Identifying factors influencing the slow market diffusion of electric vehicles in Korea

Transportation - Electric vehicles (EVs) are considered as a driving force behind the automotive industry’s transformation based on eco-friendliness and high energy efficiency. Unlike...     

Robust design optimization of suspension system considering steering pull reduction

This paper presents robust design optimization method to reduce steering pull phenomenon. One of the biggest causes of steering pull phenomenon is tolerance of suspension system such as hard point, spring, damper and bush. Therefore, the relationship between suspension systems and steering pull phenomenon has as nonlinear characteristics. But, it can be very difficult to evaluate the analytical design sensitivity. Thus, it is impossible to directly apply a well-developed optimization algorithm based on gradient information. To avoid these difficulty, this study uses sequential approximation optimization process based on a meta-model. The robust design process has 28 random design variables with tolerance. For efficient design process, the sample variances for the design goals are approximated from meta-models. The proposed approach required only 62 evaluations until it converged. Optimal design reduced the drift by 80% and its deviation by 38.7%, respectively. This result proves that the suggested design method of suspension system is effective and useful.     

Cooling performance of 25 kW in-wheel motor for electric vehicles

The in-wheel motor used in electric vehicles was designed and constructed for an electric direct-drive traction system. It is difficult to connect cooling water piping to the in-wheel motor because the in-wheel motor is located within the wheel structure. In the air cooling structure for the in-wheel motor, an outer surface on the housing is provided with cooling grooves to increase the heat transfer area. In this study, we carried out the analysis on the fluid flow and thermal characteristics of the in-wheel motor for various motor speeds and heat generations. In order to resolve heat release, the analysis has been performed using conjugate heat transfer (conduction and convection). As a result, flow fields and temperature distribution inside the in-wheel motor were obtained for base speed condition (1250 rpm) and maximum speed condition (5000 rpm). The thermo-flow analysis of the in-wheel motor for vehicles was performed in consideration of ram air effect. Also, in order to improve cooling effect of the motor, we variously changed geometries of housing. Therefore, we confirmed the feasibility of the air cooling for the motors of 25 kW capacity with housing geometry having cooling grooves and investigated the cooling performance enhancement. We found that the cooling effect was most excellent, in case that cooling groove direction was same with air flow direction and arranged densely.     

Angular position error detection of variable reluctance resolver using simulation-based approach

The variable reluctance type resolver is widely used in an electric motor for hybrid electric vehicles as a rotor position sensor. The purpose of this paper is to present a simulation-based approach capable of determining a more accurate rotor shape of variable reluctance resolver in order to cut the time and cost of its development before testing a physical prototype. For the verification of the simulation-based approach to the position error detection of rotor, experiments for 8XVR resolver were conducted. Based on this approach, an optimal salient-pole rotor shape of 4X-VR resolver is proposed.     

A real-time multi-vehicle simulator for longitudinal controller design

This paper presents a new multi-vehicle simulator for platoon simulation. The main new feature of the developed simulator is a network structure for the real-time simulation of multiple vehicles, each with a detailed powertrain and engine model. It has a small initial delay, which is determined by the number of connected PCs, but the actual simulation is performed and displayed in real-time after this initial and one-time delay. Several longitudinal controllers, including a PID controller with gain scheduling, an adaptive controller, and a fuzzy controller, are also implemented in the simulator. Various system parameters can be modified interactively in the simulator screen, which is very useful for simulating a platoon of heterogeneous vehicles, in which vehicles with different dynamics and different longitudinal controllers may be involved. The simulator provides an excellent tool to develop vehicle longitudinal controllers and to study platoon behaviors. The developed simulator is also effective in testing the effects of nonlinearities neglected in the controller design phase, such as actuator delays and gear shifting schedule.     

Modeling and control strategy development for fuel cell hybrid vehicles

Using MATLAB/Simulink, we constructed a comprehensive simulation model for the fuel cell hybrid vehicle (FCHV) power train in parallel with a power control strategy that uses a logic threshold approach implemented with a hybrid control unit (HCU). The simulation implements power flow and power distribution under different vehicle operating modes using the accelerator and decelerator pedal positions deduced from the driving schedule as primary inputs. The HCU control strategy also incorporates regenerative braking and recharging for recovery of battery capacity. Using the D-optimality method for selection of the optimal experiment values, three control threshold variables for the HCU are selected to maximize the hydrogen fuel economy under certain driving cycles. The proposed method provides the optimal configuration of the FCHV model, which has the capability of achieving the requested drive power while also meeting the vehicle driving schedule and recovery needs of the state of charge (SOC) battery, with lower fuel consumption levels.     

Assessing environmentally friendly recycling methods for composite bodies of railway rolling stock using life-cycle analysis

Carbon fiber reinforced plastic is applied to railway car bodies to lighten them and reduce fuel consumption. This study looks at recycling methods for carbon fiber reinforced plastic used in a car body of a tilting train. It looks at four types of recycling: acid, pyrolysis in oxygen and nitrogen, organic solvents and supercritical process under various operating conditions. It evaluates the environmental performance of the recycling methods in terms of footprints of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. A simplified life-cycle analysis is applied focusing mainly on the recycling treatment system. Only acid and pyrolysis in oxygen were capable of passing the technical and recyclate quality criteria. The energy footprint by pyrolysis in oxygen is approximately six times greater than acids and greenhouse gas emissions are some five times greater than with the acid recycling method.     

Enhancement of aerodynamic performance through high pressure relief in the engine room for passenger car using cfd technique

High pressure acting on the vehicle’s body plays an important role in deciding the aerodynamic drag. An idea has been suggested to enhance the aerodynamic performance for small passenger car by relieving the high pressure in the engine room. The high pressure inside the engine room can be released to the outside of the vehicle through a hole perforated on the wheel house liner. About 1 % of the drag coefficient can be improved with the 1.88 % of the radiator air mass flow rate increment by installing the top hole with slots on the wheel house liner. Flow simulations are performed at the driving velocity of 110 km/h with the moving wall condition of the same velocity. The tire is rotating to catch more precise flow physics around a tire and wheelhouse liner.