Conventional Passenger Vehicles Research Articles

Model of a 100 % renewable energy system of self-sufficient wider urban area based on a short-term scale and the integration of the transport and thermal sector

The mutual integration of different energy sectors and their conversion to electricity could promote the integration of renewable energy sources. This paper analyses 100 % renewable electrical power system of the Dubrovnik wider urban area. The Calliope energy system model was developed and compared based on 10-min and hourly data. The energy scenario is modelled up to the year 2050. It includes the replacement of all conventional passenger vehicles with electric vehicles. The vehicle-to-grid model was developed using the Calliope modelling tool. All fossil fuels used in the heating sector are replaced by seawater heat pump systems. Additional storage is added to the system and the system is connected to the adjacent electricity market. The 10-min model led to a reduction in cross-border transmission capacity of around 60 % and a 7-fold reduction in the difference between import and export compared to the hourly model. This led to a more stable system operation, as the import and export capacities were equalised. The vehicle-to-grid technology in the regulated system led to a reduction in import and export transmission capacities of up to 17 % and 42 % respectively compared to the unregulated system, including extremely fast charging and discharging in a short-term step model.

Analysis of Non-Fuel Evaporative Pollutants Emitted by Automobile Seats

With the increasing stringency of emission standards, the challenge for conventional passenger vehicles to meet evaporative emission requirements has intensified. Evaporative emissions from vehicles are primarily derived from the fuel system and the non-fuel system, with the latter accounting for 30% to 50% of total vehicle emissions. Thus, the study of non-fuel system evaporative pollutants in passenger vehicles has become especially important. This research conducted tests on automobile seat assemblies and their components to identify the main pollutants. Through the contribution of concentration ratios, a predictive formula was established to validate tests related to seat assemblies and components, aiding enterprises in effectively controlling non-fuel evaporative pollutants from automobile seats.

Integrated cooling/HVAC system design and control strategy for reconfigurable light electric vehicle

In the recent panorama, the use of conventional passenger vehicles has been discouraged from European level up to local municipalities. “Reconfigurable light electric vehicle” REFLECTIVE project targets at developing a light, fully electric vehicle capable of performing safely, efficiently, and multifacetedly in urban environments. By this way, it would be possible to fill the gap with the final user perception and electric vehicles market penetration. Moreover, in order to improve occupants’ comfort, HVAC system has been considered as well, a feature which is not usually implemented in such a kind of vehicles. This paper will show results obtained for an integrated solution for cooling/HVAC circuits in terms of energy efficiency and occupants’ comfort, with particular focus on proper battery operation. In fact, the battery thermal management is integrated into the HVAC circuit. The integrated circuit will take care of components’ cooling so to guarantee proper operating conditions, HVAC for passenger comfort and battery thermal management so to assure proper operating conditions at the battery itself throughout different scenarios. Finally, the effectiveness of the control logic specifically developed for such an integrated circuit (HVAC/Cooling/Battery) will be shown in a urban driving cycle during winter season, so to maximize the heating loads both at powertrain and battery, with always assuring comfort conditions into the cabin.

Layered disturbance rejection path-following control with geometry-based feedforward for unmanned rollers

As a widely used engineering vehicle, drum rollers have a higher degree of freedom in motion than conventional passenger vehicles. The uncertainties, caused by road and vehicle condition variations, introduce severe disturbances in the path-following control of unmanned rollers. In this work, a single-drum roller is considered, for which a composite disturbance rejection controller (CDRC) is proposed for path following. The CDRC comprises a disturbance rejection controller (DRC) and a modified pure pursuit controller (MPPC). The DRC lumps all the discrepancies of the models from the roller as total disturbance, which is estimated by the extended state observer (ESO) and rejected in the feedback control loop. For enhanced performance, MPPC is added as a feedforward controller, which calculates the target articulation angle based on the roller geometry model. Compared with the DRC, the settling time of the CDRC is reduced by 12.3%, and the lateral errors are reduced by 43.1% and 39.9% in the presence of uncertainties in the positioning system and steering motor, respectively, while it still maintains a low computational cost. The proposed controller have been used in 15 unmanned rollers for 2 years, using which over 5 million square meters area has been compacted.

