A hierarchical energy efficiency optimization control strategy for distributed drive electric vehicles

Abstract

Distributed drive electric vehicle with four in-wheel motors is widespread with various characteristics, such as performance potentials for independent wheel drive control and energy efficiency. However, in future, one of the biggest obstacles for its success in the automotive industry would be its limited energy storage. This paper proposes a hierarchical control method that involves a high-level motion controller that uses sliding mode control to calculate the total desired force and yaw moment and a low-level allocation controller in which an optimal energy-efficient control allocation scheme is presented to provide optimally distributed torques of four in-wheel motors in all the normal cases. A practicable motor energy efficiency model as a motor actuator is proposed by incorporating the electric motor efficiency map based on measured data into the motor efficiency experiment and a current closed-loop motor model. Moreover, both tracking performance and energy-saving are carried out in this research and evaluated via a co-simulation approach using MATLAB/Simulink and CarSim. A ramp maneuver at a constant speed and New European Driving Cycle and Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule maneuvers have been conducted. To conclude, it is demonstrated that distributed drive electric vehicle with four in-wheel motors can reduce total power consumption and enhance tracking performance compared with a simple control allocation in which the torques are the fixed ratio distribution.

Keywords

Distributed drive electric vehicle in-wheel motor sliding mode control optimal energy efficiency control motor efficiency map

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Fabio

Marcello

A review of energy consumption, management, and recovery in automotive systems, with considerations of future trends. Proc IMechE, Part D: J Automobile Engineering 2013; 227: 914–936.

Andrew

Leonardo

Reducing the motor power consumptions of a four-wheel drive, fully electric vehicle via wheel torque allocation. J Automob Eng 2014; 228: 830–839.

Yang

Wang

Peng

WL.

Coordinated control of AFS and DYC for vehicle handling and stability based on optimal guaranteed cost theory. Vehicle Syst Dyn 2009; 47: 57–79.

Johansen

Thor

IF.

Control allocation: a survey. Automatica 2013; 49: 1087–1103.

Johansen

Optimizing nonlinear control allocation. In: 43rd IEEE conference on decision and control, Nassau, Bahamas, 14–17 December 2004. New York: IEEE.

Jonathan

Peter

Energy optimal control of an over actuated robotic electric vehicle using enhanced control allocation approaches. In: IEEE intelligent vehicles symposium, Alcala de Henares, 3–7 June 2012. New York: IEEE.

Chen

Wang

JM.

Design and experimental evaluations on energy efficient control allocation methods for overactuated electric vehicles: longitudinal motion case. IEEE/ASME T Mechatron 2014; 19: 538–548.

Abe

Mokhiamar

An integration of vehicle motion controls for full drive-by-wire vehicle. Proc IMechE, Part K: J Multi-body Dynamics 2007; 221: 116–127.

Lin

ZF.

Wheel torque distribution of fourwheel-drive electric vehicles based on multi-objective optimization. Energies 2015; 8: 3815–3831.

10.

Sar

Renćski

Pokorski

Investigation of the tyre characteristics under non-steady-state conditions on the basis of road tests. Proc IMechE, Part D: J Automobile Engineering 2016; 231: 3–15.

11.

Pennycott

De Novellis

Gruber

et al . Sources of energy loss during torque-vectoring for fully electric vehicles. Int J Vehicle Des 2014; 67: 157–177.

12.

Chen

Wang

JM.

A global optimization algorithm for energy-efficient control allocation of over-actuated systems. In: Proceeding of the American control conference, San Francisco, CA, 29 June–1 July 2011. New York: IEEE.

13.

Wang

Chen

Feng

et al . Development and performance characterization of an electric ground vehicle. J Power Sources 2011; 196: 3962–3971.

14.

Chen

Wang

JM.

Fast and global optimal energy-efficient control allocation with applications to over-actuated electric ground vehicles. IEEE T Contr Syst T 2012; 20: 1202–1211.

15.

Park

Jeong

Jang

IG.

Torque distribution algorithm for an independently driven electric vehicle using a fuzzy control method. Energies 2015; 8: 8537–8561.

16.

Arash

Basilio

A fast and parametric torque distribution strategy for four-wheel-drive energy-efficient electric vehicles. IEEE T Ind Electron 2016; 63: 4367–4376.

17.

Qian

Yan

JY.

Energy management for four-wheel independent driving vehicle. In: IEEE/RSJ international conference on intelligent robots and systems, Taipei, Taiwan, 18–22 October 2010. New York: IEEE.

18.

Ouyang

et al . Energy efficiency optimization of electric vehicle driven by in-wheel motors. Int J Automot Techn 2013; 14: 763–772.

19.

Kim

Park

Sungho

et al . Control algorithm for an independent motor-drive vehicle. IEEE T Veh Technol 2010; 59: 3213–3221.

20.

Wang

Fujimoto

Hara

et al . Torque distribution-based range extension control system for longitudinal motion of electric vehicles by LTI modeling with generalized frequency variable. IEEE/ASME T Mechatron 2016; 21: 443–452.

21.

Nobuyoshi

Driving and braking torque distribution methods for front-and rear-wheel-independent drive-type electric vehicles on roads with low friction coefficient. IEEE T Ind Electron 2012; 59: 3919–3933.

22.

Bang

Lee

Han

et al . Performance enhancement of a sliding mode wheel slip controller by the yaw moment control. Proc IMechE, Part D: J Automobile Engineering 2001; 215: 455–468.

23.

Song

Zong

Tomizuka

A terminal sliding mode based torque distribution control for an individual-wheel-drive vehicle. J Zhejiang Univ: Sc A 2014; 15: 681–693.

24.

Leonardo

Aldo

Patrick

Wheel torque distribution criteria for electric vehicles with torque-vectoring differentials. IEEE T Veh Technol 2014; 63: 1593–1602.

25.

Pennycott

De Novellis

Gruber

et al . Enhancing the energy efficiency of fully electric vehicles via the minimization of motor power consumptions. In: IEEE international conference on systems, man and cybernetics, Manchester, 13–16 October 2013. New York: IEEE.

26.

Plumlee

Bevly

Hodel

. Control of a ground vehicle using quadratic programming based control allocation techniques. In: Proceeding of the American control conference, Boston, MA, 30 June–2 July 2004. New York: IEEE.