Vehicle Technology

Autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies are under constant improvement with pilot programs now underway in several urban areas worldwide. Modeling and field-testing efforts are demonstrating that shared mobility coupled with AV technology for automated mobility on-demand (AMoD) service may significantly impact levels of service and environmental outcomes in future cities. Given these rapidly emerging developments, there is an urgent need for methods to adequately quantify the economic impacts of new vehicle technologies and future urban mobility policy. In this paper, we show how broader user-centric impacts can be captured by the activity-based accessibility (ABA) measure, which takes advantage of the rich data and outcomes of utility-maximization activity-based models and its interaction with mesoscale agent-based traffic simulation frameworks. Using the SimMobility simulator, we evaluate shared AMoD strategies applied to a Singapore micromodel city testbed. A near-future strategy of exclusive availability of AMoD service in the central business district (CBD), and a further-horizon strategy of the full operation of AMoD city-wide in the absence of other on-demand services, were tested and evaluated. Our results provide insights into the income and accessibility effects on the population under the implementation of shared and automated mobility policies. The outcomes indicate that the city-wide deployment of AMoD results in greater accessibility and network performance. Moreover, the accessibility of low-income individuals is improved relative to that of mid- and high-income individuals. The restriction of AMoD to the CBD along with the operation of other on-demand services, however, provides a certain level of disbenefit to segments of the population in two exceptional cases. The first is to high-income individuals who live in a suburban zone and rely heavily on on-demand services; the second is to mid-income residents that have excellent public transportation coverage with close proximity to the CBD. We further establish the efficacy of the ABA measure, as these findings motivate the need for measuring socioeconomic impacts at the individual level. The work presented here serves as a foundation for policy evaluation in real-world urban models for future mobility paradigms.

Total cost of ownership, payback, and consumer preference modeling of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles

In an era of environmental and socio-economic crisis, sustainable transport planning is vital as ever, especially given that the transport sector is responsible for the greatest part of total air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. New vehicle technologies, such as autonomous and electric vehicles, emerge as promising alternatives, creating, however, both opportunities and challenges and raising questions relating to their performance. Can these new vehicle technologies really perform better than conventional ones in terms of sustainable mobility? Which one of them constitutes the optimum solution? How does each alternative perform with regard to different evaluation criteria, such as air pollution or road safety? In order to answer such questions, and to select the optimum solution, a comparison between autonomous, electric, autonomous electric and conventional vehicles is executed, based on a set of social, economic and environmental criteria. For this purpose, a new decision-aiding methodology, allowing for a holistic evaluation of the alternatives through a comprehensive literature review and experts’ participation, is applied. It is mainly based on the combined application of two hybrid multi-criteria analysis models, creating a more solid background towards optimum decision-making, thus constituting an important decision support tool for project appraisal and funding within the framework of sustainability in any sector.

The rapid popularity of electric vehicles has promoted the rapid development of wireless charging technology. This paper reviews the current research progress and application status of wireless charging technology for electric vehicles. Inductive coupling, magnetic resonance coupling and non-directional radiofrequency radiation, three main wireless power transmission methods, including their principles and advantages, are introduced. In addition, the practical application of the technique, such as near field application and far field application, is also discussed. Finally, the development direction of wireless charging technology for electric vehicles in the future is looked forward, including the key technical paths of optimizing system design, improving energy transmission efficiency and reducing system cost. In summary, this paper aims to provide comprehensive theoretical support and practical guidance for the research and practice of wireless charging technology for electric vehicles.

Subsystems of the 2008 Lexus 600h hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) were studied and tested as part of an intensive benchmarking effort carried out to produce detailed information concerning the current state of nondomestic alternative vehicle technologies. Feedback provided by benchmarking efforts is particularly useful to partners of the Vehicle Technologies collaborative research program as it is essential in establishing reasonable yet challenging programmatic goals which facilitate development of competitive technologies. The competitive nature set forth by the Vehicle Technologies program not only promotes energy independence and economic stability, it also advocates the advancement of alternative vehicle technologies in an overall global perspective. These technologies greatly facilitate the potential to reduce dependency on depleting natural resources and mitigate harmful impacts of transportation upon the environment.

