technology is scalable to higher voltages and if required can support ultra-capacitors for energy regeneration.
Controlled Power Technologies was set up in 2007 as a management buy-in funded by venture capital initially to acquire advanced powertrain technologies from Visteon Corporation and its technology development partner Emerson Corporation.
