Exploring the Impact of Vehicle Lightweighting in Terms of Energy Consumption: Analysis and Simulation

Giulia Sandrini (), Marco Gadola, Daniel Chindamo, Andrea Candela and Paolo Magri
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Giulia Sandrini: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, I-25123 Brescia, Italy
Marco Gadola: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, I-25123 Brescia, Italy
Daniel Chindamo: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, I-25123 Brescia, Italy
Andrea Candela: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, I-25123 Brescia, Italy
Paolo Magri: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, I-25123 Brescia, Italy

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-31

Abstract: Nowadays, the topic of reducing vehicles’ energy consumption is very important. In particular, for electric vehicles, the reduction of energy consumption is necessary to remedy the most critical problems associated with this type of vehicle: the problem of the limited range of the electric traction, also associated with the long recharging times of the battery packs. To reduce use-phase impacts and energy consumptions of vehicles, it is useful to reduce the vehicle mass (lightweighting). The aim of this work is to analyze the parameters of a vehicle which influence the results of lightweighting, in order to provide guidelines for the creation of a vehicle model suitable for studying the effects of lightweighting. This study was carried out through two borderline case models, a compact car and an N1 vehicle, and simulating these through a consolidated vehicle simulation tool useful for consumption estimations. This study shows that the parameters that most influence the outcome of lightweighting are the rolling resistance, the battery pack characteristics, the aerodynamic coefficients, and the transmission efficiency, while the inertia contributions can be considered negligible. An analysis was also carried out with the variation of the driving cycle considered.

Keywords: vehicle lightweighting; automotive; energy consumption; consumption analysis; Fuel Reduction Value (FRV); Energy Reduction Value (ERV) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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