Model-based Energy And GreenHouse Gas Emissions Analysis Of The Powertrain Topology For Pure Electric Vehicle

Pure electric vehicles are considered as a new form of vehicular mobility which is important for securing and diversifying the usage of electric energy in transportation systems. However, limited driving range remains a huge obstacle for wide acceptance of EVs. This work focuses on studying the powertrain topology design of various pure-electric two-wheel-drive vehicles to improve their driving range. The topology design contains two parts:1) the selection of powertrain components, and2) the connection of powertrain components. To evaluate the performance of various powertrain topologies in China, two novel evaluation indexes have been defined in accordance with the current Chinese technology level:the energy consumption and lifecycle GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emission. Simulation models are developed and validated for various powertrain topologies. Optimization is conducted for each powertrain topology to achieve the best possible powertrain performance. Sensitivity analysis of the influence on the vehicle/component performance is also investigated by two representative factors:the vehicle full load for vehicle design parameters and the vehicle maximum speed for vehicle performance requirement.The results show the following findings:1) the in-wheel twin motors without reducer power-train demonstrate most improvements after design optimization is performed. This powertrain topology produces the lowest amount of GHG emission and also consumes the least amount of energy;2) when compared with the Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle (ICEV) perfor-mance, EVs demonstrate clear benefits of energy saving. However, their overall reduction of CO2remains uncertain if the high carbon intensity coal is used in current power plants where electricity is generated; and3) the vehicle load has a relatively more significant influence on the vehicle energy consumption and GHG emission while changing the vehicle maximum speed constrain has relatively less impact on the EV dynamic performance and energy consumption.