World Electric Vehicle Journal

Research

18 pages, 5462 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Power Optimization for Energy System of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Wheel-Driven Electric Tractor

by Jingyun Zhang, Buyuan Wang, Junjiang Zhang, Liyou Xu and Kai Zhang

World Electr. Veh. J. 2024, 15(5), 188; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj15050188 - 28 Apr 2024

Viewed by 295

Hydrogen fuel cell tractors are emerging as a new power source for tractors. Currently, there is no mature energy management control method available. Existing methods mostly rely on engineers’ experience to determine the output power of the fuel cell and the power battery, [...] Read more.

Hydrogen fuel cell tractors are emerging as a new power source for tractors. Currently, there is no mature energy management control method available. Existing methods mostly rely on engineers’ experience to determine the output power of the fuel cell and the power battery, resulting in relatively low energy utilization efficiency of the energy system. To address the aforementioned problems, a power optimization method for the energy system of hydrogen fuel cell wheel-driven electric tractor was proposed. A dynamic model of tractor ploughing conditions was established based on the system dynamics theory. From this, based on the equivalent hydrogen consumption theory, the charging and discharging of the power battery were equivalent to the fuel consumption of the hydrogen fuel cell, forming an equivalent hydrogen consumption model for the tractor. Using the state of charge (SOC) of the power battery as a constraint, and with the minimum equivalent hydrogen consumption as the objective function, an instantaneously optimized power allocation method based on load demand in the energy system is proposed by using a traversal algorithm. The optimization method was simulated and tested based on the MATLAB simulation platform, and the results showed under ploughing conditions, compared with the rule-based control strategy, the proposed energy system power optimization method optimized the power output of hydrogen fuel cells and power batteries, allowing the energy system to work in a high-efficiency range, reducing the equivalent hydrogen consumption of the tractor by 7.79%, and solving the energy system power distribution problem. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Energy Special Vehicle, Tractor and Agricultural Machinery)

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18 pages, 6707 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Energy Management Strategy for Series Hybrid Tractor under Typical Operating Conditions Based on Dynamic Programming

by Xianghai Yan, Yifan Zhao, Xiaohui Liu, Mengnan Liu, Yiwei Wu and Jingyun Zhang

World Electr. Veh. J. 2024, 15(4), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj15040156 - 09 Apr 2024

Viewed by 567

Abstract

In response to the issues of hybrid tractors’ energy management strategies, such as reliance on experience, difficulty in achieving optimal control, and incomplete analysis of typical operating conditions of tractors, an energy management strategy based on dynamic programming is proposed in combination with [...] Read more.

In response to the issues of hybrid tractors’ energy management strategies, such as reliance on experience, difficulty in achieving optimal control, and incomplete analysis of typical operating conditions of tractors, an energy management strategy based on dynamic programming is proposed in combination with various typical operating conditions of tractors. This is aimed at providing a reference for the modeling and energy management strategies of series hybrid tractors. Taking the series hybrid tractor as the research object, the tractor dynamics models under three typical working conditions of plowing, rotary tillage, and transportation were established. With the minimum total fuel consumption of the tractor as the optimization target, the engine power as the control variable, and the state of charge of the power battery as the state variable, an energy management strategy based on a dynamic programming algorithm was established and simulation experiments were conducted. The simulation results show that, compared with the power-following energy management strategy, the energy management strategy based on the dynamic programming algorithm can reasonably control the operating state of the engine. Under the three typical working conditions of plowing, rotary tillage, and transportation, the battery SOC consumption increased by approximately 8.37%, 7.24%, and 0.77%, respectively, while the total fuel consumption decreased by approximately 25.28%, 21.54%, and 13.24%, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Energy Special Vehicle, Tractor and Agricultural Machinery)

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21 pages, 5538 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Versatile Control Method for Multi-Agricultural Machine Cooperative Steering Applicable to Two Steering Modes

by Weizhen Zhu, Yuhao Zhang, Weiwei Kong, Fachao Jiang and Pengxiao Ji

World Electr. Veh. J. 2024, 15(4), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj15040126 - 22 Mar 2024

Viewed by 735

Abstract

This article aims to address the unnecessary stopping and low efficiency issues present in existing multi-machine cooperative steering control methods. To tackle this challenge, a novel cooperative control approach for multiple agricultural machines is proposed, considering two typical steering modes of farm machinery. [...] Read more.