Each week the U.S. Department of Energy s Vehicle Technology Office (VTO) posts a Fact of the Week on their website: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/ . These Facts provide statistical information, usually in the form of charts and tables, on vehicle sales, fuel economy, gasoline prices, and other transportation-related trends. Each Fact is a stand-alone page that includes a graph, text explaining the significance of the data, the supporting information on which the graph was based, and the source of the data. A link to the current week s Fact is available on the VTO homepage, but older Facts are archived and still available at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/facts/. This report is a compilation of the Facts that were posted during calendar year 2012. The Facts were written and prepared by staff in Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Center for Transportation Analysis.

This presentation includes data captured by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to support the U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) research efforts. The data capture consumer views on fuel economy, plug-in electric vehicle battery range, and willingness to pay for advanced vehicle technologies.

Vehicle technologies are rapidly evolving due to their multidimensional advantages. Different vehicle technologies like connectivity and automation on the same roads with the driver-controlled vehicles in an environment of mixed vehicle technologies may increase speed disparity. Previous studies have indicated that speed disparity measures and traffic collisions are inextricably related. Therefore, identifying the relationships between speed distribution measures of different vehicles and road geometry can help identify instances of speed disparity resulting from mixed vehicle technologies and identify the effectiveness of potential countermeasures. This research used speed prediction models in three different regions to analyze the speed behaviour of connected vehicles (CVs), automated vehicles (AVs) and vehicles with no connectivity or automation (NCVs) on horizontal curves on freeways and major arterials. Safety Pilot Model Deployment (SPMD) dataset in Michigan, USA were used to model CV speed behaviour at various points on horizontal curves in major arterials and freeways. Because the data involved repeated trips by same drivers in their instrumented vehicles, LME modelling was utilized in model development. In addition, speed data collected on major arterials and freeways in Ontario, Canada, using instrumented NCVs were used to develop similar LME models for NCVs. This research also used AVs speed prediction model available in the literature to model the speed behaviour of AVs on horizontal curves in Spain. A methodology is then presented to estimate speed disparity measures on horizontal curves with no control and with different control strategies or countermeasures. The results indicated that the mixed vehicle environment can cause the combined standard deviation of all vehicles (σ_c) to considerably increase on arterials and freeways under no control, which would in turn increase the collision experience. Countermeasures were proposed, which showed the potential in reducing σ_c and reduce the negative safety impacts of the mixed vehicle environment. Sensitivity analysis confirmed that speed compliance rates of the driver operators of CVs and NCVs with the speed advisories in the proposed countermeasures have insignificant impact on the speed disparity measure σ_c.

This paper discusses the impact of new vehicle technologies on the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Four specific new vehicles are analyzed. The four vehicles, the analysis method, and some sample results are presented. The main thesis of this paper is that new vehicle technologies can help bridge the gap between anticipated air traffic demand twenty to thirty years from now and the air traffic demand that can be efficiently processed by implementing NextGen technologies with only conventional vehicles.