Simulation Based Validation of Range Prediction of Electric Vehicles

With the increasing environmental pollution in our urban communities along with the continuous exhaustion of oil assets, electric vehicles are ending up profoundly supported as means of transport. There is a proceeding with increment in the quantity of EVs being used, however their global expansion and acceptance by consumers is identified with the performance they can deliver. The most significant highlights here are observably the low energy density, with staggering expenses and short cycle life bringing about constrained mileage contrasted with conventional passenger vehicles. Ordinarily, in the technical specifications of electric cars, automakers give an operational combined range which isn't completely accurate and doesn’t differentiate and take into consideration several influencing factors (urban driving or inter city traffic, ambient temperature, utilization of auxiliary equipment …). For the owners it is imperative to know as accurate as possible the remaining range and influence of the auxiliaries on energy consumption and mileage. That information will guarantee a tranquil and pleasant journey regardless of the constrained range of electric vehicles.

Investigation and Comparative Study of 12/16 C-core and Conventional Radial Flux Switched Reluctance Motor under Coil Fault Conditions . (Dept. E)

Owing to the large quantity of conventional passenger vehicles with internal combustion engines, energy shortages and environmental pollution are now Seen as important problems. Electric vehicles (EVs) have the best energy savings and zero emission vehicles option. Radial Flux Switched Reluctance Motor (RFSRM), and Axial Flux Switched Reluctance Motor (AFSRM) have shown promise in wheel motor design of electric vehicles. While C-core is modelled, giving advantages of both radial and axial flux SRM. Based on a three-phase 12/16 pole structure, C-core RFSRM and conventional RFSRM are investigated and compared under different types of coils failures, while their impact on the average torque for both motors is presented. Comparisons of average torques at different coils` fault conditions between C-Core RFSRM, and conventional RFSRM have been done by finite element analysis (FEM). The segmental structure of C-Core RFSRM and its independent separate magnetic path for its coils, give it the superiority more than conventional RFSRM for in-wheel electric vehicle application.

Geometrical Analysis and Design of Tension-Actuated Ackermann Steering System for Quad-Wheeled Robots

The tension-actuated steering system is a vehicular steering design that comprises a motorized gear system, pulleys, inelastic string, main steering bar, and a strain gauge. This development is aimed to produce a steering design that could enhance the efficiency of steering systems in quad-wheeled (i.e. four-wheeled) robots. In this work, the steering system of conventional passenger vehicles and existing quad-wheeled robots are reviewed and their technical deficiencies are improved based on cost, power and production factors. Thus, the tension-actuated steering system is proposed as a solution for mechanizing steering functions in quad-wheeled robots. It is expected that this work will stimulate interest and enthusiasm.

Dynamic stock, flow, and emissions of brominated flame retardants for vehicles in Japan

The transportation industry, including the automobile industry, is one of the primary manufacturing sectors that have used polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) within interior components. In this study, a dynamic substance flow model and scenario analysis were used to analyze the trends of PBDE and HBCD stocks, and the flow and emissions from vehicles were estimated. Under the strict elimination scenario, the average amount of commercially decabrominated diphenyl ether (c-DecaBDE) was 62 ± 21 g per conventional passenger vehicle (CPV) and 38 ± 13 g per miniature passenger vehicle (Mini PV). The average amount of HBCD was 3 ± 2 g per CPV and 2 ± 1 g per Mini PV. Seat fabric contributed ∼87% of the c-DecaBDE, while floor covering contributed ∼73% of the HBCD for passenger vehicles (PVs). For vehicles in use, the amount of c-DecaBDE was ∼2800–3100 tonnes from fiscal year 1998 (FY1998), while that of HBCD was ∼120–130 tonnes from FY2002; this remained stable until elimination began. Scenario analysis revealed that at least 5000–6700 tonnes of c-DecaBDE and 260–280 tonnes of HBCD entered in domestic PVs use could be avoided through elimination measures taken by Japanese vehicle manufacturers. The flows of c-DecaBDE and HBCD in FY2003 and FY2013 also demonstrated the effectiveness of elimination measures. However, approximately 300 ± 100 tonnes of c-DecaBDE and 1.8 ± 1.1 tonnes of HBCD will still be stocked in vehicles in FY2030. The atmosphere is the main environmental media for c-DecaBDE and HBCD emissions, and the usage phase is the most important stage. The fate of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) during and after material recycling should be carefully monitored and managed because the end-of-life vehicle treatment stage may become the dominant phase of BFR emissions with the decline of c-DecaBDE and HBCD stocked in vehicles.

