Wireless Charging Lane Research Articles

Bilevel Planning of Wireless Charging Lanes in Coupled Transportation and Power Distribution Networks

Bilevel Planning of Wireless Charging Lanes in Coupled Transportation and Power Distribution Networks

Wireless Power Transfer System in Electric Vehicle Application

Abstract: As an alternate form in the road transportation system, electric vehicle (EV) can help reduce the fossil-fuel consumption. However, the usage of EVs is constrained by the limited capacity of battery. Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) can increase the driving range of EVs by charging EVs in motion when they drive through a wireless charging lane embedded in a road. The amount of power that can be supplied by a charging lane at a time is limited. A problem here is when a large number of EVs pass a charging lane, how to efficiently distribute the power among different penetrations levels of EVs? However, there has been no previous research devoted to tackling this challenge. To handle this challenge, we propose a system to balance the State of Charge (called BSoC) among the EVs. It consists of three components: i) fog-based power distribution architecture, ii) power scheduling model, and iii) efficient vehicle-to-fog communication protocol. The fog computing center collects information from EVs and schedules the power distribution. We use fog closer to vehicles rather than cloud in order to reduce the communication latency. The power scheduling model schedules the power allocated to each EV. In order to avoid network congestion between EVs and the fog, we let vehicles choose their own communication channel to communicate with local controllers.

Ramp Metering Control on Wireless Charging Lanes Considering Optimal Traffic and Charging Efficiencies

Ramp Metering Control on Wireless Charging Lanes Considering Optimal Traffic and Charging Efficiencies

Competitive Pricing Strategy for the Wireless Charging Lane Operator Considering Range Anxiety of Electric Vehicle Users

Competitive Pricing Strategy for the Wireless Charging Lane Operator Considering Range Anxiety of Electric Vehicle Users

Eco-Driving With Partial Wireless Charging Lane at Signalized Intersection: A Reinforcement Learning Approach

Eco-Driving With Partial Wireless Charging Lane at Signalized Intersection: A Reinforcement Learning Approach

Towards clean transportation systems: Infrastructure planning for EVs charging while driving

Charging while driving, or wireless charging lane (WCL), has been considered a promising solution to promote the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) for clean transportation systems. However, the WCL location problem is a strategic decision that costs a significant amount of money and greatly impacts network performance due to their interactions with traffic flow patterns. The inappropriate deployment of charging infrastructure may potentially cause more congestion, leading to more pollutants emitted from internal combustion vehicles. This paper proposes a decision-making framework to assist the system planner in finding the preferred optimal WCL location based on incorporating different stakeholders’ preferences, i.e. capital cost, congestion and environmental considerations. To capture the traffic evolution of different classes of vehicles (i.e. EVs and internal combustion vehicles), the travellers’ optimal time-dependent route choice is modelled using the multi-class dynamic traffic assignment. The proposed framework is transformed into a single-objective problem, i.e. minimizing total system cost, and solved efficiently by a meta-heuristic based on the cross-entropy method. The framework has been intensively tested to demonstrate the capability of tracking congestion propagation and energy consumption. Finally, the trade-offs between social welfare and the capital cost of WCL infrastructure are also investigated.

Dynamic wireless charging lane reversal for connected and automated electric vehicles in highway

Wireless charging lanes enable electric vehicles to be charged while driving, promoting the electrification and sustainability of transport systems. However, they cannot be fully covered on the highway due to construction costs. Conversion of several lanes of highways to wireless charging lanes is a more feasible option. In this paper, we propose a dynamic reversal strategy for wireless charging lanes in the presence of connected and automated vehicles on a highway. The proposed strategy aims to improve highway traffic efficiency while meeting electric vehicles’ uneven charging demand in different directions. A centralized controller is set to change wireless charging lane directions and guide traffic flow dynamically. Electric vehicles can access real-time lane reversal information for lane-changing and speed adjustment behaviors with connected and automated vehicle technology. We propose a modified multi-lane cell transmission model to model the traffic flow with different speed preferences on wireless charging and regular lanes. A mixed-integer linear program is developed for the proposed lane reversal strategy. Numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the proposed strategy can effectively reduce road congestion, meet the dynamic charging demand, and reduce the energy consumption of electric vehicles in different directions.

