Abstract
PurposeEnvironmental assessments of efforts to reduce vehicle fuel consumption require scientifically sound and robust fuel consumption models. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a novel method and model for calculating fuel consumption.MethodThis paper presents a method of powertrain modeling that is based on driving and powertrain physics, such as a net force approach to calculate force demand at the tire patch, and the use of engine maps to model engine efficiency.ResultsThe presented method provides parsimonious open-source powertrain modeling to the environmental assessment community, thus an alternative to existing approaches. The modeling results are in agreement with existing values, while the modeling method is more flexible and avoids unnecessary approximations.ConclusionsExisting fuel consumption modeling consists of very detailed and complex powertrain simulation models, typically not available for environmental vehicle assessments, or streamlined equation-based methods that use a mix of physical laws, engineering approximations, and sometimes accounting principles. The presented modeling method and open-source model provide a valuable alternative.
Highlights
Over 80% of global passenger vehicle sales are subject to proposed or existing fuel economy or greenhouse gas emission standards for light duty vehicles (ICCT n.d.)
One that has been subject to many environmental assessments over the last decades is material substitution, e.g., replacing steel with aluminum or fiberreinforced composites (Kim and Wallington 2013a)
The history of automotive material substitution studies reveals the evolution of fuel consumption modeling in environmental assessments
Summary
Over 80% of global passenger vehicle sales are subject to proposed or existing fuel economy or greenhouse gas emission standards for light duty vehicles (ICCT n.d.). Even accounting-type assessments, which compare different given vehicle designs rather than explicitly model the consequences of vehicle design changes, require fuel consumption models, since they frequently compare a baseline vehicle design with a version that would result from one or more design changes (Sullivan and Cobas-Flores 2001; MacLean and Lave 2003; Geyer 2016). An example of such a design change is vehicle mass reduction, frequently with the explicit intent to reduce fuel consumption. The history of automotive material substitution studies reveals the evolution of fuel consumption modeling in environmental assessments
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