This article aims to address the unnecessary stopping and low efficiency issues present in existing multi-machine cooperative steering control methods. To tackle this challenge, a novel cooperative control approach for multiple agricultural machines is proposed, considering two typical steering modes of farm machinery. This approach encompasses a multi-machine cooperative control framework suitable for both steering modes. Based on the established lateral and longitudinal kinematics models of the farm machines, the method includes a path-tracking controller designed using the pure pursuit and Stanley algorithms, a formation-keeping controller based on PID control, and a T-turn cooperative-steering controller based on a problem-solving approach. To assess the method’s viability, a collaborative simulation platform utilizing CarSim and Simulink was constructed, which conducted simulations for both U-turn and T-turn cooperative steering controls. The simulation results indicate that the proposed control framework and methodology can effectively ensure no collision risk during the U-turn and T-turn cooperative steering processes for three farm machines, eliminating stopping in T-turn, enhancing safety, and improving fuel economy. Compared with traditional sequential control methods, the proposed approach reduced operation time by 17.47 s and increased efficiency by 15.29% in the same scenarios. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Energy Special Vehicle, Tractor and Agricultural Machinery)

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20 pages, 1129 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Carbon Footprint Enhancement of an Agricultural Telehandler through the Application of a Fuel Cell Powertrain

by Valerio Martini, Francesco Mocera and Aurelio Somà

World Electr. Veh. J. 2024, 15(3), 91; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj15030091 - 01 Mar 2024

Viewed by 1176

Abstract

The growing awareness about climate change and environmental pollution is pushing the industrial and academic world to investigate more sustainable solutions to reduce the impact of anthropic activities. As a consequence, a process of electrification is involving all kind of vehicles with a [...] Read more.

The growing awareness about climate change and environmental pollution is pushing the industrial and academic world to investigate more sustainable solutions to reduce the impact of anthropic activities. As a consequence, a process of electrification is involving all kind of vehicles with a view to gradually substitute traditional powertrains that emit several pollutants in the exhaust due to the combustion process. In this context, fuel cell powertrains are a more promising strategy, with respect to battery electric alternatives where productivity and endurance are crucial. It is important to replace internal combustion engines in those vehicles, such as the those in the sector of Non-Road Mobile Machinery. In the present paper, a preliminary analysis of a fuel cell powertrain for a telehandler is proposed. The analysis focused on performance, fuel economy, durability, applicability and environmental impact of the vehicle. Numerical models were built in MATLAB/Simulink and a simple power follower strategy was developed with the aim of reducing components degradation and to guarantee a charge sustaining operation. Simulations were carried out regarding both peak power conditions and a typical real work scenario. The simulations’ results showed that the fuel cell powertrain was able to achieve almost the same performances without excessive stress on its components. Indeed, a degradation analysis was conducted, showing that the fuel cell system can achieve satisfactory durability. Moreover, a Well-to-Wheel approach was adopted to evaluate the benefits, in terms of greenhouse gases, of adopting the fuel cell system. The results of the analysis demonstrated that, even if considering grey hydrogen to feed the fuel cell system, the proposed powertrain can reduce the equivalent

{CO}_{2}

emissions of 69%. This reduction can be further enhanced using hydrogen from cleaner production processes. The proposed preliminary analysis demonstrated that fuel cell powertrains can be a feasible solution to substitute traditional systems on off-road vehicles, even if a higher investment cost might be required. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Energy Special Vehicle, Tractor and Agricultural Machinery)

