Week-3 Challenge: ADVISOR Tool

AIM:

Use ADVISOR tool and simulate the following

1. For EV_defaults_in file, if cargo mass is 500 kg with all other default conditions, can the vehicle travel for 45 km with FTP drive cycle? Conclude your observations.

2. In the above case, try changing the battery capacity and repeat the simulation.

3. Perform gradeability test with PRIUS_Jpn_defaults_in file

Compare your results in table and conclude.

ABOUT ADVISOR TOOL:

ADVISOR, NREL’s ADvanced VehIcle SimulatOR, is a set of model, data, and script text files for use with Matlab and Simulink. It is designed for rapid analysis of the performance and fuel economy of conventional, electric, and hybrid vehicles. ADVISOR also provides a backbone for the detailed simulation and analysis of user defined drivetrain components, a starting point of verified vehicle data and algorithms from which to take full advantage of the modeling flexibility of Simulink and analytic power of MATLAB.

You may benefit from using ADVISOR if you want to:

• estimate the fuel economy of vehicles that have not yet been built
• learn about how conventional, hybrid, or electric vehicles use (and lose) energy throughout their drivetrains
• compare relative tailpipe emissions produced on a number of cycles
• evaluate an energy management strategy for your hybrid vehicle’s fuel converter
• optimize the gear ratios in your transmission to minimize fuel use or maximize performance, etc.

The models in ADVISOR are:

• mostly empirical, relying on drivetrain component input/output relationships measured in the laboratory, and
• quasi-static, using data collected in steady state (for example, constant torque and speed) tests and correcting them for transient effects such as the rotational inertia of drivetrain components.

LIMITATIONS:

Primarily for analysis, not design

ADVISOR was developed as an analysis tool, and not originally intended as a detailed design tool.

Power bus for electric power transfers

In electrical components’ communication with each other, ADVISOR deals in power, and not in voltage and current.

Drive axle is single axle only

The vehicle dynamics calculations required for traction control and the wheel slip model assume that the front axle is the only drive axle.

AIM1:

For EV_defaults_in file, if cargo mass is 500 kg with all other default conditions, can the vehicle travel for 45 km with FTP drive cycle? Conclude your observations.

ADVISOR UI for EV_defaults is shown below. The thing here is that when GVW increases simultaneously 3 forces (Fr, Fd, Fa) also increases. So to overcome these forces vehicle will need more power and hence vehicle range might decrease. we will see this with ADVISOR tool.

To meet our range we will set no. of cycles to 3 because 1 FTP cycle is of 17.77 km only. So 3 cycles will give us range of 53.31 km and hence we will be able to see whether our vehicle is capabale of meeting the desired range.

a) Vehicle simulation without changing cargo mass.

Cargo mass=136 kg

We can see in above simulation pic that with cargo mass of 136 kg vehicle achieved max range of 48.2 km. That is more than 45 km.

b) Vehicle simulation without changing cargo mass of 500 kg.

You can see with increase in cargo mass the vehicle range got decreased.

Hence we conlcude that vehicle mass indierectly effects the range of vehicle. As mass of vehicle increases range gets decreased.

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AIM 2.

In the above case, try changing the battery capacity and repeat the simulation.

So we know with 500 kg of cargo mass vehicle had a range of 41.4 km. To increase the vehicle range we will now increase the no. of modules in battery which leads to increase in no. of nominal voltage. Drive cycle remains same. Vehicle originally have 25 modules.

a) Increasing no. of module from 25 to 30

a) Decreasing no. of module from 25 to 20

We can see vehicle range got decreased to 33.5 km

Hence we conlude that having high capacity batt. increases the range but it also incraese weight of batt.

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AIM 3.

Perform gradeability test with PRIUS_Jpn_defaults_in file

Compare your results in table and conclude.

Prius japan version is shown in ADVISOR tool

In the drive cycle section we can see there the gradeability test option we have to check the box and select the gradeability parameters option.

Gradeability @ 13 mph (20.9 kmph) is 26.6%. To make conclusive statement we will perform the simulation for diff. speeds for diff. duration of time. Results of such simulation is shown below.4

It is observed that with increase in vehicle speed (during grade) gradeability is significantly decreased. But if same grade is available for long duration gradeability is high as compared to short duration.