Altair > Case Studies > Improving Gearbox Efficiency with IoT: A Case Study on HYCET

Improving Gearbox Efficiency with IoT: A Case Study on HYCET

Technology Category

Sensors - Flow Meters
Sensors - Liquid Detection Sensors

Applicable Industries

Electrical Grids
Oil & Gas

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development
Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Experimentation Automation
Time Sensitive Networking

Services

Hardware Design & Engineering Services
Testing & Certification

About The Customer

HYCET Transmission Technology Hebei Co. Ltd (HYCET) is a comprehensive enterprise that specializes in E-drive systems. The company designs and manufactures transmission systems for both pure electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid vehicles (HEV), catering to the needs of vehicles from A0 class to medium and large SUVs. HYCET's research and development center covers both domestic and foreign vehicle transmission systems and can perform simulations and experiments from the component level to the full-vehicle level. The company is committed to improving the efficiency and reliability of its products, and to this end, it continually seeks innovative solutions to address its challenges.

The Challenge

HYCET Transmission Technology Hebei Co. Ltd (HYCET), a comprehensive enterprise focusing on E-drive systems, faced a significant challenge in troubleshooting gearbox mechanical failures. These failures, including pitting, erosion, and peeling, were primarily caused by insufficient lubrication. Given that E-drive speed can reach up to 20,000 rpm, HYCET needed a solution that could accurately calculate churning losses. The company also needed to consider factors such as windage effects, oil volume, and the amount of air bubbles (aeration) present in oil. The challenge was to find a solution that could provide detailed insights into these complex flow phenomena and help the team answer vital questions related to oil flow and potential leaks.

The Solution

To address its challenges, HYCET adopted Altair solutions, which combine smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) with GPU hardware to streamline innovation and problem-solving. The company primarily utilized Altair® nanoFluidX® and Altair® SimLab® throughout the process. With SimLab, a powerful pre-processing solution, the team was able to create smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) models from complex raw CAD geometry in less than a day and define physical and numeric parameters. The team could also submit calculations directly from local and remote GPU servers. The use of nanoFluidX gave the HYCET designers more insight into complex flow phenomena and helped them answer vital questions related to oil flow and potential leaks. The solution also allowed the team to assess multiple different scenarios, augmenting the physical testing process with unprecedented power and accuracy.

Operational Impact

The adoption of Altair solutions has enabled HYCET to reduce physical gearbox testing while increasing the efficiency of its CFD simulations. The solutions have provided richer, more detailed oiling information including flow rate, hydrodynamic torque, fluid contact time, heat transfer coefficient, and more. This has not only improved the efficiency of the gearboxes but also significantly reduced design turnaround time. The solutions have also helped HYCET reduce costs by giving designers more insight into other aspects such as oil flow path, lubrication and cooling effects, and oil volume. As a result, HYCET can now design better, more efficient gearboxes in less time and at lower costs.

Quantitative Benefit