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In this work, the influences of various real-timely available energy management strategies on vehicle fuel consumption (VFC) and energy flow of a range-extender electric vehicle were studied The strategies include single-point, multi-point, speed-following, and equivalent consumption minimization strategy. In addition, the dynamic programming method which cannot be used in real time, but can provide the optimal solution for a known drive situation was used for comparison. VFCs and energy flow characteristics with different strategies under Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Cycle (WLTC) were obtained through computer modeling, and the results were verified experimentally on a range-extender test bench. The experimental results are consistent with the modeled ones in general with a maximum deviation of 4.11%, which verifies the accuracy of the simulation models.

An electrochemical impedance spectroscopy battery model based on the porous electrode theory is used in the paper, which can comprehensively depict the internal state of the battery. The effect of battery key parameters (the radius of particle, electrochemical reaction rate constant, solid/electrolyte diffusion coefficient, conductivity) to the simulated impedance spectroscopy are discussed. Based on the EIS analysis, a lithium-ion battery optimized equivalent circuit model is built. The parameters in the equivalent circuit model have more clear physical meaning. The reliability of the optimized equivalent circuit model is verified by compared the model and experiments. The relationship between the external condition and internal resistance could be studied according to the optimized equivalent circuit model. Thus the internal process of the power battery is better understood.

Battery models are often applied to describe the dynamic characteristics of batteries and can be used to predict the state of the battery. Due to the process of charging and discharging, the battery heat generation will cause the inhomogeneity between inner battery temperature and surface temperature. In this paper, a novel battery impedance model, which takes the impact of the battery internal temperature gradient on battery impedance into account, is proposed to improve the battery model performance. Several experiments are designed and conducted for pouch typed battery to investigate the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) characteristics with the artificial temperature gradient (using a heating plate). Experimental results indicate that the battery internal temperature gradient will influence battery EIS regularly.

Wireless charging system for vehicular power batteries is becoming more and more popular. As one of important issues, charging power regulation is indispensable for online control, especially when the distance or angle between chassis and ground changes. This paper proposes a novel power regulation method named Z-Source-Based Pulse-Amplitude-Modulation (ZSB-PAM), which has not been mentioned in the literatures yet. The ZSB-PAM employs a unique impedance network (two pairs of inductors and capacitors connected in X shape) to couple the cascaded H Bridge to the power source. By controlling the shoot-through state of H bridge, the input voltage to H bridge can be boosted, thus the transmitter current can be adjusted, and hence, charging current and power for batteries. A LCL-LCL resonant topology is adopted as the main transfer energy carrier, for it can work with a unity power factor and have the current source characteristic which is suitable for battery charging.

Parallel-connected modules have been widely used in battery packs for electric vehicles nowadays. Unlike series-connected modules, the direct state inconsistency caused by parameter inconsistency in parallel modules is current and temperature non-uniformity, thus resulting in the inconsistency in the speed of aging among cells. Consequently, the evolution pattern of parameter inconsistency is different from that of series-connected modules. Since it’s practically impossible to monitor each cell’s current and temperature information in battery packs, considering cost and energy efficiency, it’s necessary to study how the parameter inconsistency evolves in parallel modules considering the initial parameter distribution, topology design and working condition. In this study, we assigned cells of 18650 format into several groups regarding the degree of capacity and resistance inconsistency. Then all groups are cycled under different environmental temperature and current profile.

For balancing Li-ion battery cells connected in series and effectively improving the consistency of the cells, a bi-directional equalization system based on fly-back transformer is proposed. Unlike the passive equalization technology using a resistor or active equalization with expensive DC-DC converter for the balancing among the cells, this equalization circuit consists of the fly-back transformer and RCD circuit, which can easily and cheaply realize the energy transfer between the whole battery module and the cells, and thus achieving bidirectional equalization. In this system, both the primary side and the secondary side of multi-winding transformer are connected to a MOSFET. All MOSFETs are controlled by the PWM signal. The control timing and duty ratio of the PWM control signal are determined through the simulation analysis. Meanwhile, an RCD circuit is applied at the primary side of multi-winding transformer for buffering the peak voltage caused by leakage inductance.

High-nickel lithium-ion batteries extend the driving mileage of electric vehicles (EVs) to 600km without much cost increment. However, thermal accidents commonly occur due to their poor thermal stability, such as thermal runaway. To address the issue, a comprehensive analysis of the thermal runaway behavior of high-nickel lithium-ion batteries with different specifications is conducted. The thermal runaway process is divided into five stages based on self-heating generation, voltage drop, safety valve rupture, and thermal runaway triggering for the three tested cells. The three tested cells demonstrate similar behaviors during each stage of the thermal runaway process. However, there are still apparent differences between their characteristics. This study analyses the thermal runaway features from the following aspects: (i) characteristic temperature; (ii) the relationship between sudden voltage drop and characteristic temperatures; (iii) temperature recovery; (iv) thermodynamics.

