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The continuous expansion of the vehicle fleet contributes to escalating emissions, with the transportation sector accounting for approximately 21% of CO2 emissions, based on 2023 data. Focused on reducing emissions and reliance on fossil fuels, the study observes the shift from internal combustion vehicles to electric and hybrid models since 2017. Despite advancements, these vehicles still lack optimal efficiency and suffer from limited range, deterring potential buyers. This article aims to evaluate the range-extending technologies for electric vehicles, emphasizing efficiency, low pollution, and integration compatibility. An algorithm incorporating equations representing mechanical or electrical component curves is developed for Extended-Range Electric Vehicles, facilitating insight into potential range extender behavior. The core objectives of this study involve optimizing the entire powertrain system to ensure peak efficiency. Experimental tests demonstrate that integrating an auxiliary power unit enhances range, with an internal combustion engine generator configuration extending the travel distance by 35.35% at a constant speed. Moreover, with the use of an Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy control, the distance traveled increases up to 39.28% on standard driving cycles. The proposed methodology, validated through practical implementations, allows for comprehensive energy analyses, providing a precise understanding of vehicle platform performance with integrated range extenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a novel electromagnetic clutch installed on the crankshaft pulley to decouple the internal combustion engine from the front-end accessory drive of a P0 hybrid electric vehicle. The objective is to supply the air conditioning compressor directly with the belt starter–generator electric machine without dragging the inertia of the engine during engine fuel cut-off phases. This operation yields an improved vehicle energetic efficiency and allows for uninterrupted air conditioning also when the start–stop function is activated. This paper focuses on the mechanical assembly and electromagnetic behavior of the device. Furthermore, two position-sensorless techniques are proposed to estimate the clutch state. The effectiveness of the proposed solution is experimentally validated on a dedicated test bench. Experimental tests demonstrated that the opening and closing phases required 50 and 25 ms , respectively, thereby satisfying the time constraints for switching different operating modes in a vehicle (∼100 ms ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the modeling and experimental validation of the performance of two height adjustment suspensions with concentrically and eccentrically mounted screws. In the former solution, an anti-rotation system is required for the generation of reaction torque on the power screw–nut mechanism. The anti-rotation represents the main drawback of such mechanisms. In contrast, the eccentric solution attempts to solve this problem by placing the screw–nut mechanism eccentrically with respect to the shock absorber tube axis. In this paper, the working principle of the eccentric solution is explained. Its performance is compared to the concentric counterpart through simulations and experiments. Although the efficiencies of eccentric and concentric systems are very similar at the power screw, overall efficiencies differ substantially. During lifting, average efficiencies are around 3.4% and 6.5% for concentric and eccentric systems, respectively. When lowering, these values are 6.2% and 26%. The higher overall efficiency of the eccentric screw system is attributed to the anti-rotation system and the balancing of the bending moment due to the offset application of the load. To yield a complete perspective on the eccentric mounted screw solution, four prototypes are installed and tested on a demo vehicle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many modern high-end vehicles exploit controllable damping solutions to enhance their adaptability to different road conditions and driving styles. Among these technologies, active dampers offer improved performance due to their four-quadrant operation in the torque–speed plane. In active electromagnetic dampers, brushless permanent magnet machines are used because of their high torque density. However, to the best of our knowledge, a process to set the previously reported; likewise, which rotor topology exhibits the best performance in such cases has not been validated. Consequently, the resulting actuator could exhibit suboptimal dynamical performance and power conversion efficiency. Although some design processes have been formulated in the past for semiactive controllers (the damping is modified using a variable resistive load), they are not suitable for active suspension control. Similarly, there are existing solutions to increase conversion efficiency using mechanical motion rectifiers; however, active forces cannot be exerted, limiting their applicability to semiactive actuators. Therefore, this paper presents a design methodology, using finite element method together with MATLAB/Simulink™, to set and test the parameters of AC brushless PM machines, intended for actively controlled suspensions. A novel approach to set the base speed, which takes advantage of field-weakening capability, is also presented. To test the proposed method, three machines with well-known rotor topologies were designed and evaluated as case studies, and the surface-mounted topology was found to be the most suitable for the analyzed task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]