A large penetration of Electric Vehicles (EVs) will demand a huge infrastructure for power handling of the distribution network. In this paper, EVs charging station has been modelled which can fulfil different demands of the EV vehicles owners. The owner's demand can be to limit on the charging rate (C_rate), or limit to the state of charge (SOC) or proper power management of the battery. A suitable fuzzy controller has been designed to control the C_rate of the individual battery based on power available with the battery and the power required by the grid. An algorithm has been designed which can handle different situations like charging and discharging of EVs batteries based on the distribution node voltage. The algorithm updates the power requirement, if certain vehicles arrive or leave the charging station. View full abstract»

A novel multi-inverter power converter for double motor electric vehicles is presented in this paper. Thanks to a supercapacitor auxiliary storage unit and to a suitable control algorithm, the proposed setup allows to optimize the vehicle performances in terms of traction control and power flow. View full abstract»

The safety and running performance of front and rear wheel independent drive type electric vehicles (FRID EVs) for use as advanced, next-generation electric vehicles (EVs) is clarified under severe running conditions, with particular focus on energy saving control performance and braking and cornering performance on low-friction coefficient (n) roads. The running performance of FRID EVs, which could not be obtained from the propulsion power generating systems of the EVs developed until now, is produced from propulsion power generating systems that can mutually or independently control the driving and braking forces of the front and rear wheels. The first energy saving control performance was obtained by applying the driving forces (torques) corresponding to the friction coefficient between the tire and road surface to the front and rear wheels while estimating the friction coefficient and the load movement occurring during acceleration. Outstanding braking and cornering performance is obtained by optimizing the relationship between the longitudinal and lateral forces acting on the tires so as to prevent an imbalanced torque between the left and right wheels from occurring, based on the friction circle principle. These outstanding functions were verified by undertaking tests performed under various running conditions using a prototype FRID EV. View full abstract»

Impact of petroleum based vehicles on the environment, cost and availability of fuel has led to an increased interest in electric vehicle as a means of transportation. Battery is a major component in an electric vehicle. Economic viability of these vehicles depends on the availability of cost-effective batteries. Subsidies provided by the government will be instrumental in the initial success of electric vehicles. However, in the long run for the commercial success of electric vehicles the economics have to be self-sustained. Batteries used for transportation purpose cannot be used once the energy capacity reaches 70%-80%. The remaining capacity of the battery can still be utilized for secondary purpose like powering a building during peak load hours and reducing the carbon foot print. Owner of an electric vehicle would be benefited if a market for the used electric vehicle batteries is created. These batteries are called second life batteries. Commercial building peak load reduction is considered in this study. This work deals with using second life battery for peak load management and to analyze the cost effectiveness of the second life battery to be used for powering a commercial building. Battery is the main component in this study and increasing the life of the second life battery using Battery Life Estimator (BLE) is discussed. An optimal solution for incorporating peak load management, cost saving from the use of second life battery and lifetime of the second life battery is achieved using a rule-based control for the parameters. View full abstract»

Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. HEV is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional vehicle, or better performance. HEVs have been gaining popularity given that they are an effective solution to reducing fuel consumption and emissions. However, its potential in fuel economy is hardly fully explored by existing control strategies based on engineering intuition. Dynamic programming (DP) technique is an effective tool to find the globally optimal use of multiple energy sources over a pre-defined drive cycle. As a global optimizing algorithm, DP ensures to converge to the global optimum. Even though DP is an off-line algorithm, the results can serve as a benchmark to evaluate and improve an existing online algorithm. In this paper, the procedures for implementing DP to three typical HEV powertrains are explained in detail. Also, the cost function of DP is discussed. In the case study of Toyota hybrid system, a simplified vehicle model is given and validated. Then DP is applied to this model and the effect of cost function on fuel economy and battery state of health (SOH) is discussed. Comparing to the simulation results over UDDS cycle obtained from the Prius model in Advisor, the DP results over the same drive cycle shows a 30% potential improvement in overall cost, which converts the electricity cost into fuel cost. In addition, based on the DP results, a lookup table based real-time control strategy is developed. This control strategy results in an improvement of 27% of overall cost, which is very close to the ideal case. View full abstract»

The effect of uncontrolled electric vehicle (EV) charging on the distribution side is considerable and has the potential to affect the life of distribution components. This especially has significant impact on secondary-distribution transformers in residential zones. With smart grid implementation, assessment for reliability of feeder-level components becomes more crucial. This work analyzes the distribution-level secondary transformer loss of life as the result of EV charging. Different charging patterns are developed using a probabilistic model for vehicle arrival time and charge left at arrival. A number of different scenarios, such as residential loading, weather patterns, and geographical locations, are considered in analyzing the effects. View full abstract»

