Parametric Evaluation of Ride Comfort and Traction Stability of Hub Motor Driven Electric Trucks

This paper presents a methodology for analyzing the effect of hub motor configuration and longitudinal battery placement on the driver ride comfort and longitudinal traction stability of a hub motor driven electric truck. The torque size split between the front and rear axles and battery longitudinal location were parametrically varied to realize the variation in vehicle mass distribution. The variation was analyzed for ride comfort of the truck driver and traction stability during starting gradeability using IPG^TM TruckMaker simulations. The results were then compared with a single motor direct-drive configuration, ISO 2631-1 standard and user demand. It was observed that the drawbacks of increasing unsprung mass in hub motor drive of electric trucks could be compensated by varying the split factor and battery position effectively.