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24 pages, 16826 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Research on the Multimode Switching Control of Intelligent Suspension Based on Binocular Distance Recognition

by Chen Huang, Kunyan Lv, Qing Xu and Yifan Dai

World Electr. Veh. J. 2023, 14(12), 340; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj14120340 - 07 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1399

Abstract

As the upgrade of people’s requirements for automotive driving comfort, conventional passive suspensions for cars have fallen short of existing demands due to their nonadjustable damping and stiffness, so semiactive suspensions and active suspensions have gained growing acceptance. Compared with active suspensions, semiactive [...] Read more.

As the upgrade of people’s requirements for automotive driving comfort, conventional passive suspensions for cars have fallen short of existing demands due to their nonadjustable damping and stiffness, so semiactive suspensions and active suspensions have gained growing acceptance. Compared with active suspensions, semiactive suspensions offer the advantages of a low manufacturing cost and reliable structure, and thus have become the preferred choice for most vehicles. To optimize the control effect of semiactive suspensions under different working conditions, this paper completed the modeling of magnetorheological semiactive suspension system dynamics and road inputs; then, the design of binocular camera sensing algorithms was performed to obtain the real-time distance of the target using the point cloud ranging function, and the parameters required for suspension control were also obtained. This was followed by the completion of the control-mode-switching rules and the design of the suspension controller. According to the different control objectives, the mode could be divided into the obstacle-road mode, straight-road mode, and curved-road mode. The suspension controller included the BP-PID (neural network PID controller) controller and the force distributor. Finally, the effectiveness of the mode-switching rules and the control method was verified through system simulation and the hardware-in-the-loop test. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Energy Special Vehicle, Tractor and Agricultural Machinery)

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16 pages, 3824 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Quantitative Study on the Impact of China’s Dual Credit Policy on the Development of New Energy Industry Based on Taylor Expansion Description and Cross-Entropy Theory

by Jiantong Qiao, Shangru Yang, Jiaming Zhao, Haoyuan Li and Yuezhen Fan

World Electr. Veh. J. 2023, 14(10), 295; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj14100295 - 16 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1455

Abstract

The Dual Credit Policy is an important policy to promote the development of new energy vehicles unique to China. There is a lack of research that intuitively reflects the impact of the Dual Credit Policy on industrial development through an industry-based factual comparison [...] Read more.

The Dual Credit Policy is an important policy to promote the development of new energy vehicles unique to China. There is a lack of research that intuitively reflects the impact of the Dual Credit Policy on industrial development through an industry-based factual comparison of this policy. Based on the Taylor expansion and Cross-Entropy description, this article obtains the development regression function by the quantitative analysis of five indicators—the number of new energy vehicle-related patents, sales volume, production volume, the number of newly registered enterprises, infrastructure construction (the number of charging piles) before and after the implementation of the policy, and describes them quantitatively using the Taylor expansion to obtain the CPTI index. The CPCEI index is obtained by calculating the Cross-Entropy of the distribution of each indicator before and after policy implementation. The above two indices were compared for the growth trend and growth quantity, respectively. Finally, the following conclusions were obtained: 1. the Dual Credit Policy is more significantly promoted at the market level than the impact on the technical level; 2. although there is also incentive in infrastructure construction, it cannot fully react to the market demand; 3. the number of start-up’s operating in the new energy field increases, but the overall growth trend gradually slows down and fails to significantly change the existing structure of the market. This study suggests that the government should launch a special incentive policy for charging piles, and new energy manufacturers should expand their production capacity to meet the market demand. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Energy Special Vehicle, Tractor and Agricultural Machinery)

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16 pages, 3399 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Parameter Optimization Design Method for Dual-Motor Coupled Drive System

by Tonghui Li, Nan Zhang, Xiaoyu Gao and Daqian Pang

World Electr. Veh. J. 2023, 14(10), 282; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj14100282 - 08 Oct 2023

Viewed by 1360

Abstract

To improve energy utilization efficiency and extend the driving range of electric vehicles, this paper proposes a Dual-Motor Coupled Drive System (DMCDS) with a simple structure and establishes a dynamic mathematical model to analyze power flow characteristics under different driving modes. Considering the [...] Read more.

