Configurable Modular Electrically Propelled and Advanced Actuated Axles Installations for Heavy Duty Vehicles
Research Project, 2020 – 2025

Research Motivating Problem:
Energy will always be needed for our goods transports on road. Electric propulsion and other advanced actuation systems can reduce energy losses and flexibility of using different ways to produce the electricity. However, heavy vehicles will always have to appear with different axle groups (axle installations) and different axles lifted/lowered. There will also be different towed units (trailers). Hence, vehicle control can hardly be designed for only one such configuration.
Therefore, such advanced actuation can not be fully utilized, leading to non‐optimal energy. The control of an axle group should be able to handle variation in number of axles, suspension linkage, actuation (Electric Propulsion, Friction Brake, Active Suspension, Steering).


Envisioned product/solution, targeting SoP 2025‐2030:
• Split Vehicle Motion Management VMM so that one generic upper part and a “modular/replaceable” lower part which is axle configuration dependent.
• Vision: Automatically generated and downloaded B-matrices in factory.
• Focus: Off‐road/construction vehicle applications with single unit up to 6 axles. Both Manual and Automated Driving.
Research questions:
• Which are realistic actuator and sensor sets?
• How to integrate best possible control in a modular way? Especially which virtual requests, e.g. Fx,Fy,Fz,Mx,My,Mz.
• How much energy can be saved?
• How is control and architecture extended to multi-unit vehicles?

Deliverables:
• Answers to research questions
• 1 Vehicle Dynamics PhD, employed in Swedish Vehicle Industry

Participating person outside Chalmers:
• Anders Eriksson, Volvo GTT, Powertrain Strategic Development

Participants

Bengt J H Jacobson (contact)

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Vehicle Engineering and Autonomous Systems

Leon Henderson

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Vehicle Engineering and Autonomous Systems

Sachin Janardhanan

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Vehicle Engineering and Autonomous Systems

Mats Jonasson

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Vehicle Engineering and Autonomous Systems

Leo Laine

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2)

Collaborations

Ontario Tech

Oshawa, Canada

Volvo Group

Gothenburg, Sweden

Funding

Swedish Energy Agency

Project ID: 2019-027428
Funding Chalmers participation during 2020–2023

Swedish Energy Agency

Project ID: P2023-00590
Funding Chalmers participation during 2023–2025

Volvo Group

Funding Chalmers participation during 2020–2025

Related Areas of Advance and Infrastructure

Sustainable development

Driving Forces

Transport

Areas of Advance

ReVeRe (Research Vehicle Resource)

Infrastructure

Publications

More information

Latest update

7/10/2023