Real-Time Co-optimization of Gear Shifting and Engine Torque for Predictive Cruise Control of Heavy-Duty Trucks

Fuel consumption is one of the main concerns for heavy-duty trucks.Predictive cruise control(PCC)provides an intriguing opportunity to reduce fuel consumption by using the upcoming road information.In this study,a real-time implementable PCC,which simultaneously optimizes engine torque and gear shifting,is proposed for heavy-duty trucks.To minimize fuel consumption,the problem of the PCC is formulated as a nonlinear model predictive control(MPC),in which the upcoming road elevation information is used.Finding the solution of the nonlinear MPC is time consuming;thus,a real-time implementable solver is developed based on Pontryagin’s maximum principle and indirect shooting method.Dynamic programming(DP)algorithm,as a global optimization algorithm,is used as a performance benchmark for the proposed solver.Simulation,hardware-in-the-loop and real-truck experiments are conducted to verify the performance of the proposed controller.The results demonstrate that the MPC-based solution performs nearly as well as the DP-based solution,with less than 1%deviation for testing roads.Moreover,the proposed co-optimization controller is implementable in a real-truck,and the proposed MPC-based PCC algorithm achieves a fuel-saving rate of 7.9%without compromising the truck’s travel time.

Predictive cruise control for heavy trucks based on slope information under cloud control system

With the advantage of fast calculation and map resources on cloud control system(CCS), cloud-based predictive cruise control(CPCC) for heavy trucks has great potential to improve energy efficiency, which is significant to achieve the goal of national carbon neutrality. However, most investigations focus on the on-board predictive cruise control(PCC) system,lack of research on CPCC architecture under CCS. Besides, the current PCC algorithms have the problems of a single control target and high computational complexity, which hinders the improvement of the control effect. In this paper, a layered architecture based on CCS is proposed to effectively address the realtime computing of CPCC system and the deployment of its algorithm on vehicle-cloud. In addition, based on the dynamic programming principle and the proposed road point segmentation method(RPSM), a PCC algorithm is designed to optimize the speed and gear of heavy trucks with slope information. Simulation results show that the CPCC system can adaptively control vehicle driving through the slope prediction, with fuel-saving rate of 6.17% in comparison with the constant cruise control. Also,compared with other similar algorithms, the PCC algorithm can make the engine operate more in the efficient zone by cooperatively optimizing the gear and speed. Moreover, the RPSM algorithm can reconfigure the road in advance, with a 91% roadpoint reduction rate, significantly reducing algorithm complexity.Therefore, this study has essential research significance for the economic driving of heavy trucks and the promotion of the CPCC system.

A Review and Outlook on Predictive Cruise Control of Vehicles and Typical Applications Under Cloud Control System

With the application of mobile communication technology in the automotive industry,intelligent connected vehicles equipped with communication and sensing devices have been rapidly promoted.The road and traffic information perceived by intelligent vehicles has important potential application value,especially for improving the energy-saving and safe-driving of vehicles as well as the efficient operation of traffic.Therefore,a type of vehicle control technology called predictive cruise control(PCC)has become a hot research topic.It fully taps the perceived or predicted environmental information to carry out predictive cruise control of vehicles and improves the comprehensive performance of the vehicle-road system.Most existing reviews focus on the economical driving of vehicles,but few scholars have conducted a comprehensive survey of PCC from theory to the status quo.In this paper,the methods and advances of PCC technologies are reviewed comprehensively by investigating the global literature,and typical applications under a cloud control system(CCS)are proposed.Firstly,the methodology of PCC is generally introduced.Then according to typical scenarios,the PCC-related research is deeply surveyed,including freeway and urban traffic scenarios involving traditional vehicles,new energy vehicles,intelligent vehicles,and multi-vehicle platoons.Finally,the general architecture and three typical applications of the cloud control system(CCS)on PCC are briefly introduced,and the prospect and future trends of PCC are proposed.

Model predictive control for adaptive cruise control with multi-objectives: comfort,fuel-economy,safety and car-following

For automated vehicles,comfortable driving will improve passengers’ satisfaction.Reducing fuel consumption brings economic profits for car owners,decreases the impact on the environment and increases energy sustainability.In addition to comfort and fuel-economy,automated vehicles also have the basic requirements of safety and car-following.For this purpose,an adaptive cruise control (ACC) algorithm with multi-objectives is proposed based on a model predictive control (MPC) framework.In the proposed ACC algorithm,safety is guaranteed by constraining the inter-distance within a safe range; the requirements of comfort and car-following are considered to be the performance criteria and some optimal reference trajectories are introduced to increase fuel-economy.The performances of the proposed ACC algorithm are simulated and analyzed in five representative traffic scenarios and multiple experiments.The results show that not only are safety and car-following objectives satisfied,but also driving comfort and fuel-economy are improved significantly.