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are expected to contribute significantly to the reduction of CO₂ emissions and other types of pollution within the next years. However, the concept of their ultra fast charging still poses demanding requirements, both in terms of the EV battery and the impact on the power grid. Towards this direction, emerging power electronics interfaces as well as energy storage technologies will play a significant role into making EV charging stations competitive with the existing gas station infrastructures. This paper focuses on the proposal of a power converter architecture, which aims for the interface between the three-phase medium voltage AC grid and the Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries. The transformerless AC/DC conversion stage motivates the choice of a suitable multilevel topology, namely the Cascaded H-Bridge Converter (CHB), where the medium voltage is split into several dedicated low voltage DC buses. At each of these levels, integrated stationary Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) play the role of power buffers, reducing thus the influence of the charging station on the distribution grid. The EV battery is then charged through parallel-connected isolated DC/DC converters, in order to achieve high currents and meet the standards for galvanic isolation. View full abstract»

Among other functions, the smart grid is a vehicle to maximize the penetration of wind power by exploiting the use of energy storage devices in order to maximize the utilization of renewable energy and bring about maximum reduction in emissions. Large number of electric vehicles in a parking lot enabled to carry out vehicle-to-grid (V2G) transactions has been termed as a `SmartPark' by the author. The use of vehicle-to-grid technology, information technology and advanced computational methods can provide short term real and reactive power support to overcome the drawback of the intermittent nature of renewable sources of electricity. This paper presents the intelligent control of SmartParks to enhance a smart grid's capability to compensate and mitigate active and reactive power fluctuations caused by the variability in wind power penetration in selected transmission lines and network buses. View full abstract»

Range anxiety - the fear of running out of battery power while on the road - is one of the major barriers to large scale adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs). Range prediction solutions are available to address anxiety but most of them have limited functionalities. In this paper we propose a new, “Accurate Range” and “Energy-efficient Route” (ARER) selection mobile software solution which is based on smartphone platform. The proposed solution provides several attractive features. The first and prime feature is estimation of the most accurate driving range considering those real time factors that were never considered in the prior art such as geographical terrain of the driving route (Elevation and Depression), real time alert implemented on the road (i.e. the road flood clogged or blocked due to catastrophe - such information would be received through PLAN (Personal Localized Alerting Network), a new public safety system that FCC and FEMA are working on currently that will enable government officials to send emergency text alerts, such as tornados, floods, terrorisms, to specific affected geographic areas through cell towers in near future), Real Time Wind Speed (tailwind and headwind), real time weight in the EV (onboard Passengers and Cargo), and real time traffic (including not only on road vehicles, but also STOP signs, advisory road signs, and probability of encountering red traffic lights, etc.), comparing with available battery energy. The second key feature that leverages on the first one is proposing the alternate route(s) that may not be essentially shorter but the most energy efficient (e.g. the route with depression instead of elevation and at the same time not flood clogged or blocked, the route with favorable wind direction at that instant and location, the route with lesser traffic congestion, fewer stop signs and fewer red traffic light etc.). The third feature is to evaluate the service relevance and suggest the point- of service; offering similar services, that fall on the most energy efficient route (e.g. if the EV Driver searched for Rite-Aid Pharmacy, the software may also suggest the WalGreens or Wall Mart, or Target, or Shoprite, because of service relevance/similar service offering and occurrence on the most energy efficient route from the EV Driver's current location). The fourth feature is that it keeps the history of the roads traversed and uses the log data for future optimization. Lastly the fifth feature is that it produces a visual 360-degree real time range display, and calculates the estimated energy cost of completing a chosen rout. The software to make prototype for the work is under development. View full abstract»

An integrated ground fault protection method inside a plug-in electric vehicle charger is proposed to address the potential interaction of leakage current produced by electric vehicles or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and upstream ground fault protection devices. This method incorporates the ability to determine the amount of capacitive leakage current generated from a vehicle and the actual ground fault current present utilizing the measured residual current and line voltage. With the determined capacitive leakage current and other known elements, appropriate leakage current masking can be applied to prevent nuisance tripping of upstream ground fault protection devices and provide lower trip thresholds in the electric vehicle charging industry. View full abstract»

Recent electric vehicle technology with battery has faced many problems: high cost, weight, driving distance, long charging time and danger of electric shock. An inductive power transfer pickup for electric vehicles such as pickup of traditional transformer enables electric vehicles to overcome these problems by using contactless power transfer. Also, inductive power transfer pickup has many advantages including high efficiency, high power, a large air gap and lightweight. In this paper, proposed inductive power pickup was developed using series capacitor with ferrite cores and multi-windings and was tested for its ability to transfer electricity wirelessly. When tested for output power and efficiency of pickup, output power of 20kW and efficiency of 86.7% were achieved at 20 kHz and 250mm air gap. View full abstract»

