Vehicle Management Research Articles

Smart energy management for hybrid electric bus via improved soft actor-critic algorithm in a heuristic learning framework

Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) is currently the cutting-edge artificial intelligence approach in the field of energy management for hybrid electric vehicles. However, inefficient offline training limits the energy-saving efficacy of DRL-based energy management strategies (EMSs). Motivated by this, this article proposes a smart DRL-based EMS in a heuristic learning framework for an urban hybrid electric bus. In order to enhance the sampling efficiency, the prioritized experience replay technique is introduced into soft actor-critic (SAC) for the innovative formulation of an improved SAC algorithm. Additionally, to strengthen the generalizability of the improved SAC agent to real driving scenarios, a stochastic training environment is constructed. Afterward, curriculum learning is employed to develop a heuristic learning framework that expedites convergence. Experimental simulations reveal that the designed EMS expedites convergence by 85.58 % and saves fuel by 6.43 % compared with the cutting-edge baseline EMS. Moreover, the computation complexity test demonstrates that the designed EMS holds significant promise for real-time implementation. These findings highlight the contribution of this article in facilitating fuel conservation for urban hybrid electric buses through the application of emerging artificial intelligence technologies.

Thermally radiative chemically reactive flow of Reiner-Rivlin nanofluid through porous medium with Newtonian conditions

The nanofluids have well-known implications in pharmaceutical industries, microelectronics, heat exchangers, engine cooling, hybrid-powered engines, thermal management of vehicles, refrigerator, machining, chillers, grinding, and in boiler fuel to reduce the gas temperature. Due to such dominant implications of nanofluids, the boundary layer Reiner-Rivlin nanomaterial flow over chemically reactive stretched sheet is considered. Radiation term is incorporated in the energy equation for heat transportation analysis. Newtonian thermal and solutal conditions are implemented at the boundaries of the surface. Similarity variables are utilized for the conversion of nonlinear partial differential equations into the system of one independent variable equations. The resulted system of equations is calculated analytically with the help of homotopy analysis method. Convergence of the calculated results is verified through plots and numeric benchmark. The results of various pertinent parameters on quantities of physical importance are drawn and discussed in detail. Results revealed that the incremented cross viscous constraint resulted higher velocity and lower temperature profiles. An augmentation in radiative constraint gives rise to temperature field. Concentration and temperature have reverse trends against the rising Brownian motion constraint values.

Intelligent energy management and operation efficiency of electric vehicles based on artificial intelligence algorithms and thermal energy optimization

As the global concern for environmental protection and sustainable development intensifies, electric vehicles (EVs), as a representative of clean transportation, are gradually receiving attention. This study aims to explore an intelligent energy management system for electric vehicles based on artificial intelligence algorithms, and focuses on optimizing heat energy utilization to improve the overall operating efficiency of electric vehicles. This paper uses machine learning and deep learning technologies to build intelligent decision-making models, and realizes dynamic optimization of energy demand and heat recovery by analyzing real-time data of electric vehicles under different working conditions. At the same time, a set of thermal management system is designed, which combines the driving state and environmental conditions of the vehicle to optimize the thermal management strategy of the battery and the motor. The experimental results show that the intelligent energy management system based on this research shows good adaptability and stability under different climate conditions, and significantly reduces energy consumption. Therefore, the intelligent energy management system of electric vehicles based on artificial intelligence algorithm and thermal energy optimization effectively improves the operating efficiency of electric vehicles.

Impacts of different vehicle emissions on ozone levels in Beijing: Insights into source contributions and formation processes

