Investigation of Road Topography on Energy Consumption of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)

We investigate the effect of road topography on the energy consumption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). We develop and apply a full computational model of energy consumption in order to examine standard drive cycles (speed versus time) on flat, synthetic, and realistic road terrains. By applying the same standard speed cycle upon various road grades, a significant influence of road grade on the consumed energy is found. Such influence can yield 20% increase of consumed energy in cities with mountainous topography (such as Amman, Jordan) compared to those with flat topography.