Route Optimization of Electric Vehicles Based on Dynamic Wireless Charging

Abstract

One of the barriers to adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) is the anxiety around the limited driving range. Recent proposals have explored charging EVs on the move, using dynamic wireless charging which enables power exchange between the vehicle and the grid while the vehicle is moving. In this article, we focus on the intelligent routing of EVs in need of charging so that they can make most efficient use of the so-called Mobile Energy Disseminators (MEDs) which operates as mobile charging stations. We present a method for routing EVs around MEDs on the road network, which is based on constraint logic programming and optimisation using a graph-based shortest path algorithm. The proposed method exploits Inter-Vehicle (IVC) communications in order to eco-route electric vehicles. We argue that combining modern communications between vehicles and state of the art technologies on energy transfer, the driving range of EVs can be extended without the need for larger batteries or overtly costly infrastructure. We present extensive simulations in city conditions that show the driving range and consequently the overall travel time of electric vehicles is improved with intelligent routing in the presence of MEDs.

Ant Colony optimization for the Electric Vehicle Routing Problem

“…Therefore, the N h i set of unvisited customers in Eqs. (16) and (17) must also satisfy the aforementioned energy constraints. If not, then their is a potential risk that the EV will run out of energy at some point.…”

“…Suppose that an EV, say k, visits customer i using the decision rule defined in Eqs. (16) and (17). Then based on the energy level at customer i the range of energy required for visiting a recharging charging station or the central depot must satisfy e k i − b il ≥ 0, ∃ l ∈ F to be able to recharge at any time (if required).…”

“…Recently, the VRP with electric vehicles (EVRP) variation has attracted a lot of attention by the research community due to the extra constraints regarding energy and emissions. So far, the research on EVRP has focused on problem formulations for routing passenger cars (e.g., shortest routes from source to destination) [1], [16], problem formulations for charging coordination in recharging stations [29] and problem formulations for advanced logistics systems [4].…”

“…There are also other objectives that can be considered such as operation costs [4] and energy efficiency [2]. The difference of the EVRP with the conventional VRP is that vehicles may require to visit a recharging station to address the driving anxiety of the limited range of EVs [16]. The recharging station may be visited by any vehicle multiple times (if required) or none (if not necessary).…”

Design and Performance Analysis of Pads for Dynamic Wireless Charging of EVs using the Finite Element Method

“…This is a consequence of the fact that with the WPT it is possible to maximize the charging opportunities without the need of a contact. Indeed, it is estimated that with a 10 minute recharge using the WPT method at a charging rate of 50 kW, the EV can drive for 37 km, which is the distance that an average European driver travels daily [8][9][10]. The current technology applied for the WPT systems is inductive power transfer (IPT), which is preferred to other methods because they are better for short distance applications, they generate less harmful fields, and they allow the use of industrial power converters that make the overall system more reliable and efficient [11].…”