Optimal Complete Vehicle Control for Fuel Efficiency

Abstract

CONVENIENT is a project where prediction and integrated control are applied on several subsystems with electrified actuators. The technologies developed in this project are applied to a long-haul tractor and semi-trailer combination. A Volvo truck meeting the Eu6 emission standard is rebuilt with a number of controllable electrified actuators. An e-Horizon system collects information about future road topography and speed limits. Controllable aerodynamic wind deflectors reduce the wind drag. The tractor is also equipped with a full digital cluster for human machine interface development. A primary project goal is to develop a model-based optimal controller that uses predictive information from the e-Horizon system in order to minimize fuel consumption. Several energy buffers are controlled in an integrated and optimal way using model predictive control. Several buffers are considered, such as the cooling system, the battery, and the vehicle kinetic energy. This paper presents details on the model predictive controller of the battery system and of the cooling system. Another project goal is to reduce fuel consumption by using adaptive aerodynamics. Controllers are developed that automatically sets an optimal roof deflector angle and the optimal side deflector angle. The results presented in this paper are encouraging. A third focus is the human machine interface and especially the communication between the driver and the control system during driving. This project develops a driver interface that encourages the driver to use the adaptive cruise controller when appropriate. The CONVENIENT project will be finalized this year. This paper presents the main project findings.

Fuel Minimization of the Electric Engine Cooling System With Active Grille Shutter by Iterative Quadratic Programming

“…The engine is 13 liter with the maximal power 460 hp at 1400-1800 rpm and the maximal torque 2300 Nm at 1400 rpm. The same truck is employed in [8], [9], [13], [14]. The accuracy of the cooling system model in (1) is verified in [9] and the normalized RMSE is less than 3%.…”

“…This section briefly introduces control-oriented models of these components. More details on these models are provided in [9], [13], [14].…”

“…To obtain F t (s), only F a (v, s) is related to the control input s by (14). The derivative of F t (s) over s is…”

“…The higher energy efficiency and better controllability of the electric motors achieve less auxiliary fuel consumption and better engine thermal management [1]- [9]. Another new technology beneficial for both fuel economy and engine thermal management is the active grille/radiator shutter (AGS) [10]- [14]. If the shutter is not fully open, part of the front airflow is blocked from entering the engine compartment and circumvents to sides and undercarriage.…”

O uso do defletor de ar em caminhões pesados na economia de combustível: Uma análise de viabilidade econômica e ambiental

“…Segundo Lindgärde et al (2016) por meio de simulações com o software Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) perceberam que o ajuste nos defletores laterais como no de teto refletem em economia de combustível. É verificado que o ajuste do ângulo deste dispositivo na lateral proporciona ganhos na faixa de 0,3 a 1,5% e no teto até 2%, porém fatores como a topografia interferem no rendimento do caminhão.…”