A state-of-the-art review on torque distribution strategies aimed at enhancing energy efficiency for fully electric vehicles with independently actuated drivetrains

© 2019, Levrotto and Bella. All rights reserved. Electric vehicles are the future of private passenger transportation. However, there are still several technological barriers that hinder the large scale adoption of electric vehicles. In particular, their limited autonomy motivates studies on methods for improving the energy efficiency of electric vehicles so as to make them more attractive to the market. This paper provides a concise review on the current state-of-the-art of torque distribution strategies aimed at enhancing energy efficiency for fully electric vehicles with independently actuated drivetrains (FEVIADs). Starting from the operating principles, which include the "control allocation" problem, the peculiarities of each proposed solution are illustrated. All the existing techniques are categorized based on a selection of parameters deemed relevant to provide a comprehensive overview and understanding of the topic. Finally, future concerns and research perspectives for FEVIAD are discussed

Torque Vectoring Control for fully electric Formula SAE cars

Fully electric vehicles with individually controlled powertrains can achieve significantly enhanced vehicle response, in particular by means of Torque Vectoring Control (TVC). This paper presents a TVC strategy for a Formula SAE (FSAE) fully electric vehicle, the “T-ONE” car designed by “UninaCorse E-team” of the University of Naples Federico II, featuring four in-wheel motors. A Matlab-Simulink double-track vehicle model is implemented, featuring non-linear (Pacejka) tyres. The TVC strategy consists of: i) a reference generator that calculates the target yaw rate in real time based on the current values of steering wheel angle and vehicle velocity, in order to follow a desired optimal understeer characteristic; ii) a high-level controller which generates the overall traction/braking force and yaw moment demands based on the accelerator/brake pedal and on the error between the target yaw rate and the actual yaw rate; iii) a control allocator which outputs the reference torques for the individual wheels. A driver model was implemented to work out the brake/accelerator pedal inputs and steering wheel angle input needed to follow a generic trajectory. In a first implementation of the model, a circular trajectory was adopted, consistently with the "skid-pad" test of the FSAE competition. Results are promising as the vehicle with TVC achieves up to � 9% laptime savings with respect to the vehicle without TVC, which is deemed significant and potentially crucial in the context of the FSAE competition

Vehicle sideslip angle estimation for a heavy-duty vehicle via Extended Kalman Filter using a Rational tyre model

Vehicle sideslip angle is a key state for lateral vehicle dynamics, but measuring it is expensive and unpractical. Still, knowledge of this state would be really valuable for vehicle safety systems aimed at enhancing vehicle safety, to help to reduce worldwide fatal car accidents. This has motivated the research community to investigate techniques to estimate vehicle sideslip angle, which is still a challenging problem. One of the major issues is the need for accurate tyre model parameters, which are difficult to characterise and subject to change during vehicle operation. This paper proposes a new method for estimating vehicle sideslip angle using an Extended Kalman Filter. The main novelties are: i) the tyre behaviour is described using a Rational tyre model whose parameters are estimated and updated online to account for their variation due to e.g. tyre wear and environmental conditions affecting the tyre behaviour; ii) the proposed technique is compared with two other methods available in the literature by means of experimental tests on a heavy-duty vehicle. Results show that: i) the proposed method effectively estimates vehicle sideslip angle with an error limited to 0.5 deg in standard driving conditions, and less than 1 deg for a high-speed run; ii) the tyre parameters are successfully updated online, contributing to outclassing estimation methods based on tyre models that are either excessively simple or with non-varying parameters

From parliamentary pay to party funding: the acceptability of informal institutions in advanced democracies

While direct state funding of political parties has been a prominent theme in cross-national research over the last decade, we still know little about party strategies to access state resources that are not explicitly earmarked for partisan usage. This paper looks at one widespread but often overlooked informal party practice: the ‘taxing’ of MP salaries, i.e., the regular transfer of fixed salary shares to party coffers. Building on notions of informal institutions developed in work on new democracies, our theoretical approach specifies factors that shape the acceptability of this legally non-enforceable intra-organisational practice. It is tested through a selection model applied to a unique data set covering 124 parties across 19 advanced democracies. Controlling for a range of party- and institutional-level variables, we find that the presence of a taxing rule and the collection of demanding tax shares are more common in leftist parties (high internal acceptability) and in systems in which the penetration of state institutions by political parties is intense (high external acceptability)

Ênfases e ressalvas recorrentes nos relatórios de auditoria dos clubes de futebol

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (Graduação)O estudo teve como objetivo analisar os relatórios de auditoria dos clubes de futebol profissionais brasileiros, identificando os principais tópicos de auditoria e os objetos de opinião modificada, bem como as firmas selecionadas para a prestação dos serviços. A metodologia adotou procedimentos de pesquisa documental e análise comparativa nos relatórios de auditoria de uma população de 20 clubes da participante da Série A do Campeonato Brasileiro na edição de 2022 e suas respectivas demonstrações nos anos de 2021 a 2020. À parte a diversidade das empresas de auditoria escolhidas pelas equipes, os tópicos objetos de ressalva ou ênfase são os mesmos em grande parte das demonstrações, com cerca de três quartos delas (74%) sendo objeto de ressalvas ou ênfases, com os resultados apontando para temáticas direta ou indiretamente relacionadas ao ativo (principalmente provisões, imobilizado e intangíveis), não correções dos tópicos levantados pelos auditores de um exercício para o seguinte (resultando em opiniões modificadas semelhantes), além de dificuldades na padronização de métodos e práticas contábeis pelos clubes. A pesquisa amplia a discussão acerca do impacto dos relatórios de auditoria, seus principais pontos de melhoria e sua capacidade de influenciar a relação dos clubes profissionais com seus stakeholders

Tyre-road adherence conditions estimation for intelligent vehicle safety applications

It is well recognized in the automotive research community that knowledge of the real-time tyre-road friction conditions can be extremely valuable for intelligent safety applications, including design of braking, traction, and stability control systems. This paper presents a new development of an on-line tyre-road adherence estimation methodology and its implementation using both Burckhardt and LuGre tyre-road friction models. The proposed strategy first employs the recursive least squares to identify the linear parameterization (LP) form of Burckhardt model. The identified parameters provide through a Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy system the initial values for the LuGre model. Then, it is presented a new large-scale optimization based estimation algorithm using the steady state solution of the partial differential equation (PDE) form of LuGre to obtain its parameters. Finally, real-time simulations in various conditions are provided to demonstrate the efficacy of the algorithm

Transient tire slip losses using the brush theory

Tire slip losses have been shown to have a significant impact on vehicle performance in terms of energy efficiency, thus requiring accurate studies. In this paper, the transient dissipation mechanisms connected to the presence of micro-sliding phenomena occurring at the tire–road interface are investigated analytically. The influence of a two-dimensional velocity field inside the contact patch is also considered in light of the new brush theory recently developed by the authors. Theoretical results align with findings already known from literature but suggest that the camber and turn spins contribute differently to the slip losses and should be regarded as separate entities when the camber angle is sufficiently large. The present work shows that an additional amount of power which relates to the initial sliding conditions is generated or lost during the unsteady-state maneuvers. A simple example is presented to illustrate the discrepancy between the microscopic and macroscopic approaches during a transient maneuver