The future growth of electrified transportation could be enhanced through interaction with smart grid system architectures. This paper summarizes current literature regarding plug-in electric vehicle - renewables integration and highlights areas of need to implement such integration at a multi-utility scale. Future smart grid implementations hold the key to transferring information and control parameters between distributed and centralized decision agents. The discussion highlights the opportunity to leverage federal investments in grid renovation and electric vehicle introduction to create system-wide value from improved reliability and reduced fossil fuel consumption. An approach to scaling a previously defined “green signal” methodology for electric vehicles will be detailed across a utility grid balancing region. The research will include a synopsis of the communications opportunities and challenges of coordinating the responses of many resources. The results are expected to show that, with some variation in the charge profiles of individual vehicles, the aggregate set can interface with grid management methods to significantly influence the ability to integrate distributed and centralized renewables to improve environmental quality. View full abstract»

This paper introduces a novel method for diagnosing embedded systems and updating embedded software installed on the electronics control units of vehicles through the Internet using client and server units. It also presents the communication protocols between the vehicle and the manufacturer for instant fault diagnosis and software update while ensuring security for both parties. AiroDiag ensures maximum vehicle efficiency for the driver and provides the manufacturer with up-to-date vehicle performance data, allowing enhanced future software deployment and minimum loss in case of vehicle recalls. View full abstract»

The growing need for accurate simulation of advanced lithium cells for powertrain electrification demands fast and accurate modeling schemes. Additionally, battery models must account for thermal effects because of the paramount importance of temperature in kinetic and transport phenomena of electrochemical systems. This paper presents an effective method for developing a multi-temperature lithium cell simulation model with thermal dependence. An equivalent circuit model with one voltage source, one series resistor, and a single RC block was able to account for the discharge dynamics observed in the experiment. A parameter estimation numerical scheme using pulse current discharge tests on high power lithium (LiNi-CoMnO₂ cathode and graphite-based anode) cells under different operating conditions revealed dependences of the equivalent circuit elements on state of charge, average current, and temperature. The process is useful for creating a high fidelity model capable of predicting electrical current/voltage performance and estimating run-time state of charge. The model was validated for a lithium cell with an independent drive cycle showing voltage accuracy within 2%. The model was also used to simulate thermal buildup for a constant current discharge scenario. View full abstract»

Modern industrial products incorporate a variety of different technologies, making it is necessary for engineers to understand and appreciate disciplines other than their own. In order to cultivate engineers capable of meeting the demands of the present and future industrial world, the development of interdisciplinary educational curriculums is essential. In this study, an electric vehicle experiment system is used as a teaching aid to promote interdisciplinary thought development. This paper explores the concept behind the curriculum, the configuration of a constructed system, and reports on an evaluation of the initial class. The effectiveness of the curriculum is clarified. View full abstract»

Electric vehicles (EVs) have the potential to provide valuable services to the utility grid through vehicle-to-grid (V2G). In order to take full advantage of V2G services aggregators are required to schedule and dispatch large groups of EVs in accordance to market rules. While there has been many studies looking at aggregator scheduling algorithms, there has been little work on algorithms for the actual dispatch. A commonly assumed method of incremental dispatch faces challenges of more expensive charging station costs and high communications overhead. In this work a dispatch algorithm for EVs performing unidirectional regulation is developed. This algorithm switches EV charging stations on and off using remote switches to meet the system regulation signal. The decisions on which EV to switch is made using charging priorities. This dispatch algorithm allows for less expensive infrastructure and a significant reduction in the required communications signals. Simulations on a group of 1000 EVs in the ERCOT system over a 24 hour period verify the performance of this dispatch algorithm against incremental dispatch algorithms. View full abstract»

Sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) is attractive as fuel for fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle because of its high energy density. A hydrogen reactor which generates hydrogen gas by hydrolysis of NaBH₄ has been proposed. This paper shows advantages and disadvantages of NaBH₄ as fuel for FCHEV. Moreover, a hydrogen supply system fueled by NaBH₄ for fuel cell is proposed, and the experimental result using the proposed system is shown. In addition, it is verified that 100W fuel cell was able to generate electric power by hydrogen gas generated from the proposed system. In the final section, in order to confirm the electric generating capacity using the proposed system, the characteristics of 5kW fuel cell is reported. View full abstract»

The On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV) is an electric vehicle system is that utilizes the innovative wireless charging solution developed at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in South Korea. The OLEV system consists of vehicles and road-embedded power transmitters. The battery in the vehicle is charged remotely from the transmitters buried under the road and the charge can be done even while the vehicle is moving. The prototype of the OLEV has been successfully developed and the process of developing a commercial version is in progress. The OLEV has been considered as one of the leading green mass transportation solutions in Seoul. The key issue in the commercialization of the OLEV is to determine the battery size and the allocation of the power transmitters on the route. This paper describes a method of allocating the power transmitters and evaluating the battery size using a mathematical optimization technique. Although the presented method is motivated from the actual design issue of the OLEV, the concept and approach can be applied to any electric vehicle system utilizing a wireless charging technology. View full abstract»

