Abstract
This paper describes a holistic development and testing approach for a battery electric vehicle (BEV) prototype based on a self-supporting body platform originating from a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine. The topic was investigated in relation to the question of whether conversion of existing vehicle platforms is a viable approach in comparison to designing a new vehicle ab initio. The scope of work consisted of the development stage, followed by laboratory and on-road testing to verify the vehicle’s performance and driveability. The vehicle functionality targeted commercial daily use on urban routes. Based on the assumed technical requirements, the vehicle architecture was designed and components specified that included various sub-systems: electric motor powertrain, electronic control unit (ECU), high-voltage battery pack with battery management system (BMS), charging system, high and low voltage wiring harness and electrically driven auxiliary systems. Electric sub-systems were integrated into the existing vehicle on-board controller area network (CAN) bus by means of enhanced algorithms. The test methodology of the prototype electric vehicle included the vehicle range and energy consumption measurement using the EU legislative test cycle. Laboratory testing was performed at different ambient temperatures and for various characteristics of the kinetic energy recovery system. Functional and driveability testing was performed on the road, also including an assessment of overall vehicle durability. Based on the results of testing, it was determined that the final design adopted fulfilled the pre-defined criteria; benchmarking against competing solutions revealed favorable ratings in certain aspects.
Highlights
Powertrain electrification is the main leverage to reduce global carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions from transport sources and only a high level of electrified vehicles in the fleet mix stands a chance of meeting the decarbonization challenge in the European Union (EU) planned in a Green Deal scenario [1,2,3,4,5,6]
The case of electric trucks is interesting, as trucks accounts for about 60% of the overall freight transportation and at the same time this sector is to be based on fuel cell (FC) drivetrains with an on-board hydrogen storage tank [7,8]
The laboratory activities consisted of the energy consumption tests at various ambient temperatures, and for different regenerative braking settings
Summary
Powertrain electrification is the main leverage to reduce global carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions from transport sources and only a high level of electrified vehicles in the fleet mix stands a chance of meeting the decarbonization challenge in the European Union (EU) planned in a Green Deal scenario [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Electric vehicles (EVs) are expected to gradually replace conventional (internal combustion engine-powered) vehicles (ICEVs) because of their higher energy efficiency and zero in-use greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The case of electric trucks is interesting, as trucks accounts for about 60% of the overall freight transportation and at the same time this sector is to be based on fuel cell (FC) drivetrains with an on-board hydrogen storage tank [7,8]. Using an electric motor in road vehicle propulsion is not a new idea. Electric vehicles had already appeared in the late 1860s—earlier than vehicles powered by internal combustion engines (ICE, which appeared in 1876); the first applications appeared in 1828
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