A Working Group Meeting on Heavy Vehicle Aerodynamic Drag was held at NASA Ames Research Center on September 23, 2002. The purpose of the meeting was to present and discuss technical details on the experimental and computational work in progress and future project plans. Representatives from the Department of Energy (DOE)/Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy/Office of FreedomCAR & Vehicle Technologies, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), NASA Ames Research Center (NASA), University of Southern California (USC), California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Freightliner, and Portland State University participated in the meeting. This report contains the technical presentations (viewgraphs) delivered at the Meeting, briefly summarizes the comments and conclusions, and outlines the future action items. The meeting began with an introduction by the Project Lead Rose McCallen of LLNL, where she emphasized that the world energy consumption is predicted to relatively soon exceed the available resources (i.e., fossil, hydro, non-breeder fission). This short fall is predicted to begin around the year 2050. Minimizing vehicle aerodynamic drag will significantly reduce our Nation's dependence on foreign oil resources and help with our world-wide fuel shortage. Rose also mentioned that educating the populace and researchers as to our world energy issues is important and that our upcoming United Engineering Foundation (UEF) Conference on ''The Aerodynamics of Heavy Vehicles: Trucks, Busses, and Trains'' was one way our DOE Consortium was doing this. Mentioned were the efforts of Fred Browand from USC in organizing and attracting internationally recognized speakers to the Conference. Rose followed with an overview of the DOE project goals, deliverables, and FY03 activities. The viewgraphs are attached at the end of this report. Sid Diamond of DOE discussed the reorganization of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and that the Office of Heavy Vehicle Technology is now part of the Office of FreedomCAR & Vehicle Technologies. Sid reviewed the FY03 budget and provided information on some plans for FY04. The soon to be posted DOE request for proposals from industry for projects related to parasitic energy losses was discussed. A minimum of 50% cost share by industry will be required and the proposal must be submitted by industry. Collaborative efforts in aerodynamic drag with members of the DOE consortium are encouraged. Sid also mentioned interest in aerodynamic drag contribution due to wheel wells and underbody flow. Sid also mentioned his continued interest in the application of our computational and experimental expertise to the area of locomotive and railcar aerodynamics for the reduction of drag effects and thus, the reduction of fuel consumption by trains. In summary, the technical presentations at the meeting included a review of experimental results and plans by GTRI, USC, and NASA Ames, the computational results from LLNL and SNL for the integrated tractor-trailer benchmark geometry called the Ground Transportation System (GTS) model, and by LLNL for the tractor-trailer gap and trailer wake flow, and turbulence model development and benchmark simulations being investigated by Caltech. USC is also investigating an acoustic drag reduction device that has been named ''Mozart'', GTRI continues their investigation of a blowing device, and LLNL presented their ideas for 2 new base drag reduction devices. ANL presented their plans for a DOE supported Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Paccar Truck Company utilizing commercial software tools to simulate the flow and drag for an actual tractor and showed the results of some preliminary griding attempts. The attendees also had the opportunity to tour the 12-ft pressure wind tunnel the machine shop were the Generic Conventional Model (GCM, a.k.a. SLRT) was being readied for the scheduled November experiments. Much of the discussion involved wind tunnel testing plans, analysis of existing experimental data, investigations of drag reduction devices, simulation results, and needed modeling improvements. Further details are provided in the attached viewgraphs.

ABSTRACTTraffic-related pollutants are an ever-growing concern. However, the composition of particle emissions from new vehicle technologies using relevant current and prospective fuel blends is not known. This study tested four current and up-and-coming vehicle technologies with nine fuel blends with various concentrations of ethanol and iso-butanol. Vehicles were driven on both the federal test procedure (FTP) and the unified cycle (UC). Additional tests were conducted under steady-state speed conditions. The vehicle technologies include spray-guided gasoline direct injection (SG-GDI), wall-guided gasoline direct injection (WG-GDI), port-fuel injection flex fuel vehicle (PFI-FFV), and a wall-guided GDI-FFV. The fuels consisted of 10–83% ethanol and 16–55% iso-butanol in gasoline. The composition of soot, water-insoluble mass (WIM), water-soluble organic mass, and water-insoluble organic mass (WIOM), and OM was measured. The majority of emissions over FTP and UC were water-insoluble (>70%), and WIOM cont...

This study addresses the emissions from mobile sources in a busy avenue. Latest mobile emission inventories estimated pollutants based on fuel sales activities in the country. While this is an approved methodology, it does not consider the characteristics of vehicles and their emissions control systems. Applying the International Vehicle Emissions (IVE) model involves low costs, the vehicle fleet’s technology features, and the study region’s environmental parameters. The IVE model allows a better understanding of how vehicle technology impacts air quality. This study aims to generate information about vehicle emissions in Panama using a model that considers factors like vehicle technology, driving patterns, and local conditions, all of which influence air pollution in the region. The focuses are on passenger vehicles, the most common in the country, particularly in one of the densest districts. Carbon monoxide (CO), sulfates (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NO, and particulate matter (PMx) emissions were estimated with the IVE model, the first one stood out, represented 98% (6479.82 g/km) of the air pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by these four gases. Finally, it is established that the combination of emission control technologies and vehicle features is what will determine its emission reduction efficiency. Only in diesel vehicles, an increase in PMx emissions was identified.

