Distributed Powertrain and Battery Coordination for Multi-Unit Electrified Vehicle Combinations

Paper in proceeding, 2026

Multi-unit electrified powertrains for heavy vehicle combinations offer important operational benefits, but coordinating energy flow across electric motors (EM) and battery systems on physically separated units introduces major challenges, including limited inter-unit signals and unequal battery depletion rates. This study compares distributed power loss minimization (PLM), centralized PLM, and rule-based control architectures using a point-mass model simulated over a driving cycle. This research also investigates the energy savings from deactivating EMs to eliminate idling losses and introduces a state-of-charge (SOC) control strategy to balance battery depletion rates. Results show that while distributed PLM reduces energy consumption compared to rule-based strategies, the ability to completely deactivate EMs yields the most significant energy savings. Furthermore, while the SOC control strategy successfully balances battery depletion, it introduces a marginal energy penalty. Notably, this penalty remains comparable to the inherent overhead of towing a conventional, non-electrified trailer, confirming that electrified trailers provide significant benefits without a net energy penalty compared to traditional configurations.