Beijing, with the highest number of motor vehicles in China, significantly contributes to O3 pollution through substantial NOx and VOC emissions in the on-road transportation sector. Understanding the unique impact of emissions from different vehicle types on O3 levels is crucial for developing targeted strategies for O3 pollution. This study applied the Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (CMAQ) to comprehensively investigate the impacts of emissions from different vehicle types on O3 levels in various regions of Beijing and to provide valuable insights into source contributions and formation processes. The results revealed that various vehicle types exhibited different spatial-temporal emission patterns, with medium-heavy duty trucks (HDT) and mini-light passenger vehicles (LDPV) identified as the primary contributors to NOx (36.1 %) and VOC (57.6 %) emissions. Using the Integrated Source Apportionment Method (ISAM) coupled in CMAQ, we found the total vehicle emissions contributed to over 20 % of daily maximum 8–h average O3 (MDA8 O3) concentration, ranked as the second largest contributor after regional transport. Contributions to O3 formation from LDPV and medium-large passenger vehicles (MDPV) were 2.6–4.0 and 4.2–6.8 ppb and mainly concentrated in urban areas, while the contributions from mini-light duty trucks (LDT) and HDT were 3.5–4.8 and 3.7–6.2 ppb and mainly concentrated in suburban areas. Through scenario analysis that removed emissions from specific types of vehicles, we found removing LDPV emissions led to decreases in daytime O3 concentration by 0.3–3.8 ppb. In contrast, removing MDPV emissions led to notable O3 increases by 4.0–11.8 ppb at rush hours. Removing LDT and HDT emissions resulted in 0.6–8.0 ppb increases in nocturnal O3 concentrations while 0.8–2.0 ppb decreases during the afternoon. This research highlights the necessity of tailoring control strategies for different vehicle types to effectively reduce O3 levels in Beijing and provides useful information for decision-makers to formulate effective measures of vehicle management in the future.

Navigating the path to effective End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) management in Malaysia: A qualitative inquiry

Navigating the path to effective End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) management in Malaysia: A qualitative inquiry

Adaptive and dynamic smart traffic light system for efficient management of regular and emergency vehicles at city intersection

Adaptive and dynamic smart traffic light system for efficient management of regular and emergency vehicles at city intersection

Multi-Agent DRL-Based Resource Scheduling and Energy Management for Electric Vehicles

With the emergence of vehicular edge computing (VEC) and electric vehicles (EVs), integrating computation and charging tasks presents challenges due to limited resources and dynamic vehicular networks. This research focuses on the joint optimization of computation offloading and charging scheduling in VEC networks. Specifically, we optimize the offloading factor, charging association variable, and charging rates to minimize the system delay and energy consumption by leveraging the multi-attributes of EVs in both information and energy networks. Considering the dynamic environment, we model the problem as a Markov Decision Process, and use the Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) algorithm MADDPG, with its centralized training and distributed execution mechanisms. Simulation results demonstrate that this approach significantly improves utility while reducing energy consumption and latency.

A soft actor-critic reinforcement learning framework for optimal energy management in electric vehicles with hybrid storage

The efficient energy management of electric vehicles (EVs) equipped with hybrid energy storage systems (HESS) poses a significant challenge due to its vast search space, numerous control variables, and intricate driving conditions. In response to this challenge, this paper introduces a novel deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithm, specifically the soft actor-critic (SAC), tailored for optimizing energy distribution within EVs equipped with battery-supercapacitor (SC) HESS. The proposed SAC-based energy management system (EMS) is designed to address inherent limitations present in most existing DRL algorithms, such as slower convergence rates, discretization errors, unstable training dynamics, and suboptimal optimization effects. The SAC-based EMS undergoes training in a continuous action space through self-play, utilizing a complex driving cycle and a novel reward function. The algorithm demonstrates its efficiency by rapidly maximizing cumulative rewards and refining its decision-making policies. Afterward, extensive experiments showcase the superiority of the proposed SAC-based EMS over rule-based (RB) techniques, deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG), and battery-only configurations across various driving cycles. Notably, the approach effectively allocates high-power surges and braking energy to the SC, reducing the frequency of charge/discharge cycles and thereby extending the battery's lifespan. Additionally, the learned SAC-based EMS policy achieves substantial reductions in electricity consumption by 39.6 %, 47.87 %, and 45 % compared to battery-only configuration, and 42.56 %, 47.87 %, and 45.83 % compared to RB technique under the NYCC, LA92, and FTP cycles, respectively. In contrast, the DDPG algorithm tends to rely heavily on the SC to deliver the total power required, even under normal driving conditions.

A simulation framework for automotive cybersecurity risk assessment

Human-initiated disruptions such as cyberattacks on connected vehicles have the potential to cause cascading failures in transport systems, leading to systemic risks. ‘ISO/SAE 21434:2021 Road vehicles - Cybersecurity engineering’ is the current standard for risk management of road vehicles. However, the threat analysis and risk assessment framework given in the standard focuses on asset-level analysis and assessment. Hence, this study develops a novel simulation-based framework to perform threat analysis and risk assessment on connected vehicles from a transport network perspective. The proposed framework is developed based on the ISO/SAE 21434 threat analysis and risk assessment methodology. We demonstrate the applicability and usefulness of the framework through a remote attack via the cellular network on the in-vehicle communication bus system of a connected vehicle to show the potential impacts on the transport network. Based on the findings of our case studies, we exemplify how cyberattacks on individual system components of a connected vehicle have the potential to cause systemic failures.