Role of electric vehicle driving behavior on optimal setting of wireless charging lane

This study investigates the optimal setting of wireless charging lane (WCL) by considering the effect of driving behavior. Based on the model framework of WCL system, a micro driving behavior model considering WCL is established by considering car-following and lane-changing behavior. A lane-changing model are evaluated to capture the characteristics of driving behavior. In this model, we also consider energy consumption. The simulation experiment of two-lane and three-lane road is conducted to demonstrate the effects of driving behavior. The simulation results show that, in the two-lane road system, the driving behavior of electric vehicles (EVs) is affected by the length of wireless charging facilities, expected deceleration and the amount of charge. In the three-lane road system, the driving behavior of EVs is more complex, it can be affected by the traffic density, the proportion of EVs and the proportion of fuel vehicles.

Transportation systems management considering dynamic wireless charging electric vehicles: Review and prospects

This paper reviews and prospects the research in transportation systems management with the presence of dynamic wireless charging (DWC) electric vehicles (EVs). DWC is based on inductive coupling that allows EVs to get charged wirelessly by driving over the coils installed in the ground. Thus, DWC is also known as ‘charging-while-driving’ or ‘in-motion charging’, which is regarded as one of the most promising charging solutions for EVs. The road that is equipped with wireless chargers underneath its surface is called a wireless charging lane (WCL). The deployment of WCLs will lead to a profound change in the field of transportation systems management. We give a review of recent studies on related topics including WCL allocation and related decisions, energy consumption of EVs considering WCLs, and pricing of EVs for the use of DWC facilities. Based on the analysis of the existing studies, we identify the needs for more flexible WCL design and allocation models, as well as novel ways that incorporate the complexities in energy consumption by EVs and routing behaviour into traffic network analysis. In addition, we emphasise the research opportunities of dynamic traffic modelling and real-time control considering DWC and EVs with state-of-charge (SOC) constraints. A high-level dynamic system model and a general model-based control problem are formulated in this regard. Finally, we foresee a demand for finer traffic management in the WCL environment enabled by emerging technologies such as the internet of vehicles (IoV) and autonomous driving.

Traveling Salesman Problem with Path Flexibility Under Wireless Charging Lanes

Traveling Salesman Problem with Path Flexibility Under Wireless Charging Lanes

Service assignment decision support of one-way carsharing in wireless charging road network

Once wireless charging lanes are commercialized, vehicles can be charged during the dispatch process, which is of great value to the electrification of one-way car-sharing fleet. In the city road network occupied with wireless charging lanes, service order arrangement of a car tends to select stations to make full use of the dispatch process for charging and improve the efficiency of vehicle circulation. The combination of wireless charging lanes and site charging provides a new perspective for service decision-making: scheduling from different alternative sites to sites lack of cars causes different power consumption or increase, charging costs, and travel time. Decision makers need to weigh these factors in order to get more profit, which puts forward new requirements for the service connection and dispatch of one-way shared cars.

Eco-driving control for connected and automated electric vehicles at signalized intersections with wireless charging

Electric vehicles have been well recognized by many as a solution to reduce greenhouse emissions, improve mobility, and decrease energy consumption in the transportation system. In this paper, we propose a novel wireless charging scheme for electric vehicles. The proposed scheme deploys partial wireless charging lane to intersections, so as to utilize the slow movement of vehicles at traffic lights for recharging. Furthermore, an eco-driving control strategy for electric vehicles at intersections with wireless charging, i.e., W-eco-driving, is developed, aiming to decrease the total energy consumption and increase traffic efficiency. With the aid of connected and automated vehicles technology, driving and surrounding data are accessible in real-time. Then electric vehicles can be controlled using the W-eco-driving strategy accurately. The proposed strategy is finally validated based on a specific intersection configuration. Both single electric vehicle control and electric vehicle platooning are discussed in test examples. We also investigate the influences of wireless charging power, location and length. Numerical results show that the wireless charging scheme with W-eco-driving is able to increase the driving range and decrease the travel cost simultaneously. The total travel cost can be saved up to 16% by following W-eco-driving. We further provide some suggestions about the construction of wireless charging lanes in the vicinity of signalized intersections. Compared with the pursuit of a long wireless charging lane, it is more important to put it in a proper position in the early stage of construction.