On behalf of the Department of Energy's Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies, we are pleased to introduce the Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 Annual Progress Report for the Advanced Combustion Engine R&D Sub-Program. The mission of the FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program is to develop more energy efficient and environmentally friendly highway transportation technologies that enable Americans to use less petroleum for their vehicles. The Advanced Combustion Engine R&D Sub-Program supports this mission by removing the critical technical barriers to commercialization of advanced internal combustion engines for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty highway vehicles that meet future Federal and state emissions regulations. The primary objective of the Advanced Combustion Engine R&D Sub-Program is to improve the brake thermal efficiency of internal combustion engines from 30 to 45 percent for light-duty applications by 2010; and 40 to 55 percent for heavy-duty applications by 2012; while meeting cost, durability, and emissions constraints. R&D activities include work on combustion technologies that increase efficiency and minimize in-cylinder formation of emissions, as well as aftertreatment technologies that further reduce exhaust emissions. Work is also being conducted on ways to reduce parasitic and heat transfer losses through the development and application of thermoelectrics and turbochargers that include electricity generating capability, and conversion of mechanically driven engine components to be driven via electric motors. This introduction serves to outline the nature, current progress, and future directions of the Advanced Combustion Engine R&D Sub-Program. The research activities of this Sub-Program are planned in conjunction with the FreedomCAR Partnership and the 21st Century Truck Partnership and are carried out in collaboration with industry, national laboratories, and universities. Because of the importance of clean fuels in achieving low emissions, R&D activities are closely coordinated with the relevant activities of the Fuel Technologies Sub-Program, also within the Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies. Research is also being undertaken on hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engines to provide an interim hydrogen-based powertrain technology that promotes the longer-range FreedomCAR Partnership goal of transitioning to a hydrogen-fueled transportation system. Hydrogen engine technologies being developed have the potential to provide diesel-like engine efficiencies with near-zero emissions.

The foreseeable advent of conditionally automated cars (CACs) at SAE Level 3 opens a range of opportunities along with numerous questions that must be addressed to safely adopt this new vehicle technology. While public acceptance and the acceptance of potential users have already been intensively researched, this study investigates the acceptance of CACs from the point of view of different road user groups, such as pedestrians, cyclists and riders of powered two-wheelers (PTWs) as so-called vulnerable road users (VRUs), as well as the drivers of conventional cars. The study measures a priori road user acceptance of CACs using an international population survey that was conducted within the framework of the EU-funded project ‘BRidging gaps for the adoption of Automated Vehicles’ (BRAVE) in the participating countries France, Germany, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden as well as in Australia and the USA. Including 5,827 respondents, the study findings disclose a rather positive acceptance of CACs from the perspective of different road user groups. However, concerns are also apparent. Results from multivariate analyses indicate that the acceptance of CACs differs between road user groups in that VRUs demonstrated lower acceptance than non-automated car drivers. The role of trust in the new vehicle technology also appears to be remarkable. Consequently, future developments of CACs should also focus on communication between automated cars and bystanders (e.g. via external human-machine interfaces) to reduce uncertainties and promote trust.

With today's rapidly changing vehicle market, many advanced vehicle technologies are being evaluated at varying levels of governments and private organizations. This paper is intended to provide insight into the evaluation of vehicle power train technology and a brief state of the industry regarding new vehicle technology and alternative fuels. The paper proposes that public policymakers focus on metrics such as well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions and criteria air pollutants. Such a focus makes hydrogen vehicle technology much more attractive. The integration of a plug-in hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is described as it is found to be a promising vehicle architecture for the long-term automotive power train. Detailed mechanical and electrical integration is described in the paper. An innovative control system that was used on this vehicle and the control system is described. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.