Energy consumption simulation and economic benefit analysis for urban electric commercial-vehicles

Abstract

• A real-world driving cycle (RWDC) from electric commercial vehicles was developed. • Energy consumption was simulated using ADvanced VehIcle SimulatOR (ADVISOR). • Energy consumption sensitivity for each proposed vehicle parameter was analyzed. • Optimization schemes were proposed and compared based on energy saving and costs. Vehicular configuration optimization thus to prolong driving mileage has become an essential issue in affecting the future prospect of electric vehicles. This study proposed to simulate energy consumption of electric vehicles using real-world driving cycle (RWDC) data in urban area. First, operational data of electric commercial vehicles were obtained for RWDC development. Vehicle configuration parameters, including vehicle body, battery, tire, transmission, were chosen for the simulation in ADvanced VehIcle SimulatOR (ADVISOR) software package, by which the estimated benefits and costs by optimizing each parameter were approximated to provide a benchmark for choosing the controlled variable during the optimization. Vehicle mass, rolling resistance coefficient and accessory power were selected as the controlled variables for the cost-benefit analysis with the vehicle life cycle driving mileage as the benchmark, reducing the short-term profit limitation of the optimization evaluation. The proposed method would have practical guidance significance in formulating energy optimization schemes for electrical commercial vehicles.