Title: Ultracapacitor power assist with preview-based energy management for reducing fuel consumption of heavy vehicles

Authors: Seneca Schepmann; Ardalan Vahidi

Addresses: Control Systems Engineer, Proterra, Greenville, South Carolina, USA ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, 29634-0921, USA

Abstract: This paper investigates the potential improvement in fuel economy of a heavy transport vehicle with the power assist provided by an electric motor and a high power density ultracapacitor energy storage system in a parallel hybrid configuration. With full and a-priori knowledge of the future driving cycle, the optimal control technique of dynamic programming (DP) calculates the 'best possible' fuel economy. Attainable fuel economy improvements, in absence of preview knowledge, are illustrated using a simple model for predicting future torque demands and via receding horizon optimisation. Furthermore, the role of telematic information in managing the limited energy buffer of ultracapacitor storage is evaluated. Further increase in fuel economy, toward the DP-calculated maximum, are shown with the incorporation of simulated telematic preview information.

Keywords: ultracapacitors; heavy vehicles; fuel economy; model predictive control; MPC; ultracapacitor power assist; energy management; fuel consumption; electric motors; ultracapacitor ESS; energy storage systems; parallel hybrid configuration; optimal control; dynamic programming; simulation; torque demands; receding horizon optimisation; telematics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPT.2016.081797

International Journal of Powertrains, 2016 Vol.5 No.4, pp.375 - 394

Received: 27 Mar 2015
Accepted: 18 Sep 2015
Published online: 26 Jan 2017 *

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