Wireless power transfer system design for electric vehicle dynamic charging application

This paper proposes and demonstrates a wireless power transfer system design for electric vehicle dynamic charging applications. The dynamic wireless charging (DWC) lane is designed for modularly. Each module has three shorttrack transmitter coils that are placed closely together and connected to a single inverter to reduce the number of inverters. The magnetic coupler design is analyzed and optimized by finite element analysis (FEA) to reduce the output power variation during dynamic charging. The LCC compensation circuit is designed according to the optimal load value to obtain maximum efficiency. The SIC devices are used to improve the efficiency of the high-frequency resonant inverter. A 1.5 kW dynamic charging system prototype is constructed. Experimental results show that the output power variation of 9.5% and the average efficiency of 89.5% are obtained in the moving condition.

Optimal deployment of wireless charging lanes considering their adverse effect on road capacity

With the development of wireless charging technology, charging-while-driving now becomes possible. In this paper we propose a model to optimize the location of the wireless charging lanes (WCL) by taking into account their effects on road capacity and traveler’s route choice. The model is formulated as a nonlinear programming problem and solved by a linearization method. A new method is developed to reduce the maximum error in the linearization process. The model and solution method are tested on Nguyen-Dupuis and Sioux Falls networks. The numerical results show that relatively high charging power and reasonable budget are necessary to recover the investment when charging lanes are deployed on road network. It is also demonstrated that the impacts of WCL on road capacity drop and travelers’ route choice are not negligible, and should be considered in the determination of WCL location.

Impacts of wireless charging lanes on travel time and energy consumption in a two-lane road system

In this paper, we propose a method to compare different energy consumption models and design a strategy to study the quantitative effects of wireless charging lane (WCL) on each electric vehicle’s (EV’s) link travel time. We utilize the modified energy consumption model and strategy to explore electric vehicle’s electricity consumption and link travel time in a two-lane system with a WCL. The numerical results show that EVs’ charging behavior on WCL will cause the drivers to execute the lane-changing maneuvers frequently and that the WCL has prominent impacts on EV’s energy consumption and travel time, i.e., the capacity drops by 8%–17% while the EV’s energy consumption increases by 3%–14% in the two-lane road system.

Longitudinal safety evaluation of electric vehicles with the partial wireless charging lane on freeways

As an environment friendly transportation mode, the electric vehicle (EV) has drawn an increasing amount of attention from governments, vehicle manufactories and researchers recently. One of the biggest issue impeding EV’s popularization associates with the charging process. The wireless charging lane (WCL) has been proposed as a convenient charging facility for EVs. Due to the high costs, the application of WCL on the entire freeways is impractical in the near future, while the partial WCL (PWCL) may be a feasible solution. This study aims to evaluate longitudinal safety of EVs with PWCL on freeways based on simulations. The simulation experiments are firstly designed, including deployment of PWCL on freeways and distribution of state of charge (SOC) of EVs. Then, a vehicle behavior model for EVs is proposed based on the intelligent driver model (IDM). Two surrogate safety measures, derived from time-to-collision (TTC), are utilized as indicators for safety evaluations. Sensitivity analysis is also conducted for related factors. Results show that the distribution of EVs’ SOC significantly affect longitudinal safety when the PWCL is utilized. The low SOC in traffic consisting of EVs has the negative effect on longitudinal safety. The randomness and incompliance of EV drivers worsens the safety performance. The sensitivity analysis indicates that the larger maximum deceleration rate results in the higher longitudinal crash risks of EVs, while the length of PWCL has no monotonous effect. Different TTC thresholds also show no impact on results. A case study shows the consistent results. Based on the findings, several suggestions are discussed for EVs’ safety improvement. Results of this study provide useful information for freeway safety when EVs are applied in the future.

An electric vehicle driving behavior model in the traffic system with a wireless charging lane

In this paper, a car-following model is proposed to study each EV’s (electric vehicle) motion behavior near the WCL (wireless charging lane) and a lane-changing rule is designed to describe the EV’s lane-changing behavior. Then, the car-following model and lane-changing rule are used to explore each EV’s micro driving behavior in a two-lane system with a WCL. Finally, the impacts of the WCL on each EV’s motion behavior are investigated. The numerical results show that each EV should run slowly on the WCL if it needs charge of electricity, that the EV’s lane-changing behavior has great effects on the whole system, that the delay time caused by the WCL turns more prominent when the traffic turns heavy, and that lane-changing frequently occurs near the WCL (especially at the downstream of the WCL).