Week-3 Challenge: ADVISOR Tool

Aim:- To analyse Electric Vehicle and Hybrid Electric vehicle using ADVISOR tool.

Analysis of vehicle with FTP drive cycle and payload of 500 kg:-

The EV_defaults_in file file is first loaded and keeping the motor, transmission, control related parameters as default and pay load set as 500 kg,the drive cycle related parameters were then changed. The Federal Test Procedure drive cycle was selected which is originally carried out for a duration of 2477 seconds and distance of 17.77 km. To find out whether the vehicle can travel for 45 kms, the test was run for 3 number of cycles which tests whether the vehicle can achieve a distance of minimum 45 kms.(See Fig. 1,2)

Figure: 1

Figure: 2

In the results window,from the second graph (ess_hist_soc v/s time) it is clear that the battery' SOC falls down to 0% from the fully charged condition 100%. at around 5500 seconds and the vehicle could attain only 41.4 kms of distance.Hence, the vehicle will not be able to achieve a distance of 45 km.(See Fig.3)

Figure: 3

Changing the battery type and capacity:-

To achieve a minimum of 45 km distance, the battery type was changed to lithium ion battery. The reason for selection Li-ion battery over Lead acid battery was to minimise the mass of the vehicle although Li-ion batteries are quite expensive than Lead acid batteries. The number of modules selected were 120 and with this setup, the vehicle managed to achieve a distance of 53.3 km with payload of 500 kg. (See Fig. 4,5). The vehicle range can be increased by choosing Lead acid batteries as well but that increases the vehicles's mass drastically.

Figure: 4

Figure: 5

Gradeability test with Toyota Prius :-

The grade test determines the maximum grade on which the vehicle can sustain the specified constant speed.

The Toyota Prius Vehicle is first loaded and the vehicle was tested on the UDDS cycle. To test the gradeability of the vehicle, the grade percent was selected as 10 %, the test was done to determine whether the vehicle can move up the hill with a constant velocity of 55 mph for a duration of 20 second. The Enable systems section allows the user to evaluate the vehicle grade performance with various systems disabled. This option allows us to determine gradeability based on engine performance alone or energy storage alone or both active. The initial SOC was set as 1 ie. 100% and the minimum SOC as 50 % meaning that the battery SOC should not fall below 50 %. The test was then proceeded further with these inputs and the maximum gradeability that can be achieved by the vehicle resulted out to be 10 %. (See Fig. 6,7)

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Figure: 7

Conclusion:- Thus, the vehicle's range and gradeability test can be easily performed using ADVISOR tool.

Test	Result	Value
FTP cycle with 500 kg payload	Failed	41.4 km
FTP cycle with 500 kg payload and Li-ion battery	Passed	53.3 km
Gradeability	Passed	10% grade at 88.5 km/hr