Impact of V2V Communication on Energy Consumption of Connected Electric Trucks in Stable Platoon Formation

In a vehicular platoon operation, it is possible to minimize the energy consumption by reducing the intervehicular spacing, which reduces the aerodynamic drag force acting on the vehicle. By virtue of this, in electric truck platoons, it is possible to extend the range of vehicle operation through close platoon formations. However, in a Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) communicated autonomous platoon, the extent to which the intervehicular spacing could be reduced depends upon the communication latency while considering the aspect of platoon stability. This paper analyzes the effect of Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) and the Fifth-Generation (5G) cellular communication on energy consumption and stability of electric truck platoon formations. It is observed that for a chosen drive cycle, by establishing lower time-headway magnitudes between individual trucks, 5G-based platoon formations could establish platoon stability and could lower the energy consumption per kilometer by ≈ 10 % and ≈ 8.8 %, resulting in a range extension of ≈ 12.5 % and ≈ 9.5 % in dry and wet road conditions, respectively.