FahrKLang – Evaluation of Consumption and Emissions of Vehicle Powertrain Concepts for Future Long-Range Mobility
Period: 2017 – 2018
Cooperation: DLR-VF
Support: see right
Within the framework of the project FahrKLang, an optimization environment for the comparative assessment of the environmental impact of different drive concepts has been developed, which provides a reliable basis for the comparison of powertrain concepts. Real fleet driving data, which depicts the characteristic usage behavior of the drivers in Germany, is the starting point for dimensioning the powertrain concepts that shall be compared. Using stochastic synthesis methods, representative driving cycles are generated from the fleet driving data, which can map the extensive data sets in compressed form. This enables a computationally efficient evaluation of drive concepts by means of simulation based on real driving data. An optimization environment is used to determine the optimal powertrain parameterization and an operating strategy adapted to each configuration. The objective function of the optimization consists of the greenhouse gas emissions over the entire life cycle of the vehicles. For each drivetrain concept, the minimum greenhouse gas emissions are determined by the optimal dimensioning of the components. In this way, a reliable basis for the comparison of different drive concepts is created. Over additional technology neutral constraints, such as a required slope climbing ability, the plausibility of the generated powertrain parametrization is ensured. This method provides a robust basis for comparing powertrain technologies under varying boundary conditions. Normally, available vehicles on the market are used to determine the typical component characteristics of substitute vehicles for different powertrain concepts. However, as existent vehicles have been developed under various and unknown development goals, such as performance or brand image, the comparison of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions needs to be scrutinized. The FahrKlang project, on the other hand, identifies the optimal parameterization and operation strategy of all powertrain concepts for reducing the environmental impact for each scenario, so that a common basis for comparison of the drive concepts is created. This baseline illustrates the potential of various powertrain concepts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (the minimum achievable).
For the comparative evaluation of drive concepts different scenarios of external factors are examined. In addition to a scenario for the current status from 2018, development scenarios, e.g. for the forecasted German power mix or regarding the battery technology for the years 2030 and 2050 are discussed. The project FahrKLang carries out a differentiated investigation, especially for long-distance capable vehicles.
Selected Publications: