Sensitivity Analyses for Cross-Coupled Parameters in Automotive Powertrain Optimization

Pongpun Othaganont, Francis Assadian and Daniel Auger
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Pongpun Othaganont: School of Engineering, Cranfield University, College Road, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AL, UK
Francis Assadian: School of Engineering, Cranfield University, College Road, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AL, UK
Daniel Auger: School of Engineering, Cranfield University, College Road, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AL, UK

Energies, 2014, vol. 7, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: When vehicle manufacturers are developing new hybrid and electric vehicles, modeling and simulation are frequently used to predict the performance of the new vehicles from an early stage in the product lifecycle. Typically, models are used to predict the range, performance and energy consumption of their future planned production vehicle; they also allow the designer to optimize a vehicle’s configuration. Another use for the models is in performing sensitivity analysis, which helps us understand which parameters have the most influence on model predictions and real-world behaviors. There are various techniques for sensitivity analysis, some are numerical, but the greatest insights are obtained analytically with sensitivity defined in terms of partial derivatives. Existing methods in the literature give us a useful, quantified measure of parameter sensitivity, a first-order effect, but they do not consider second-order effects. Second-order effects could give us additional insights: for example, a first order analysis might tell us that a limiting factor is the efficiency of the vehicle’s prime-mover; our new second order analysis will tell us how quickly the efficiency of the powertrain will become of greater significance. In this paper, we develop a method based on formal optimization mathematics for rapid second-order sensitivity analyses and illustrate these through a case study on a C-segment electric vehicle.

Keywords: hybrid and electric vehicles; sensitivity analysis; powertrain optimization (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: 2014
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