To improve energy utilization efficiency and extend the driving range of electric vehicles, this paper proposes a Dual-Motor Coupled Drive System (DMCDS) with a simple structure and establishes a dynamic mathematical model to analyze power flow characteristics under different driving modes. Considering the interdependence between the optimization of component sizes and system control in multi-motor drive systems, a two-layer hybrid optimization method is proposed to determine the optimal component sizes, balancing vehicle performance with minimal system energy losses. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed optimization design method, extensive simulation analysis was carried out in MATLAB. The results demonstrate that the optimization of motor sizes and gear ratios can enhance the energy efficiency of the drive system. In comparison with prototype scheme before optimization, the high-efficiency region utilization of motors EM_R and EM_S increased by 45% and 48%, respectively. Compared with the prototype and single-motor drive system, the average drive efficiency after optimization increased by 2.5% and 4.2%, respectively, and the energy consumption per 100 km decreased by 3.6% and 6.8%, respectively. These results confirm the efficacy of the proposed optimization design method in achieving an energy-saving effect. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Energy Special Vehicle, Tractor and Agricultural Machinery)

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16 pages, 5525 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Control Strategy of Torque Distribution for Hybrid Four-Wheel Drive Tractor

by Xianghai Yan, Hui Zhang, Xianzhe Li, Yanying Li and Liyou Xu

World Electr. Veh. J. 2023, 14(7), 190; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj14070190 - 18 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1389

Abstract

Based on the analysis of the operating conditions of the tractor, a Hybrid four-wheel drive tractor is proposed, and formulate the torque distribution control strategy based on fuzzy control, to control the driving wheel slip rate of the Hybrid four-wheel drive tractor in [...] Read more.

Based on the analysis of the operating conditions of the tractor, a Hybrid four-wheel drive tractor is proposed, and formulate the torque distribution control strategy based on fuzzy control, to control the driving wheel slip rate of the Hybrid four-wheel drive tractor in the high traction efficiency operating range of the tractor. The vehicle model of the Hybrid four-wheel drive tractor is established in AVL-CRUISE software, and the torque distribution control strategy based on fuzzy control is established in MATLAB/Simulink software. The AVL-CRUISE and MATLAB/Simulink co-simulation was carried out based on the plowing condition of the tractor. The simulation results show that the torque distribution control strategy based on fuzzy control can control the driving wheel slip rate of the Hybrid four-wheel drive tractor in the high traction efficiency operating range, the power performance of the Hybrid four-wheel drive tractor is improved, while the engine runs smoothly and is always in the high-efficiency range of engine operation, and the economy is better. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Energy Special Vehicle, Tractor and Agricultural Machinery)

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22 pages, 5754 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vehicle State Estimation Based on Sage–Husa Adaptive Unscented Kalman Filtering

by Yong Chen, Hao Yan and Yuecheng Li

World Electr. Veh. J. 2023, 14(7), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj14070167 - 25 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1391

Abstract

To combat the impacts of uncertain noise on the estimation of vehicle state parameters and the high cost of sensors, a state-observer design with an adaptive unscented Kalman filter (AUKF) is developed. The design equation of the state observer is derived by establishing [...] Read more.

