Minimization of Fuel Consumption for Vehicle Trajectories

The importance of eco-driving in reducing cumulative fuel consumption of road vehicles is a well-known and widely treated subject. Eco-driving intends to minimize fuel consumption by maneuvering a vehicle with a human or automated driver. In this work, the problem is cast in an optimal control framework with fixed time horizon. State equations reflect the simple vehicle kinematic equations for position and speed, with the acceleration acting as a control input. Initial and final states (position and speed) are fixed. For the fuel consumption estimation, a number of alternatives are employed. To start with, a realistic, but nonlinear and non-smooth formula from the literature is considered. Simple smoothing procedures are then applied, so as to enable the application of powerful numerical algorithms for the efficient solution of the resulting nonlinear optimal control problem. Furthermore, suitable quadratic approximations of the nonlinear formula are also considered, which enable analytical problem solutions. A comprehensive comparison on the basis of various driving scenarios demonstrates the features of each alternative approach. In particular, it is demonstrated that the often utilized, but sometimes strongly questioned, square-of-acceleration term delivers excellent approximations for fuel-minimizing trajectories in the present setting.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADC20 Standing Committee on Transportation and Air Quality.
• Authors:
  • Typaldos, Panagiotis
  • Papamichail, Ioannis
  • Papageorgiou, Markos
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
• Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 19p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acceleration (Mechanics); Algorithms; Ecodriving; Fuel consumption; Optimization; Vehicle trajectories
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01660522
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 18-03953
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 20 2018 9:29AM