Simple Methodology for the Development and Analysis of Local Driving Cycles Applied in the Study of Cars and Motorcycles in Recife, Brazil

Abstract

Standard driving cycles are usually used to compare vehicles from distinct regions, and local driving cycles reproduce more realistic conditions in specific regions. In this article, we employed a simple methodology for developing local driving cycles and subsequently performed a kinematic and energy analysis. As an application, we employed the methodology for cars and motorcycles in Recife, Brazil. The speed profile was collected using a smartphone (1 Hz) validated against a high precision global positioning system (10 Hz), presenting a mean absolute error of 3 km/h. The driving cycles were thus developed using the micro-trip method. The kinematic analysis indicated that motorcycles had a higher average speed and acceleration (32.5 km/h, 0.84 m/s2) than cars (22.6 km/h, 0.55 m/s2). As a result of the energy analysis, it was found that inertia is responsible for most of the fuel consumption for both cars (59%) and motorcycles (41%), but for motorcycles the aerodynamic drag is also relevant (36%). With regards to fuel consumption, it was found that the standard driving cycle used in Brazil (FTP-75; 2.47 MJ/km for cars and 0.84 MJ/km for motorcycles) adequately represents the driving profile for cars (2.46 MJ/km), and to a lesser extent motorcycles (0.91 MJ/km) in off-peak conditions. Finally, we evaluated the influence of the vehicle category on energy consumption, obtaining a maximum difference of 38% between a 2.0 L sports utility vehicle and a 1.0 L hatchback.

Representative Driving Cycles for Trinidad and Tobago with Slope Profiles for Electric Vehicles

“…Limitations in this study included the lack of available bulk traffic data to support route selection. In some studies, multiple drivers and multiple vehicles are used to avoid bias in data collection ( 5 , 11 ); unfortunately, this was not possible in our case, although limited data from other drivers and vehicles were gathered for verification purposes.…”

“…The literature identifies three steps in creating a local driving cycle: route selection; data collection; and cycle construction and validation ( 11 , 12 ). These are described in detail in the following sections.…”

“…A representative route that reflects normal traffic conditions on popular roads used by drivers and captures important qualities of the region, such as topography, is essential ( 11 ). Data obtained during different tests are typically used to construct the representative driving cycle.…”

“…The route can be chosen either non-systematically, depending on the researchers’ simple judgment, or systematically, based on traffic statistics ( 14 ). Experience and knowledge of routes are important in capturing significant elements in the drive-cycle construction ( 8 , 11 ). In practice, there may be subjectivity in the route selection process, as noted in the original method for developing the first drive cycle for Hong Kong (HK) ( 5 ).…”

“…Modal cycles include the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) and the European Test Cycle (ECE) ( 9 , 10 ). Additionally, drive cycles can be further subdivided into regulatory driving cycles and local driving cycles ( 11 ).…”