To combat the impacts of uncertain noise on the estimation of vehicle state parameters and the high cost of sensors, a state-observer design with an adaptive unscented Kalman filter (AUKF) is developed. The design equation of the state observer is derived by establishing the vehicle’s three degrees-of-freedom (DOF) model. On this basis, the Sage–Husa algorithm and unscented Kalman filter (UKF) are combined to form the AUKF algorithm to adaptively update the statistical feature estimation of measurement noise. Finally, a co-simulation using Carsim and Matlab/Simulink confirms the algorithm is effective and reasonable. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm, compared with the UKF algorithm, increases estimation accuracy by 19.13%, 32.8%, and 39.46% in yaw rate, side-slip angle, and longitudinal velocity, respectively. This is because the proposed algorithm adaptively adjusts the measurement noise covariance matrix, which can estimate the state parameters of the vehicle more accurately. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Energy Special Vehicle, Tractor and Agricultural Machinery)

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18 pages, 5494 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Global Optimal Energy Management Strategy of Agricultural Hybrid Tractor Equipped with CVT

by Junjiang Zhang, Ganghui Feng, Mengnan Liu, Xianghai Yan, Liyou Xu and Chengyan Shang

World Electr. Veh. J. 2023, 14(5), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj14050127 - 17 May 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1149

Abstract

This paper presents a proposed global optimal energy management strategy based on dynamic programming to enhance the energy consumption efficiency of an agricultural hybrid tractor that is equipped with a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Firstly, using a diesel-electric parallel agricultural hybrid tractor as [...] Read more.

This paper presents a proposed global optimal energy management strategy based on dynamic programming to enhance the energy consumption efficiency of an agricultural hybrid tractor that is equipped with a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Firstly, using a diesel-electric parallel agricultural hybrid tractor as the research object, a tractor-rotary tillage coupling dynamics model is constructed. Secondly, with the torque and speed of the motor, the torque and speed of the diesel engine, and the CVT speed ratio as the control variables, the state of charge (SOC) of the power battery as the state variable, and the goal of minimizing the total energy consumption of the whole machine, a global optimal energy management model based on dynamic programming is established. Finally, the field operation measured data is injected into the MATLAB simulation model, and experiments are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the energy management strategy. The results show that compared with the power-following energy management strategy, the proposed energy management strategy can make the diesel engine and electric motor work in the optimal area, and effectively reduce the total cost of energy consumption of the tractor during field operations. Under the condition of rotary tillage, the total cost of energy consumption is decreased by 16.89%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Energy Special Vehicle, Tractor and Agricultural Machinery)

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23 pages, 11599 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy-Saving Control of Hybrid Tractors Based on Instantaneous Optimization

by Junjiang Zhang, Ganghui Feng, Liyou Xu, Xianghai Yan, Wei Wang and Mengnan Liu

World Electr. Veh. J. 2023, 14(2), 27; https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj14020027 - 19 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1654

Abstract

In this study, an energy-saving control strategy based on instantaneous optimization is proposed to improve the energy efficiency of hybrid tractors. Using a parallel diesel–electric hybrid tractor as the research object, the topological and working characteristics were analyzed, and a coupled dynamic model [...] Read more.

In this study, an energy-saving control strategy based on instantaneous optimization is proposed to improve the energy efficiency of hybrid tractors. Using a parallel diesel–electric hybrid tractor as the research object, the topological and working characteristics were analyzed, and a coupled dynamic model of rotary tillage and tractor plow was constructed. Aiming to minimize the equivalent fuel consumption of the entire machine, the motor and diesel engine torques were taken as the control variables, and the state of charge of the power battery was taken as the state variable. Subsequently, an energy-saving control strategy based on instantaneous optimization is proposed. Finally, a simulation experiment was carried out using MATLAB to verify the effectiveness of the energy-saving control strategy based on instantaneous optimization. Compared with the energy-saving control strategy based on power-following, the results show that energy-saving control strategy based on instantaneous optimization can reasonably control the operating state of the diesel engine and motor. Therefore, the diesel engine and motor work in the high-efficiency area, and effectively reduce the equivalent fuel consumption of the tractor during field operation. Under rotary tillage and plowing conditions, equivalent fuel consumption is reduced by 4.70% and 6.31%, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Energy Special Vehicle, Tractor and Agricultural Machinery)

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