Integrated battery thermal and energy management for electric vehicles with hybrid energy storage system: A hierarchical approach

Battery cooling is crucial for electric vehicles’ thermal safety, energy consumption, and battery life in hot climatic conditions. For electric vehicles with battery/supercapacitor hybrid energy storage system, battery cooling is deeply coupled with load power split from the electrical-thermal-aging perspective, leading to challenging thermal and energy management issues. This paper proposes a hierarchical multi-horizon model predictive control (MH-MPC) method to optimize battery cooling and energy management simultaneously. First, the electrical-thermal-aging coupling relationship between battery cooling and energy management is systematically analyzed. Then, by decoupling a centralized MH-MPC, an upper-level MH-MPC is designed to optimize the battery capacity loss cost and battery cooling cost by generating optimal compressor power, then a lower-level MH-MPC tends to minimize the battery capacity loss cost by allocating the total load power demand. The prediction horizon and sampling time are determined. Numerical results show that, compared with the centralized method, the proposed hierarchical method provides a lower battery capacity loss for long-term driving with only about 20% computation burden. Compared with standalone energy management without battery cooling, the total cost can be reduced by 12%–16% under long-term driving. Compared with optimizing energy management with Bangbang cooling, the battery degradation and total costs can be reduced by 15%–52% under short-term driving without deteriorating long-term performance.

Real-time analytical solution to energy management for hybrid electric vehicles using intelligent driving cycle recognition

For series hybrid electric vehicles, due to the limitation of engine operating characteristics, speed regulation is usually performed using discrete operating points. This leads to the problem of mixed integer programming when solving energy management problem. In this paper, an analytical method with strong real-time performance and small computational load is proposed. First, an intelligent cycle recognition system is designed. It can cluster driving cycles offline based on the probability distribution of the required power and efficiently recognize unknown driving cycles online. Then the analytical expression of power distribution is derived, and the selection scheme of engine operating point is given. Finally, the required power information obtained from the clustering is substituted into the analytical expression. The specific values of the corresponding analytical solutions for each type are computed offline. When facing unknown conditions, this method can match the power distribution scheme quickly once the driving cycle is recognized. The results of the simulation and hardware-in-loop experiments demonstrate that this method can effectively control the SOC trajectory and allocate power more optimally. Compared to the benchmark method, the proposed strategy improves the fuel economy by 5.52 % and 7.49 % in two cases, and the computational efficiency is significantly enhanced.

Stochastic Optimal Strategies and Management of Electric Vehicles and Microgrids

This study combines the Nash–Cournot competition model and the stochastic optimization model to examine the impact of electric vehicle (EV) quantity fluctuations on microgrid operations, aiming to optimize energy usage in a competitive electricity market. Integrating distributed energy resources and bidirectional charging, microgrids offer a novel approach for energy optimization, aiding in renewable energy generation, peak demand management, and emission reduction. Empirical evidence highlights benefits in Taiwan’s electricity market and net-zero emissions target by 2050, with a case study demonstrating enhanced local renewable energy generation due to EVs and microgrid integration. As the number of EVs increases, electricity sales from microgrids decline, but electricity purchases remain stable. The degree of electricity liberalization also influences the supply and demand dynamics of the electricity market. Microgrids selling electricity only to the main grid increases total power consumption by 65.55 million MWh, reducing the market share of the state-owned utility (Taipower). Conversely, allowing retailers to purchase from microgrids increases total consumption by 30.87 million MWh with a slight market share decrease for Taipower. This study contributes to providing an adaptable and flexible general model for future studies to modify and expand based on different scenarios and variables to shape energy and environmental policies.

Above the roads: Unleashing unmanned aerial vehicles and image processing for traffic analysis

Road traffic surveillance using unmanned aerial vehicles is a practice that can be found especially in the field of intelligent vehicle management, which is still in the early stages of research and application. This paper presents three methods of analyzing traffic data. One method is a conventional one, based on Doppler radar detection and the other two methods analyze images captured by unmanned aerial vehicles, being based on deep learning techniques. After acquiring the images, they went through a complex processing process to eliminate noise and improve the clarity of the image, then the identification of the vehicles was done by recognizing moving objects and highlighting them either through a bounding box or through labelling. The quality of images obtained from unmanned aerial vehicles is similar to the quality of images obtained from fixed surveillance cameras. The comparative analysis of the results obtained through image processing, together with those obtained through a conventional method of traffic analysis, the Doppler radar, highlighted the fact that video detection used in intelligent vehicle management is a method that both researchers and local authorities can rely on the performance of traffic studies or the analysis of traffic incidents and accidents.

