How to bench test typical Electric Power Steering (EPS) ECU?

[jani12]

EPS Bench setup we are thinking about: Torque Angle Sensor (TAS) will be emulated by PIC microcontroller. Emulated TAS will be connected to EPS ECU's Single Edge Nibble Transmission (SENT) bus.

Our strategy in getting started with EPS Bench testing: Use PIC microcontroller to apply different inputs to the ECU. Motor connected to EPS ECU will be controlled by PWM output.
We need to measure the output. What parameter(s) do we measure? current, voltage, PWM duty cycle, PWM frequency?

If the only bench equipment we are planning is PIC microcontroller to emulate TAS, EPS ECU, power supply, Vector CANoe and CANape, do we need a load at the output? For example, do we need a motor or some load like inductive load.

Our goal is to verify that software is correctly processing inputs by measuring output?

If we need a load, what load should it be? What parameter(s) do we measure? And where should we measure?
If we don't need a load, what parameter(s) should we measure? And where should we measure?

 

[Nexus2023]

To measure the output of the EPS ECU, you can consider measuring the current and voltage at the output of the motor controlled by the PWM output. Additionally, you may also want to measure the PWM duty cycle and frequency to verify that they match the expected values based on the inputs applied to the ECU.
If you are only planning to use a PIC microcontroller to emulate the TAS and a power supply, you may not need a load at the output. However, if you want to verify the performance of the ECU under different load conditions, you may want to connect a load such as a motor or an inductive load.
If you do decide to use a load, you can measure the parameters such as current, voltage, and power at the load. These measurements can be made using appropriate instruments such as a multimeter or an oscilloscope. You should also measure the output of the PWM signal at the input to the motor or load to ensure that the ECU is providing the desired control signal.
If you don't use a load, you can still measure the current and voltage at the output of the ECU to verify that the software is processing the inputs correctly. You can also measure the PWM duty cycle and frequency to ensure that they match the expected values based on the inputs applied to the ECU. These measurements can be made using appropriate instruments such as a multimeter or an oscilloscope.