Battery safety issues have severely limited the rapid development and popularization of electric vehicles. Harsh conditions such as high temperature accelerate the degradation of battery safety. To address this issue, a comprehensive analysis of the impact of high-temperature cyclic aging on lithium-ion battery safety is carried out. In the Accelerating Rate Calorimeter, lithium-ion batteries are performed on adiabatic thermal runaway tests and overcharge tests. Regardless of the fully-charged state or half-charged state, in the adiabatic thermal runaway process, high-temperature cyclic aging reduces the characteristic temperature, and the activation energy from the self-heating temperature to thermal runaway triggering temperature decreases. During the overcharge process, high-temperature cyclic aging increases the voltage plateau and the crest voltage before thermal runaway, and their corresponding charging temperature decreases.

Beamforming techniques are widely used today in aeroacoustic wind tunnels to identify wind noise sources generated by interaction between incoming flow and the test object. In this study, a planar spiral microphone array with 120 channels was set out-of-flow at 1:1 aeroacoustic wind tunnel of Shanghai Automotive Wind Tunnel Center (SAWTC) to test exterior wind noise sources of a production car. Simultaneously, 2 reference microphones were set in vehicle interior to record potential sound source signal near the left side view mirror triangle and the signal of driver’s ear position synchronously. In addition, a spherical array with 48 channels was set inside the vehicle to identify interior noise sources synchronously as well. With different correlation methods and an advanced algorithm CLEAN-SC, the ranking of contributions of vehicle exterior wind noise sources to interested interior noise locations was accomplished.

DC link active discharge is mandatory in new energy vehicles. This paper first analyzes the necessity of active discharge in automotive inverters and then introduces the commonly used discharge methods. After reviewing the pros and cons of the current methods, a new discharge solution using IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) modules WSC (Weak Short Circuit) is proposed. The essence of WSC is to make one of the shooting through IGBTs (two IGBTS forms a half bridge topology) entering into active work area by controlling its gate voltage VGE, where the short current is controlled in safe range and IGBT VCE voltage is relative large. Hence, large transient power is produced inside IGBT in this condition. By this method, the DC link capacitor energy will be consumed by the weak turned on IGBT gradually. Since the IGBT module has a dedicated cooling loop, the heat generated during discharging process can be transferred into coolant.

As is known to all, the structure of the chassis has been greatly simplified as the application of in-wheel motor in electric vehicle (EV) and distributed control is allowed. The micro EV can alleviate traffic jams, reduce the demand for motor and battery capacity due to its small size and light weight and accordingly solve the problem that in-wheel motor is limited by inner space of the wheel hub. As a result, this type of micro EV is easier to be recognized by the market. In the micro EV above, two seats are side by side and the battery is placed in the middle of the chassis. Besides, in-wheel motors are mounted on the rear axle and only front axle retains traditional hydraulic braking system. Based on this driving/braking system, distribution of braking torque, system reliability and braking intensity is analyzed in this paper.

A passive thermal management system (TMS) using composite phase change material (PCM) for large-capacity, rectangular lithium-ion batteries is designed. A battery module consisting of six Li-ion cells connected in series was investigated as a basic unit. The passive TMS for the module has three configurations according to the contact area between cells and the composite PCM, i.e., surrounding, front-contacted and side-contacted schemes. Firstly, heat generation rate of the battery cell was calculated using the Bernardi equation based on experimentally measured heat source terms (i.e. the internal resistance and the entropy coefficient). Physical and thermal properties such as density, phase change temperature, latent heat and thermal conductivity of the composite PCM were also obtained by experimental methods. Thereafter, thermal response of the battery modules with the three TMS configurations was simulated using 3D finite element analysis (FEA) modeling in ANSYS Fluent.

The fuel cell engine is considered to be the ultimate technical direction for the development of vehicle power. The on-board hydrogen supply system is important in fuel cell system. However, the on-board hydrogen supply system is diversified, and the management is mostly integrated in the engine controller. Thus, the fuel cell engine controller is excessive coupled with design of on-board hydrogen supply system. In order to improve the portability and compatibility of the fuel cell engine controller, an independent controller of the on-board hydrogen supply system is designed. Meanwhile, the hardware and software are developed to control 35Mpa gaseous hydrogen storage system. After being tested in a high-pressure environment, the controller can detect temperature, pressure and ambient hydrogen concentration of the hydrogen supply system. Simultaneously, it can drive and control the hydrogen cylinder valve.

