Advanced Sensing and Control for Connected and Automated Vehicles

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) are a transformative technology that is expected to change and improve the safety and efficiency of mobility. As the main functional components of CAVs, advanced sensing technologies and control algorithms, which gather environmental information, process data, and control vehicle motion, are of great importance. The development of novel sensing technologies for CAVs has become a hotspot in recent years. Thanks to improved sensing technologies, CAVs are able to interpret sensory information to further detect obstacles, localize their positions, navigate themselves, and interact with other surrounding vehicles in the dynamic environment. Furthermore, leveraging computer vision and other sensing methods, in-cabin humans’ body activities, facial emotions, and even mental states can also be recognized. Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue has been to gather contributions that illustrate the interest in the sensing and control of CAVs

Actuators for Intelligent Electric Vehicles

This book details the advanced actuators for IEVs and the control algorithm design. In the actuator design, the configuration four-wheel independent drive/steering electric vehicles is reviewed. An in-wheel two-speed AMT with selectable one-way clutch is designed for IEV. Considering uncertainties, the optimization design for the planetary gear train of IEV is conducted. An electric power steering system is designed for IEV. In addition, advanced control algorithms are proposed in favour of active safety improvement. A supervision mechanism is applied to the segment drift control of autonomous driving. Double super-resolution network is used to design the intelligent driving algorithm. Torque distribution control technology and four-wheel steering technology are utilized for path tracking and adaptive cruise control. To advance the control accuracy, advanced estimation algorithms are studied in this book. The tyre-road peak friction coefficient under full slip rate range is identified based on the normalized tyre model. The pressure of the electro-hydraulic brake system is estimated based on signal fusion. Besides, a multi-semantic driver behaviour recognition model of autonomous vehicles is designed using confidence fusion mechanism. Moreover, a mono-vision based lateral localization system of low-cost autonomous vehicles is proposed with deep learning curb detection. To sum up, the discussed advanced actuators, control and estimation algorithms are beneficial to the active safety improvement of IEVs

An integrated torque-vectoring control framework for electric vehicles featuring multiple handling and energy-efficiency modes selectable by the driver

A key feature achievable by electric vehicles with multiple motors is torque-vectoring. Many control techniques have been developed to harness torque-vectoring in order to improve vehicle safety and energy efficiency. The majority of the existing contributions only deal with specific aspects of torque-vectoring. This paper presents an integrated approach allowing a smooth coordination among the main blocks that constitute a torque-vectoring control framework: (1) a reference generator, that defines target yaw rate and sideslip angle; (2) a high level controller, that works out the required total torque and yaw moment at the vehicle level; (3) a low level controller, that maps the required force and yaw moment into individual wheel torque demands. In this framework, the driver can select one among a number of driving modes that allow to change the vehicle cornering response and, as a second priority, maximise energy efficiency. For the first time, the selectable driving modes include an “Energy efficiency” mode that uses torque-vectoring to prioritise the maximisation of the vehicle energy efficiency, thus further increasing the vehicle driving range. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed framework on an experimentally validated 14 degrees of freedom vehicle model

Trends in electric vehicles research

Electrification of vehicles has been recognised as a key part of meeting global climate change targets and a key aspect of sustainable transport. Here, an integrative and bird\u27s-eye view of scholarly research on Electric Vehicles (EV) is provided with a focus on an objective and quantitative determination of research trends. The analyses suggest that areas of EV research linked to (i) charging infrastructure, (ii) EV adoption, (iii) thermal management systems and (iv) routing problem have been the distinct trending topics in recent years. While hybrid EV proves to have been a dominant keyword, its frequency of use has either flattened out in recent years or is notably on the decline across major subfields of EV research. The findings provide objective indications about the directions to which EV research is currently headed. A secondary outcome is the determination of references that have been most instrumental in developing each major stream of EV research

Proceedings of the ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Multibody Dynamics 2015

This volume contains the full papers accepted for presentation at the ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Multibody Dynamics 2015 held in the Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, on June 29 - July 2, 2015. The ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Multibody Dynamics is an international meeting held once every two years in a European country. Continuing the very successful series of past conferences that have been organized in Lisbon (2003), Madrid (2005), Milan (2007), Warsaw (2009), Brussels (2011) and Zagreb (2013); this edition will once again serve as a meeting point for the international researchers, scientists and experts from academia, research laboratories and industry working in the area of multibody dynamics. Applications are related to many fields of contemporary engineering, such as vehicle and railway systems, aeronautical and space vehicles, robotic manipulators, mechatronic and autonomous systems, smart structures, biomechanical systems and nanotechnologies. The topics of the conference include, but are not restricted to: ● Formulations and Numerical Methods ● Efficient Methods and Real-Time Applications ● Flexible Multibody Dynamics ● Contact Dynamics and Constraints ● Multiphysics and Coupled Problems ● Control and Optimization ● Software Development and Computer Technology ● Aerospace and Maritime Applications ● Biomechanics ● Railroad Vehicle Dynamics ● Road Vehicle Dynamics ● Robotics ● Benchmark ProblemsPostprint (published version