Driving range estimation for electric vehicles based on driving condition identification and forecast

With the impact of serious environmental pollution in our cities combined with the ongoing depletion of oil resources, electric vehicles are becoming highly favored as means of transport. Not only for the advantage of low noise, but for their high energy efficiency and zero pollution. The Power battery is used as the energy source of electric vehicles. However, it does currently still have a few shortcomings, noticeably the low energy density, with high costs and short cycle life results in limited mileage compared with conventional passenger vehicles. There is great difference in vehicle energy consumption rate under different environment and driving conditions. Estimation error of current driving range is relatively large due to without considering the effects of environmental temperature and driving conditions. The development of a driving range estimation method will have a great impact on the electric vehicles. A new driving range estimation model based on the combination of driving cycle identification and prediction is proposed and investigated. This model can effectively eliminate mileage errors and has good convergence with added robustness. Initially the identification of the driving cycle is based on Kernel Principal Component feature parameters and fuzzy C referring to clustering algorithm. Secondly, a fuzzy rule between the characteristic parameters and energy consumption is established under MATLAB/Simulink environment. Furthermore the Markov algorithm and BP(Back Propagation) neural network method is utilized to predict the future driving conditions to improve the accuracy of the remaining range estimation. Finally, driving range estimation method is carried out under the ECE 15 condition by using the rotary drum test bench, and the experimental results are compared with the estimation results. Results now show that the proposed driving range estimation method can not only estimate the remaining mileage, but also eliminate the fluctuation of the residual range under different driving conditions.

Stocks, Flows, and Distribution of Critical Metals in Embedded Electronics in Passenger Vehicles.

One of the major applications of critical metals (CMs) is in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), which is increasingly embedded in other products, notably passenger vehicles. However, recycling strategies for future CM quantities in end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are poorly understood, mainly due to a limited understating of the complexity of automotive embedded EEE. We introduce a harmonization of the network structure of automotive electronics that enables a comprehensive quantification of CMs in all embedded EEE in a vehicle. This network is combined with a material flow analysis along the vehicle lifecycle in Switzerland to quantify the stocks and flows of Ag, Au, Pd, Ru, Dy, La, Nd, and Co in automotive embedded EEE. In vehicles in use, we calculated 5-2+3 t precious metals in controllers embedded in all vehicle types and 220-60+90 t rare earth elements (REE); found mainly in five electric motors: alternator, starter, radiator-fan and electronic power steering motor embedded in conventional passenger vehicles and drive motor/generator embedded in hybrid and electric vehicles. Dismantling these devices before ELV shredding, as well as postshredder treatment of automobile shredder residue may increase the recovery of CMs from ELVs. Environmental and economic implications of such recycling strategies must be considered.

Are potential reductions in CO2 emissions via hybrid electric vehicles actualized in real traffic? The case of Japan

The number of private passenger hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) in use in Japan has increased rapidly since 2009. One of the advantages of HEVs over conventional passenger vehicles lies in the higher fuel economy obtained by recent technological innovations, which helps reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from transport. However, are the potential reductions in CO2 emissions via HEVs actualized in real traffic in Japan? To answer this question, this study estimates the regional gap between on-road fuel economy and fuel economy in the regulated test procedures (test fuel economy) of HEVs and regional direct rebound effects of HEV use during 2010–2013. To estimate the direct rebound effects, a methodological framework of the Modified Laspeyres Index (MLI) decomposition is proposed to quantify the contribution of kilometers traveled per vehicle to aggregate the differences between CO2 emissions per HEV and those per standard/small vehicle. The results show that the potential reductions in CO2 emissions offered by the higher test fuel economy of HEVs have been offset markedly by the deterioration in test fuel economy and the direct rebound effects in real traffic over the period. An increase in fuel prices by implementing a fuel tax increase would be one method to improve the on-road fuel economy of HEVs and reduce the direct rebound effects. However, equity policies would be required for urban and rural regions. The findings present helpful information to policymakers wishing to promote higher fuel economy vehicles to reduce CO2 emissions from transportation.

Scarce metals in conventional passenger vehicles and end-of-life vehicle shredder output.