This paper presents a three-dimensional electrochemical electrode plate pair model to study the effect of the electrode tabs configuration. Understanding the distribution of current density, potential and heat generation rate is critical for designing li-ion batteries and conducting effective design optimization studies. We developed several electrode plate pair models which were different in position and size of tabs. Results showed the influence and comparison of different configuration on the distribution of current density, potential density and heat generation rate at different discharge process. The distribution was predicted as a function of tabs. It can provide a theoretical basis for improving battery thermal performance and cooling system design.

An alternating current (AC) heating method for a NMC lithium-ion battery with 8Ah capacity is proposed. The effects of excitation frequency, current amplitudes, and voltage limit condition on the temperature evolution are investigated experimentally. Current amplitudes are set to 24A(3C), 40(5C), and 64A(8C), and excitation frequencies are set to 300Hz, 100Hz, 30Hz, 10Hz, 5Hz, and 1Hz respectively. The voltage limitations are necessary to protect cells from overcharge and over-discharge. Therefore the voltage limit condition (4.2V/2.75V, 4.3V/2.65V, and 4.4V/2.55V) are also considered in depth to verify the feasibility of the AC heating method. The temperature rises prominently as the current increases, and the decrement of frequencies also lead to the obvious growth of battery temperature. The battery obtain the maximum temperature rise at 64A and 1Hz, which takes 1800s to heat up the battery from -25°C to 18°C.

The application of Li(Ni0.8Co0.1Mn0.1)O2 (NCM811) cathode-based lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has alleviated electric vehicle range anxiety. However, the subsequent thermal safety issues limit their market acceptance. A detailed analysis of the failure evolution process for large-format LIBs is necessary to address the thermal safety issue. In this study, prismatic cells with nominal capacities of 144Ah and 125Ah are used to investigate the thermal runaway (TR) characteristics triggered by lateral overheating. Additionally, TR characteristics under two states of charge (SoCs) (100% and 5%) are discussed. Two cells with 100% SoC exhibit similar characteristics, including high failure temperature, high inhomogeneity of temperature distribution, multi-points jet fire, and significant mass loss. Two cells with 5% SoC demonstrate only a slight rupture of the safety valve and the emission of white smoke.

As the international community strengthens the control of carbon dioxide emissions, electric vehicles have gradually become a substitute for internal combustion engine vehicles. The battery pack is one of the most important components of electric vehicles. The strength and fatigue performance of the battery support plate not only affect the performance of the vehicle but also concern the safety of the driver. In the present study, the finite element model of a battery pack for fatigue analysis is completely established. The random vibration stress response analysis and acceleration power spectral density response analysis of the support plate for the battery pack are carried out, and the accuracy of the finite element model is verified by a random vibration test.

With the introduction of BroadR-Reach and time-sensitive networking (TSN), Ethernet has become an option for in-vehicle networks (IVNs). Although it has been used in the IT field for decades, it is a new technology for automotive, and thus requires extensive testing. Current test solutions usually target specifications rather than the in-vehicle environment, which means that some properties are still uncertain for in-vehicle usage (e.g., fault tolerance for shorted or open wires). However, these characteristics must be cleared before applying Ethernet in IVNs, because of stringent vehicular safety requirements. Because CAN is usually used for these environments, automotive Ethernet is expected to have the same or better level of fault tolerance. Both CAN and BroadR-Reach use a single pair of twisted wires for physical media; thus, the traditional fault-tolerance test method can be applied for automotive Ethernet.

Permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) are widely used in the electric vehicles for their high power density and high energy efficiency. And the motor control system for electric vehicles is one of the most critical safety related systems in electric vehicles, because potential failures of this system can lead to serious harm to humans’ body, so normally a high automotive safety integrity level (ASIL) will be assigned to this system. In this paper, an ASIL-C motor control system based on a multicore microcontroller is presented. At the same time, due to the increasing number of connectivity on the vehicle, secure onboard communication conformed to the AUTOSAR standard is also implemented in the system to prevent external attacks.

Fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles (FCHEVs) composed of fuel cells and batteries can improve the dynamic response and durability of vehicle propulsion. In addition, braking energy can be recovered by batteries. The energy management strategy (EMS) for distributing the requested power through different types of energy sources plays an important role in FCHEVs. Reasonable power split not only improves vehicle performance but also enhances fuel economy. In this paper, considering the power tracking control strategy which is widely adopted in Advanced Vehicle Simulator (ADVISOR), a constrained nonlinear programming parameter optimization model is established for minimizing fuel consumption. The principal parameters of power tracking control strategy are set as the optimized variables, with the dynamic performance index of FCHEVs being defined as the constraint condition. Then, the genetic algorithm (GA) is applied in the control strategy design for solving the optimization problem.