GM's New Global Powertrain Engineering Development Center Will Help Customers Save Fuel And Reduce Emissions

PONTIAC, Mich. – Time equals money, and in keeping with this formula, General Motors today opened a brand-new, state-of-the-art global Powertrain Engineering Development Center that will bring advanced, fuel-saving powertrains to market faster and at less cost by reducing 10 weeks from its powertrain development process.

Combined with other global powertrain development and testing efficiencies under way, including aggressive use of math modeling, GM will have saved more than $200 million cumulatively in development and testing costs by the end of this year.

The 450,000-square-foot facility is the largest and most technically advanced powertrain development center in the world. It’s where GM will develop and test the Chevrolet Volt’s electric drive unit, motors, power electronics and engine; electric motors for fuel cell and hybrid powertrains; and other advanced gasoline, biofuel and clean diesel engines and transmissions. It is the model for 11 additional GM powertrain laboratories around the globe.

“This new global engineering development center significantly strengthens our ability to design, develop and test our products, as well as offer customers an unprecedented choice of advanced powertrains that save fuel, reduce emissions and deliver great performance,” said Tom Stephens, executive vice president, GM Powertrain and Global Quality.

“The center will use a common, global laboratory operating system that will enable round-the-clock development with the flexibility to develop many new powertrain technologies.”

The Powertrain Engineering Development Center is adjacent to GM Powertrain’s Global Headquarters and brings together 1,200 employees from engineering centers currently located in Ypsilanti, Wixom, Romulus and Warren. Combined, the Powertrain Engineering Development Center and GM Powertrain Global Headquarters will employ approximately 4,300.

Faster, better, and at less cost

The facility features two test wings with 120 flexible dynamometer test cells and more than 100 powertrain component test stands. Advanced test automation, environmental control and data analysis capabilities are expected to improve GM’s powertrain efficiency by 50 percent on many lab procedures. For example, computer-controlled dynamometer testing and math modeling – including 68 new laboratory calibration procedures – allow GM to reduce the number of expensive vehicle road tests required to validate a system.

By shifting some road testing to the laboratory, along with using computer math simulation tools, engineers who previously developed calibrations with expensive vehicles can now perform this work with greater accuracy, repeatability and, ultimately, quality.

The efficiencies realized at the Powertrain Engineering Development Center build on GM Powertrain’s ongoing global Road-to-Lab-to-Math (RLM) initiative, which transitions testing that was historically conducted in a vehicle to advanced lab and computer-aided analysis. Engineers use computer-aided engineering software to run simulated and controlled laboratory tests of powertrains and components to optimize fuel economy, emissions and performance. This reduces the amount of physical vehicle tests. Vehicle testing is used later in development to confirm that designs meet the powertrain program targets.

“We’ve reduced the time necessary to create our initial calibrations, saving us on average 10 weeks of critical development time in our programs,” said Stephens. “We expect these savings to increase as we shift more work into the new lab.

“When you combine the savings in North America with all of the global Road-to-Lab-to-Math initiatives within GM Powertrain, we expect to have saved more than $200 million cumulatively in development and testing costs by the end of this year.”

From 24 hours to 20 minutes

A quick-change pallet system allows all components for a test to be pre-assembled on a pallet in a test prep area prior to installation in the test cell. The pallet is simply air-floated into the test cell, docked and connected for the test. With little effort, a single technician can move up to four tons of equipment via compressed air that forces the pallet off the floor, much like a hovercraft. In fact, changeover procedures that previously required up to 24 hours can now be accomplished in 20 minutes.

Advanced Dynomometer Testing

The center’s advanced computer-controlled test cells include non-fueled and fueled capabilities, as well as the flexibility to test all powertrain configurations, including front-, rear- and all-wheel drive. The fueled engine tests use a variety of automotive fuels – gasoline, diesel and ethanol. The non-fueled tests use electricity to power a motor that simulates an engine or transmission.

Here’s a look at the dynamometers and testing equipment:

Non-fueled spin cells are electrically driven and used to test components and systems. New “loaded” dynamometers allow the simulation of real-world driving performance earlier in the development cycle, as the components or systems can be tested with a realistic load without being installed in a test vehicle. Powertrain cells are high-dynamic, loaded dynos used to test fueled, running engines and engine/transmission/hybrid combinations. These cells test a wide range of operating characteristics, including durability, 0-60-mph acceleration and performance, shift quality, reliability, varying speeds, towing, climbing steep grades and wide-open-throttle driving. Many of these cells are capable of controlling ambient air temperature and fluids to simulate extreme hot (+60 C) to cold (-40 C) climates. Engine cells are high-dynamic loaded dynos that simulate road conditions and test gas, diesel and biofuel running engines over a wide range of engine characteristics including calibration, durability, performance and emissions. Many of these cells are capable of controlling ambient air temperature and fluids to simulate extreme hot (+60 C) to cold (-40 C) climates. Engine and transmissiontilt test stands simulate the effects of various vehicle inputs – such as acceleration, braking and cornering – on the transmission and engine oil sump and fluid management system without the use of a vehicle or test track. This enables quicker transmission development. The tilt stands can simulate up to 1.3-g loads, enabling the simulation of everything from extreme lateral forces of a Corvette on a racetrack to the angles of a four-wheel-drive vehicle climbing a mountain pass – up to 53 degrees of tilt in all directions. Cold testing simulates cold-weather testing in-house and year-round, making product development cycles independent of seasonal conditions and geographic locations. Testing can simulate extreme cold-weather conditions of up to -40 C. Heavy-Duty Engine Emission Certification cells are capable of meeting both EPA and international heavy-duty certification and development test cycles. The cells meet the new certification capabilities of the EPA’s latest testing standards and regulated emissions levels for model years 2010 and beyond. System uses recycled energy; captures 96 percent or more CO emissions

The new facility is also using technology to recycle energy to operate the facility and reduce emissions. Delivering all of the power utilities used in the center’s test cells is a large, on-site central energy plant. General Motors manages the facility through a co-operative management system with DTE Energy. Up to 15 percent of the power for this facility is recycled energy generated in-house.

The development center also uses four regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs) to significantly reduce the amount of exhaust gas emissions. The RTOs capture the test-engine exhaust gases, cleaning the carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbon emissions before they’re released to the environment. The RTOs reduce at least 96 percent of CO emissions.