Determination of the Loss Behavior of Wheel Bearings Under Real Driving Conditions

The characterization of component losses is typically conducted on dedicated test benches with the objective of enhancing component efficiency. Nevertheless, obtaining precise measurements of the actual loss contributions of components during real-world vehicle operations is often challenging. This challenge particularly pertains to wheel bearings, whose loss characteristics are efficiently delineated through the generation of efficiency maps on test benches at the Institute of Automotive Engineering. This submission presents a methodology for establishing these efficiency maps and introduces a developed methodology that enables the transfer of loss behavior from the component test into real-world driving conditions. Subsequently, the power losses are quantified across distinct driving domains, including urban, rural, and highway conditions. The outcomes of this methodology are contrasted with the losses observed on the test benches in order to identify potential avenues for reducing the losses of wheel bearings. Furthermore, the methodology is applied to homologation-relevant vehicle test benches with the objective of comparing the power losses under these conditions with real-world vehicle operations.