Concurrent with the demand for cleaner, lighter, and more efficient vehicles, many scarce metals (SMs) are used in passenger vehicles because of their unique physical and chemical properties. To explore the recycling potential of these metals, it is important to understand their distribution in the vehicles as well as their fate at the vehicles' end-of-life. However, this information remains very scattered and sparse. In this paper, we present a study investigating the distribution of 31 SMs in selected electrical and electronic (EE) components of conventional passenger vehicles and in the end-of-life vehicle shredder fractions from a shredder plant in Switzerland. The results of the chemical analyses show that the mass fractions of Co, Sn, Sr, Ta, Y, and Zr were dominant with >20,000 g/t in the selected EE components and Ag, Ga, Mo, Sb, Sn, Sr, and Zr with >50 g/t in the analyzed shredder fractions. The largest masses of 17 SMs were found in the shredder light fraction, which is incinerated in municipal waste treatment plants mainly in Switzerland; thus, these SMs are currently not recovered. The SM mass fractions in both the EE components and the shredder fractions were projected to their total masses in 100 hypothetical midrange passenger vehicles. The resulting mass balance showed a mismatch of >50% for 23 metals, which indicates other important SM sources such as alloys.

Quantifying the distribution of critical metals in conventional passenger vehicles using input-driven and output-driven approaches: a comparative study

Critical metals are used increasingly in vehicle manufacturing. For more sustainable use of these metals, it is important to understand their distribution in vehicles. In this paper, we present a comparative study examining the distribution of critical metals in conventional passenger vehicles. We identified two existing approaches to estimate the amounts of critical metals used in one passenger vehicle: input-driven and output-driven approach, and compared the results of 25 metals among five studies. In general, the results were found to be scattered. Cu, Mn, Sr and Sb were found with the highest median masses per vehicle. The median masses of eight metals (Nb, Zr, Co, La, Mo, Nd, Ce, and Ag in descending order) were around or below 10 g per vehicle and those of 13 metals (Pd, Ta, Pr, Ga, Sm, Y, W, Au, Gd, Dy, In, Pt, and Tb in descending order) were below 1 g per vehicle. Top three subsystems and parts containing the largest mass of critical metals in sum were presented. Our research provides a consolidated summary of existing information on the critical metal distribution in conventional passenger vehicles and suggests improvements for future studies on this topic.

Reactivity-controlled compression ignition drive cycle emissions and fuel economy estimations using vehicle system simulations

In-cylinder blending of gasoline and diesel to achieve reactivity-controlled compression ignition has been shown to reduce NOX and soot emissions while maintaining or improving brake thermal efficiency as compared with conventional diesel combustion. The reactivity-controlled compression ignition concept has an advantage over many advanced combustion strategies in that the fuel reactivity can be tailored to the engine speed and load, allowing stable low-temperature combustion to be extended over more of the light-duty drive cycle load range. A multi-mode reactivity-controlled compression ignition strategy is employed where the engine switches from reactivity-controlled compression ignition to conventional diesel combustion when speed and load demand are outside of the experimentally determined reactivity-controlled compression ignition range. The potential for reactivity-controlled compression ignition to reduce drive cycle fuel economy and emissions is not clearly understood and is explored here by simulating the fuel economy and emissions for a multi-mode reactivity-controlled compression ignition–enabled vehicle operating over a variety of US drive cycles using experimental engine maps for multi-mode reactivity-controlled compression ignition, conventional diesel combustion, and a 2009 port-fuel injected gasoline engine. Drive cycle simulations are completed assuming a conventional mid-size passenger vehicle with an automatic transmission. Multi-mode reactivity-controlled compression ignition fuel economy simulation results are compared with the same vehicle powered by a representative 2009 port-fuel injected gasoline engine over multiple drive cycles. Engine-out drive cycle emissions are compared with conventional diesel combustion, and observations regarding relative gasoline and diesel tank sizes needed for the various drive cycles are also summarized.

China’s electric vehicle subsidy scheme: Rationale and impacts

To promote the market penetration of electric vehicles (EV), China launched the Electric Vehicle Subsidy Scheme (EVSS) in Jan 2009, followed by an update in Sep 2013, which we named phase I and phase II EVSS, respectively. In this paper, we presented the rationale of China’s two-phase EVSS and estimated their impacts on EV market penetration, with a focus on the ownership cost analysis of battery electric passenger vehicles (BEPV). Based on the ownership cost comparison of five defining BEPV models and their counterpart conventional passenger vehicle (CPV) models, we concluded that in the short term, especially before 2015, China’s EVSS is very necessary for BEPVs to be cost competitive compared with CPVs. The transition from phase I to phase II EVSS will generally reduce subsidy intensity, thus resulting in temporary rise of BEPV ownership cost. However, with the decrease of BEPV manufacturing cost, the ownership cost of BEPV is projected to decrease despite of the phase-out mechanism under phase II EVSS. In the mid term of around 2015–2020, BEPV could become less or not reliant on subsidy to maintain cost competitiveness. However, given the performance disadvantages of BEPV, especially the limited electric range, China’s current EVSS is not sufficient for the BEPV market to take off. Technology improvement associated with battery cost reduction has to play an essential role in starting up China’s BEPV market.

