The driving range of an electric vehicle depends on the vehicle weight, road load conditions, battery capacity, and battery performance. The battery rated capacity and its characteristics could be heavily affected by the ambient temperature. This paper investigates the effects of ambient temperature on the electric vehicle driving range, equivalent fuel economy, and performance. A production-type battery electric vehicle is modeled and simulated in the AVL-Cruise platform using semi-empirical data. The modeled vehicle battery pack consists of 20Ah Lithium-Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt-Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) cells. The battery cell characteristics are experimentally measured to build the battery pack model. The simulated driving range and equivalent fuel economy are correlated with the published information as vehicle model validation. Series of simulations on driving cycles (UDDS, HWFET, US06, and WLTP) with across a broad range of ambient temperatures are conducted to investigate the quantified effects of ambient temperature on driving range, equivalent fuel economy, and vehicle performance. Simulation results show that driving range and fuel economy are much reduced to 70% at low ambient temperature. Driving range and fuel economy are almost not affected by high ambient temperature, such as 50 C, since this model does not include accessory load of thermal management. The vehicle performance is almost not affected by the ambient temperature.

The automotive industry is currently experiencing a revolutionary technological transformation including electrification, connectivity, automated/autonomous, lightweighting, and sustainability. This paper presents the education and workforce development programs developed and delivered by Wayne State University and Macomb Community College partnership in meeting industry needs for future workforce in advanced automotive technology. Through funding from the National Science Foundation, a Center for Advanced Automotive Technology (CAAT) was established as an Advanced Technological Education center to support the partnering work, developing and leading systemic curricula reforms. The center worked with industry partners identifying curriculum gaps and provided professional development for teachers to fill those gaps. CAAT also supported new automotive technology university/college programs through its seed funding program which funded others to create, implement, and share new curricula. The center is a preeminent resource for educating engineers and technicians in advanced automotive technology as all materials that were developed in partnership with CAAT were reviewed by industry experts and offered as a free resource through website. CAAT continues its tasks supporting the United States in its efforts to build and maintain a competent workforce ready to use the skills of the 21st century to move industries ahead.

Operating temperature has a significant impact on the performance, safety, and cycle lifetime of the lithium-ion batteries. The operating temperature of a battery is the result of the ambient temperature augmented by the heat generated by the battery. This paper presents the empirical investigation of the effect of ambient temperature on the performance of a Lithium-Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt-Oxide based cell with 3.6V nominal voltage and 20Ah capacity. The experiments are carried out in an environment chamber using five controlled temperatures at −20°C, −10°C, 0°C, 20°C, and 50°C, as the ambient temperatures. In each controlled temperature test, a constant current (10A, 20A, and 40A) continuously discharge the cell to a cut-off 2.5V. The cell discharging voltages and usable capacities are the battery performance indicators. The experimental tests show that discharging voltage at 50% DOD and the total discharging time to reach 2.5V (usable capacity) increase as the ambient temperature increases. The modeling and simulation of a battery cell temperature model is built in the Simulink platform. The correlations show that simulated and experimental discharging curves match well in the 0–80% DOD range and the discrepancy is under 7%. The developed simulation model could provide thermal management guidelines for lithium-ion polymer battery applications in 12 voltage SLI, start-stop, and 48 voltage mild hybrid electric vehicles.

An intuitive and comprehensive lithium-ion polymer battery cell model is developed in the Simulink environment. The developed model has capability of transient function in the Thevenin-based model, AC-equivalent function in the impedance-based model, and runtime prediction in the runtime-based model. Several model parameters are determined through five experimental discharging currents (6.67A, 10A, 20A, 30A, and 40A). The model is correlated and validated with other three continuous discharging currents (4A, 15A, and 50A) and two pulse discharges (20A and 30A). The validation indicates a less than 7% discrepancy between model simulation and experiment. The model is currently effective for lithium-metal-oxides polymer battery cell with capacity between 18Ah and 22Ah (20Ah +/− 10%). For other capacity battery cell, the parameters of series resistors need to be adjusted in the model. These parameters can be determined using three to five continuous constant current discharging tests. It is intended to make the developed cell model scalable and accurate in a wider ranges of battery specifications. Expending the developed cell model to a 12 voltage Starting-Lighting-Ignition (SLI) battery used in the start-stop or 48 voltage battery pack for mild hybrid electric vehicle is an example.

Fuel economy improvement on medium-duty tactical truck has and continues to be a significant initiative for the U.S. Army. The Crankshaft-Integrated-Starter-Generator (C-ISG) is one of the full hybrid propulsions to improve the fuel economy. The C-ISG configuration is attractive because one electric machine can be used to propel the vehicle, to start the engine, and to be function as a generator. The C-ISG has been implemented in one M1083A1 5-ton tactical cargo truck. This paper presents the experimental evaluation of the C-ISG hybrid truck performance characteristics compared to the conventional truck. The evaluated performance characteristics include all electric range for on- and off-road mission cycles, fuel consumption, as well as the battery charging profile and the silent watch time duration in the static tests.

Several universities and colleges recently have offered courses and certificate programs for training students and returning engineers in advanced energy storage, particularly in electric energy storage technology. However, few integrated advanced energy storage laboratories have been established for educational purposes. This paper presents the design, development and implementation of an interactive and computer-controlled test system for four different electric energy storage devices (electro-mechanical flywheel, electro-chemical batteries, supercapacitor and pumped hydroelectric) that serve as a teaching-aid. These units provide hands-on experience for students with multidisciplinary backgrounds who are enrolled in the advanced energy storage courses. The developed teaching-aid not only enhances the advanced energy storage training and education, but also inspires students’ interest in the green movement of renewable energy.

The impact of the vehicle fuel economy in tactical convey is amplified due to the fact that much of the present logistics support is devoted to moving fuel. Fuel economy improvement on medium-duty tactical truck has and continues to be a significant initiative for the U. S. Army. The focus of this study is the investigation and analysis of Automated Manual Transmissions (AMT) that have potential to improve the fuel economy of the 2.5-ton cargo trucks. The current platform uses a seven-speed automatic transmission. This study utilized a combination of on-road experimental vehicle data and analytical vehicle model and simulation. This paper presented the results of (1) establishment of a validated, high fidelity baseline analytical vehicle model, (2) modeling and simulation of two AMTs and their control strategy, and (3) optimization of transmissions shift schedules to minimize the fuel consumption. The fuel economy discrepancy between experimental average and the baseline simulation result was 2.87%. The simulation results indicated a 12.2% and 14.5% fuel economy improvement for the 12-speed and 10-speed AMT respectively.

This paper reports the planning efforts on reducing fuel consumption rate in the current fleet of medium-duty tactical truck. A strategic plan was developed through investigation of current and future technology offerings from original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers. Research efforts consisted of an initial phase where a broad range of integration candidates were collected and a secondary phase where in-depth analysis was conducted to target those to consider for inclusion in the strategic plan. Each product was evaluated on its technical merits with consideration given to the needs and strategic goals of government agencies. The strategic plan lays out the integrated technologies in the near-term including hydrogen injection and auxiliary electrification of engine cooling fan. For the mid-term timeframe, the plan involves implementing an engine stop/start system and electrifying other auxiliaries. The final step in the plan is the development and implementation of a full (strong) hybrid population.