Exploring the Impact of Vehicle Lightweighting in Terms of Energy Consumption: Analysis and Simulation on Real Driving Cycle

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

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 24, 1-28

Abstract: Today, reducing vehicle energy consumption is a crucial topic. For electric vehicles, reducing energy consumption is essential to address some of the most critical issues associated with this type of vehicle, such as the limited range of electric powertrains and the long battery recharging times. To lower the environmental impact during the vehicle’s use phase and reduce energy consumption, vehicle mass reduction (lightweighting) is an effective strategy. The objective of this work is to analyze the vehicle parameters that influence lightweighting outcomes on a real driving cycle, representative of the home-to-work travel in northern Italy. In particular, a previous work carried out on standard driving cycles is repeated in order to observe whether it is possible to draw the same conclusions regarding the variability in the lightweighting outcome. This study was conducted using two opposite vehicle models, a compact car and an N1 vehicle, simulated through a well-established vehicle simulation tool for energy consumption estimation. To conduct this analysis, several simulations with variable vehicle mass, and with different vehicle parameters, such as aerodynamics and rolling resistance, were performed to estimate energy consumption across a real-world driving cycle, acquired via GPS on board the vehicle during a home-to-work journey in northern Italy. This study reveals that even for the real driving cycle, as for the WLTC and US06 standards, the parameters that most influence the outcome of the lightening are the rolling resistance, the characteristics of the battery pack, the aerodynamic coefficients, and the efficiency of the transmission. Finally, the standard cycle that best fits with the real one considered in this study is the Artemis Urban Cycle.

Keywords: vehicle lightweighting; automotive; energy consumption; consumption analysis; fuel reduction value (FRV); energy reduction value (ERV); real driving cycle; real data (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: 2024
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