A novel interval rough model for optimizing road network performance and safety

This paper introduces a novel Integrated Interval Rough Pivot Pairwise Relative Criteria Importance Assessment (IRN PIPRECIA) model combined with Interval Rough Combined Compromise Solution (IRN CoCoSo), marking a significant advancement in sustainable traffic flow management for commercial vehicles. This innovative merger is a first in literature, methodologically enhancing the evaluation of road sections based on critical parameters including passenger car equivalent (PCE) 85%, AADT, road conditions, and accident data. Our model systematically fills the research gap in holistic traffic performance analysis, providing a unique tool for prioritizing road safety and efficiency. The key scientific contribution is the model’s ability to integrate causal and consequential traffic factors into a single framework, offering a novel multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach. Results, validated through various verification models, show the integrated model’s effectiveness in real-world scenarios, confirming its robustness and stability. With strong engineering application potential, our work supports urban planners and traffic managers in making informed, sustainable decisions. The model extends beyond traditional traffic analysis, promising a shift towards more adaptive, data-driven infrastructure management. Future research will aim to refine the criteria basis and explore real-time decision-making through advanced MCDM applications.

Energy management of slow and fast charge electric vehicles (EV) in smart parking lot using NBO-THDCNN algorithm

Energy management of slow and fast charge electric vehicles (EV) in smart parking lot using NBO-THDCNN algorithm

Innovative coupled cooling strategy for enhanced battery thermal management: Synergistic optimization of jet impingement and immersion cooling

This study introduces an innovative, synergistically optimized coupled cooling design that enhances lithium-ion battery thermal management for electric vehicles, merging jet impingement with immersion cooling techniques. Utilizing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) numerical simulation, distributed iterative optimization is conducted. Initially, the inlet and outlet configurations are determined. Subsequently, the number of jet pipes and the flow distribution are optimized. Finally, the diameters of the jet pipes are refined. This process aims to enhance heat transfer efficiency and reduce total input cost. The results indicate that a design with three inlets and one outlet, using an inlet flow rate of 0.075 kg/s alongside the flow rate of 0.025 kg/s, achieves optimal thermal performance for the batteries. This configuration reduces the maximum battery temperature and average temperature by 17.61% and 15.05%, respectively. Furthermore, an excessive or insufficient number of jet pipes is detrimental to cooling within the battery. Relying solely on mainstream inlet or jet pipe coolant for refrigeration is far less effective than proportionally distributing flow between the two. Selecting 6 jet pipes and a distribution ratio of 2꞉1 can reduce the maximum temperature by 10.10%. In contrast to adjusting jet pipe diameters, optimizing flow distribution exerts a more significant influence on battery cooling efficiency. Ultimately, the optimized solution, compared to the original design (with a flow rate of 0.025 kg/s), reduces the maximum temperature and average temperature by 26.41% and 10.61%, respectively. These improvements demonstrate the effectiveness of coupling jet impingement and immersion methods in battery thermal management, offering valuable insights for the future development of EVs battery cooling technologies.

Spatial-diffusion characters and emission reduction strategy for motor vehicle pollutants on expressway

This research tries to establish the emissions diffusion model of high-speed motor vehicles on the Capital Ring Expressway (CRE) around Beijing, China, applying the MOVES and the CALPUFF models. Data required for this study have been collected from different sources. The results show that small buses and large trucks have the highest pollutant emissions on the CRE. The pollutants like CO and HC mainly comes from gasoline vehicles, while NOx, PM10 and PM2.5 comes from diesel vehicles. The average concentrations of the diffusion of CO, NOx, CH4, PM10, and PM2.5 along with the CRE are 6.5 mg/m3, 2.3 mg/m3, 0.27 mg/m3, 0.055 mg/m3 and 0.056 mg/m3 respectively. The results of this study have practical significance and influence on the emission reduction and concentration control strategies under different circumstances, and put forward suggestions on changing transportation modes, strengthening supervision and so on. It has produced a number of recommendations for the policy makers including (1) active promotion of new energy vehicles on expressways, (2) strategic change of the mode of passenger and freight transportation on expressways, (3) strengthen traffic management and supervision of motor vehicles on expressways, and (4) strengthen vegetation protection in rural and ecologically sound areas along the route.