Eco-driving: An economic or ecologic driving style?

In this work the trade-off between economic, therefore fuel saving, and ecologic, pollutant emission reducing, driving is discussed. The term eco-driving is often used to refer to a vehicle operation that minimizes energy consumption. However, for eco-driving to be environmentally friendly not only fuel consumption but also pollutant emissions should be considered. In contrast to previous studies, this paper will discuss the advantages of eco-driving with respect to improvements in fuel consumption as well as pollutant gas emissions. Simulating a conventional passenger vehicle and applying numerical trajectory optimization methods best vehicle operation for a given trip is identified. With hardware-in-the-loop testing on an engine test bench the fuel and emissions are measured. An approach to integrate pollutant emission and dynamically choose the ecologically optimal gear is proposed.

Optimal gear shift strategies for fuel economy and driveability

This paper aims at designing optimal gear shift strategies for conventional passenger vehicles equipped with discrete ratio transmissions. In order to study quantitatively an optimal trade-off between the fuel economy and the driveability, the vehicle driveability is addressed in a fuel-optimal gear shift algorithm based on dynamic programming by three methods: method 1, weighted inverse of power reserve; method 2, constant power reserve; method 3, variable power reserve. Furthermore, another method based on stochastic dynamic programming is proposed to derive an optimal gear shift strategy over a number of driving cycles in an average sense, hence taking into account the vehicle driveability. In contrast with the dynamic-programming-based strategy, the obtained gear shift strategy based on stochastic dynamic programming is real time implementable. A comparative analysis of all proposed gear shift methods is given in terms of the improvements in the fuel economy and the driveability. The variable-power-reserve method achieves the highest fuel economy without sacrificing the driveability.

Comparing resale prices and total cost of ownership for gasoline, hybrid and diesel passenger cars and trucks

Turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel and hybridized electric gasoline (HEV) vehicles provide higher fuel economy, but have higher manufacturing costs and sell at higher prices than conventional gasoline vehicles. All other attributes being equal, rational consumers expect to recover this price premium in fuel savings over the vehicle lifetime. Since many owners sell their vehicle after three to five years, resale prices should also reflect fuel savings. Here, we employ data from used vehicle auctions in 2008–2009 for paired alternative and conventional vehicles to compare the difference in resale prices to the expected fuel savings and the five-year cost of ownership expressed as the net present value (NPV). To estimate resale prices,we group the auction data by season and by year. We then correct for accumulated odometer mileage, which accounts for most of the variability in prices. At five years, higher fuel economy vehicles retain a higher proportion of their initial price than conventional options. The ratio of the resale value to the initial purchase price increases at higher fuel prices. For the paired HEV – conventional passenger vehicles, the difference in resale prices approximates the expected future fuel savings. The price difference for TDI diesel–gasoline pairs exceeds the fuel savings; other attributes such as performance or prestige may account for this difference. Regardless of the mechanism, the fuel savings and higher resale values compensate for the price premium for the TDI diesel and HEV options.

Fatal Passenger Vehicle Crashes With At Least 1 Driver Younger Than 15 Years: A Fatality Analysis Reporting System Study

A small number of fatalities continue to occur due to motor vehicle crashes on highways in which at least 1 passenger vehicle (automobile, van, or small truck) is driven by a child younger than 15 years. The purpose of this study was to extend previous work suggesting that such crashes occur frequently in the Southern states and have relatively high rates in rural areas in the South and Great Plains. This study utilizes data for the 5-year period 1999-2003 from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's online Fatality Analysis Reporting System. All cases were identified in which at least 1 conventional passenger vehicle in a fatal crash was being driven by a child younger than 15 years. During the 5-year period, 350 fatal crashes occurred with at least 1 driver younger than 15 years involved. Twenty-one of these drivers were licensed (11) or driving with a learner's permit (10). A total of 987 individuals in 419 vehicles were involved in these crashes, and 402 deaths resulted (1.16 deaths/crash). These crashes occurred primarily in Texas, Florida, Arkansas, and Arizona, but the highest rates per 100,000 children were found in North and South Dakota and predominantly in a band of Intermountain and Plains states. There was a strong correlation between crash rates and several measures of rurality. Crashes involving young, largely unlicensed, drivers account for about 70 deaths yearly.