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Chemistry is everything Dedicated lubricants for electrified heavy duty commercial vehicles are designed to handle the high demands of eCV e-motors Heavy commercial vehicles are electrifying. Globally, emissions mandates are dictating this course of action and major OEM CEOs have already stated their ambitions to lead in this space. While significant sales of electrified commercial vehicles (eCVs) will lag several years behind volume sales of electrified passenger cars, those future designs are being developed and refined now. Afton Chemical has brought together its decades-long history in heavy-duty vehicle lubrication and its expertise in passenger car eFluids to better understand eCV lubrication. OEM engineers responding to Afton’s commercial vehicle electrification survey have revealed significant anxiety about its unknown risks and highlighted the performance areas they find most challenging in this uncharted territory. What can be learned by eCV engineers from passenger car electrification? Component suppliers can possess highly transferable expertise and solutions; specialist coolants and electrified transmission fluid (ETF) are good examples. Encouragingly, the initial eCV lubricant specifications being requested indicate broadly similar performance requirements to electrified passenger car lubricants. With a move from hypoid to helical gear sets, eCV gear pressures are not extraordinarily different to passenger cars so similar solutions can be deployed. The rotational speeds of eCV e-motors may be higher than big diesel engines – a common concern raised by engineers in the survey – but these still remain lower than e-motor speeds in electric passenger cars. However, eCVs may demand the immediate pursuit of cutting-edge passenger car solutions. Efficiency
Electric commercial vehicles with multi-speed transmissions will require a specially-crafted electrified transmission fluid
is arguably under greater scrutiny in eCVs than electric cars, with immense pressure to reduce battery weight, cost and charging time. Where incremental efficiency gains are worth more, earlier adoption of technologies such as direct cooling e-motors and batteries is likely. As a result of the enhanced thermal management it provides, direct cooling also holds promise for high voltage charging. Direct cooling electrified components requires specialist lubricants that are compatible with certain materials, so fluids should be developed in tandem with hardware. Advanced rig tests using prototype passenger car e-motors have already demonstrated the real-world
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importance of fluid compatibility with copper and an ever-changing range of seal and coating materials. Should immersion-cooled batteries and power electronics become the norm, fluid compatibility will remain a high priority. From the outset, vehicle weight and the duty cycles of haulage eCVs will require multi-speed transmissions. The specific friction needs of these transmissions will also require ETF with carefully crafted friction performance. Commercial vehicle electrification can be implemented via numerous configurations and layouts. With each OEM pursuing its own path in isolation, greater design diversity is expected in eCVs than that of
electric passenger cars. While general learnings from one technology are often transferable to others, true optimization involves paying close attention to the combination of requirements arising from a specific design. Optimization is best achieved through close working partnerships with technology experts such as lubricant additive suppliers whose understanding of chemistry, when combined with applied engineering and test capabilities, provides valuable opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce risk. FREE READER INQUIRY SERVICE To learn more about Afton Chemical, visit: www.magupdate.co.uk/PEHV