Selected Papers from SDEWES 2017: The 12th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems

EU energy policy is more and more promoting a resilient, efficient and sustainable energy system. Several agreements have been signed in the last few months that set ambitious goals in terms of energy efficiency and emission reductions and to reduce the energy consumption in buildings. These actions are expected to fulfill the goals negotiated at the Paris Agreement in 2015. The successful development of this ambitious energy policy needs to be supported by scientific knowledge: a huge effort must be made in order to develop more efficient energy conversion technologies based both on renewables and fossil fuels. Similarly, researchers are also expected to work on the integration of conventional and novel systems, also taking into account the needs for the management of the novel energy systems in terms of energy storage and devices management. Therefore, a multi-disciplinary approach is required in order to achieve these goals. To ensure that the scientists belonging to the different disciplines are aware of the scientific progress in the other research areas, specific Conferences are periodically organized. One of the most popular conferences in this area is the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) Series Conference. The 12th Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems Conference was recently held in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The present Special Issue of Energies, specifically dedicated to the 12th SDEWES Conference, is focused on five main fields: energy policy and energy efficiency in smart energy systems, polygeneration and district heating, advanced combustion techniques and fuels, biomass and building efficiency

Real-time Optimal Energy Management System for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Air pollution and rising fuel costs are becoming increasingly important concerns for the transportation industry. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are seen as a solution to these problems as they off er lower emissions and better fuel economy compared to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. A typical HEV powertrain consists of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor/generator, and a power storage device (usually a battery). Another type of HEV is the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), which is conceptually similar to the fully electric vehicle. The battery in a PHEV is designed to be fully charged using a conventional home electric plug or a charging station. As such, the vehicle can travel further in full-electric mode, which greatly improves the fuel economy of PHEVs compared to HEVs. In this study, an optimal energy management system (EMS) for a PHEV is designed to minimize fuel consumption by considering engine emissions reduction. This is achieved by using the model predictive control (MPC) approach. MPC is an optimal model-based approach that can accommodate the many constraints involved in the design of EMSs, and is suitable for real-time implementations. The design and real-time implementation of such a control approach involves control-oriented modeling, controller design (including high-level and low-level controllers), and control scheme performance evaluation. All of these issues will be addressed in this thesis. A control-relevant parameter estimation (CRPE) approach is used to make the control-oriented model more accurate. This improves the EMS performance, while maintaining its real-time implementation capability. To reduce the computational complexity, the standard MPC controller is replaced by its explicit form. The explicit model predictive controller (eMPC) achieves the same performance as the implicit MPC, but requires less computational effort, which leads to a fast and reliable implementation. The performance of the control scheme is evaluated through different stages of model-in-the-loop (MIL) simulations with an equation-based and validated high-fidelity simulation model of a PHEV powertrain. Finally, the CRPE-eMPC EMS is validated through a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test. HIL simulation shows that the proposed EMS can be implemented to a commercial control hardware in real time and results in promising fuel economy figures and emissions performance, while maintaining vehicle drivability

Shifting Business Models for a Circular Economy: Metals Management for Multi-Product-Use Cycles

The overarching aim of this report is to explore how the Australian metals and minerals sector could embrace new business models and build on its strengths to harness new value in a global economy orientated more towards sustainable future

Advances in Rotating Electric Machines

It is difficult to imagine a modern society without rotating electric machines. Their use has been increasing not only in the traditional fields of application but also in more contemporary fields, including renewable energy conversion systems, electric aircraft, aerospace, electric vehicles, unmanned propulsion systems, robotics, etc. This has contributed to advances in the materials, design methodologies, modeling tools, and manufacturing processes of current electric machines, which are characterized by high compactness, low weight, high power density, high torque density, and high reliability. On the other hand, the growing use of electric machines and drives in more critical applications has pushed forward the research in the area of condition monitoring and fault tolerance, leading to the development of more reliable diagnostic techniques and more fault-tolerant machines. This book presents and disseminates the most recent advances related to the theory, design, modeling, application, control, and condition monitoring of all types of rotating electric machines

International Conference on Civil Infrastructure and Construction (CIC 2020)

This is the proceedings of the CIC 2020 Conference, which was held under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani in Doha, Qatar from 2 to 5 February 2020. The goal of the conference was to provide a platform to discuss next-generation infrastructure and its construction among key players such as researchers, industry professionals and leaders, local government agencies, clients, construction contractors and policymakers. The conference gathered industry and academia to disseminate their research and field experiences in multiple areas of civil engineering. It was also a unique opportunity for companies and organizations to show the most recent advances in the field of civil infrastructure and construction. The conference covered a wide range of timely topics that address the needs of the construction industry all over the world and particularly in Qatar. All papers were peer reviewed by experts in their field and edited for publication. The conference accepted a total number of 127 papers submitted by authors from five different continents under the following four themes: Theme 1: Construction Management and Process Theme 2: Materials and Transportation Engineering Theme 3: Geotechnical, Environmental, and Geo-environmental Engineering Theme 4: Sustainability, Renovation, and Monitoring of Civil InfrastructureThe list of the Sponsors are listed at page 1