Sensitivity Analysis Framework for the Evaluation of Modular Drivetrain Architectures

Modular drivetrains have already been introduced in literature as an approach to deal with load variations and provide an easily adaptable machine design. Although some research regarding the performance of a modular drivetrain has already been performed, a method to evaluate and compare several modular drivetrain architectures on multiple performance criteria is not yet available. This paper presents a sensitivity analysis framework that can be used to evaluate the different architectures against each other and to make a comparison with the traditional benchmark alternative. A benchmark case of a single motor driven shaft with variable loads and a dynamic speed profile is used to illustrate the functionality of the framework. Two modular variants of the benchmark system are presented. From the evaluation, the modular architectures are found to outperform the benchmark case regarding energy consumption and tracking error. However, a cost increase is observed. The trade-off between the additional investment cost and the increased performance can be assessed using this sensitivity analysis framework.