Advances in simulation-based optimization of vehicle energy management are important contributors to achieve the vision of cleaner and smarter road transport for Europe. In this context, this paper highlights the benefits of a multi-level, multidomain, customizable and deployable system simulation platform for steady-state and transient analysis of Vehicle Energy Management Simulators. The underlying technical principles of the simulation software, LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim, will be described and its use will be illustrated. The methodology and the different steps to build the complete vehicle simulator will be explained, and more particularly the complete process for the completion of the simulator: components characterization, design of involved subsystems, modeling of the interaction between the subsystems so as to end-up with the complete simulator. An overview of the lubrication system model will be given, including the engine external cooling system, the engine thermal model with combustion chamber heat losses, the vehicle performance model, the electric auxiliaries, the vehicle cabin and the HVAC subsystem. Validation results will be shown on different standard drive cycles for the baseline vehicle. Finally, the article demonstrates how fast it is to investigate new simulation scenarios and their impact on fuel consumption, emissions and passenger comfort: different heat management strategies, results on different duty cycles, energy recovery systems, and engine architecture changes are simulated, CPU times and new results presented.