Heuristic power management of hybrid source electric vehicle based on PV-battery-PEMFC

Renewable energy sources are now being focused on for usage in electric vehicles. Although majority of electric vehicles run solely on batteries, they have eliminated local emissions but not pollution. To tackle this issue, this research looks into the performance and power management aspects of an electric vehicle's hybrid power system, with a particular emphasis on the interactions between fuel cells, batteries, and photovoltaic (PV) cells. Stable operation is ensured via a bi-directional buck-boost converter, which maintains the voltage from all sources around reference 430 V. Initially, the fuel cell supplies electricity under low light conditions. The PV system and battery take over when the irradiance surpasses 100 W/m2, with the battery first draining and then charging in tandem with the increase in irradiance. 1750 RPM is the constant motor speed that is reached after making the required torque adjustments. A model full electric vehicle with multiple sources has been proposed with an efficient power management algorithm. When the battery is in stationary mode and the state of charge (SOC) is less than 100%, extra solar power is used to charge the battery. The model also takes into consideration using the car for entertainment or gadget charging when the ignition is off. The biogas output can be regulated using an inferential control technique using artificial neural network (ANN) based on the fuel demand or consumption. The system also includes anaerobic digestion of organic waste to provide hydrogen for the fuel cell sustainably from biogas. Power, current, SOC profiles, motor performance graphs, and other validations show that the extensive simulations exhibit efficient power management and a strong model for hybrid electric car power systems. The model has been simulated in the MATLAB Simulink environment and has been tested under realistic conditions.

NEMa: A Novel Energy-Efficient Mobility Management Protocol for 5G/6G-Enabled Sustainable Vehicular Networks

As the advancement of 5G and the emergence of 6G technologies unfolds, it is anticipated to support a diverse set of technologies, services, energy resources, and storage capabilities, all while maintaining a high quality of service to users and balancing the load on network devices; however, challenges such as energy consumption, network densification, and rapid mobility of vehicles need to be addressed A critical aspect of this evolution is the mitigation of mobility management, communication, and tracking of vehicles’ rapid mobility in network-dense environments, which currently consumes significant power resources. Consequently, existing mobility management protocols must be adapted and reconfigured to meet the requirements and limitations of energy-constrained vehicular networks. In this article, we introduce a novel energy-efficient mobility management protocol, NEMa, specifically designed for vehicular networks. This protocol optimizes network resources and vehicles’ on-board sensing to minimize energy consumption while maintaining a high packet delivery ratio and minimal interruption time. We have evaluated the performance of the proposed protocol and compared it to existing benchmark mobility management solutions in terms of network overhead, latency, and energy efficiency. Our results demonstrate that our proposed protocol surpasses existing benchmark solutions, thereby contributing to the enhancement of 5G/6G and beyond vehicular networks by addressing the challenges of energy efficiency and network performance.

Enabling cross-type full-knowledge transferable energy management for hybrid electric vehicles via deep transfer reinforcement learning

Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) now represents an emerging artificial intelligence technology to develop energy management strategies (EMSs) for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). However, developing specific DRL-based EMSs for different HEVs is currently a laborious task. Therefore, we design a transferable optimization framework crossing types of HEVs to expedite the development of DRL-based EMSs. In this framework, a novel enhanced twin delayed deep deterministic policy gradient (E-TD3) algorithm is first formulated, and then a deep transfer reinforcement learning (DTRL) method is designed by incorporating transfer learning into DRL. After that, a full-knowledge transfer method based on E-TD3 and DTRL is innovatively proposed. To assess the efficacy of the designed method, an E-TD3-based EMS of a light HEV is pre-trained to be the existing source EMS whose all learned knowledge is then transferred to be reused for a hybrid electric bus (HEB) to facilitate the acquisition of the target new EMS. Simulation results demonstrate that, in the designed transferable framework, the development cycle of the HEB's EMS can be shortened by 90.38 % and the fuel consumption can be saved by 6.07 %. This article provides a practical method to reuse existing DRL-based EMSs for the rapid development of new EMSs across HEV types.