This paper presents an overall approach to creating security and trust architecture for networked automotive vehicles and outlines basic principles for mitigating certain risks facing this new paradigm. View full abstract»

Electric vehicles must be easy to use to be accepted by customers and to be successful on the market. One important part of this is the need for comfortable charging and parking. Especially if the charging of a vehicle takes a certain amount of time, a good solution to simplify the life of the customer is necessary. The V-Charge project has the vision to provide a solution by combining autonomous valet parking with e-mobility, introducing improved parking and charging comfort to increase customer acceptance of electric vehicles. V-Charge proposes a solution for charging autonomous electric vehicles in parking places and efficiently using scarce charging resources. For the management of the overall system and the provided resources, a server back-end and a communication infrastructure are provided. In this paper, we present our design of a central server back-end that handles the assignment of free parking spots to autonomous electric vehicles and implements scheduling concepts for a coordinated charging strategy. A typical scenario of such a concept might be the automatic drop-off and recovery of a car in front of an airport terminal without taking care of parking or charging in person. View full abstract»

A self-contained solar electric vehicle ecosystem is proposed to address the need for environmental and utility friendly electric vehicle charging stations necessary to support wide scale adoption of electric vehicles. These stations will require the use of a master controller that will allow for electric vehicles to be charged with minimal impact to the utility grid while reducing the carbon footprint of the vehicle owners through the use of solar power. As more electric vehicles take to the road, utilities are faced with the challenge of being able to handle the increased load without having to make major changes to the existing electrical infrastructure. View full abstract»

The Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) are in the market today, overcoming the limitations of Electric Vehicles (EV) in range as well meeting the stringent emission regulations. Most of the commercial HEVs are designed to have a minimum of six hour halt period to take care of daily maintenance and steady battery charging. A requirement of a compact, cheaper and efficient battery charger has become vital in the development of HEVs. Here an attempt has been made to develop an offline charger and meet the above requirements for a three wheeler series HEV implementation. This is an off board portable charger suitable for lead acid batteries that are extensively used in the HEV implementations in India. The charger is of 350W rating which has taken care of constant current (CC), taper current (TC), constant voltage (CV) & equalizing charging requirements suitable for lead acid batteries through a digital controller and high frequency isolated power hardware. This offline charger is a 25kHz MOSFET based soft switching full bridge converter with gating from DSP & CPLD based digital controller charging a 60V, 60AH battery, has been implemented as per the specifications of Automotive India Standards (AIS) followed by Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). View full abstract»

Modern route-guidance software for conventional gasoline-powered vehicles does not consider refueling since gasoline stations are ubiquitous and convenient in terms of both accessibility and use. The same technology is insufficient for electric vehicles (EVs), however, as charging stations are much more scarce and a suggested route may be infeasible given an EV's initial charge level. Recharging decisions may also have significant impacts on the total travel time and longevity of the battery, which can be costly to replace, so they must be considered when planning EV routes. In this paper, the problem of finding a minimum-cost path for an EV when the vehicle must recharge along the way is modeled as a dynamic program. It is proven that the optimal control and state space are discrete under mild assumptions, and two different solution methods are presented. View full abstract»

The amount of power that can be provided for charging the batteries of the electric vehicles connected to a single neighborhood step-down transformer is constrained by the infrastructure. This paper presents a distributed and collaborative residential-level power grid management application to alleviate the need of costly infrastructure upgrade. The application is designed to be hosted in our in-house developed network-as-automation platform (NAP) technology where most of the control functionalities may be moved onto the networking devices. Moreover, we have adapted a service-oriented software engineering principle to achieve scalability, autonomous, and architecture agnostic properties for the residential-level EV charging. We demonstrate a functional prototype where off-the-shelf networking devices capable to host a Linux Operating system are used to showcase the NAP technology. Furthermore, we developed a web-based user interface that may be accessible from any standard computing device, e.g. iPhone, to monitor the runtime operation of this application. View full abstract»

The aim of this research is to develop a set of technologies and standards for the interoperability of an energy-efficient robotic village. Furthermore, the approach for achieving that will be done in the form of a living lab. So the research presented here will be to proof and to tune different technological standards and technologies considered “green”, in a large experimental context of a Robotic Village. The research topics associated with it will be related with the increase of the energy efficiency in different daily areas and how they will contribute to the objectives of 2020 agenda from the UE, of reducing human impact on climate change. One of those research areas is the Smart Way, where technological challenges of the EV, the automation in road infrastructure building and the interoperability of road management and transportation systems will be gathered in order to boost a progressive variation of current transportation model. Concretely, the studies and developments necessary to achieve an increase in energy density and service life, reduced recharge times and price decrease will be carried out. View full abstract»