The OPTEMUS project has passed the first 18 months, with the following work performed and main results: The definition of use cases and scenarios has been finished, which forms the basis for the design of different components and systems that will be developed by the OPTEMUS partners. Further, the “baseline measurements” – a thorough evaluation of the Fiat500e (the reference and demonstrator vehicle) in the climatic chamber - has finished in order to refine the benchmarks.
In Workpackage 1 (System simulation and assessment of vehicle-related quality attributes), the use cases for the reference measurements and the final evaluation of the demonstrator vehicle have been defined. For the assessment of the OPTEMUS technologies via Virtual Prototyping specifications and a coordination plan have been set up. Additionally a methodology for the 1D and 3D simulation has been set up and the collection of necessary simulation data is ongoing at the moment. In addition, the data collection for the cost analysis (cost benefit analysis and total cost of ownership) has been started, in order to get also an economical view on the developed technologies.
In Workpackage 2 (Advanced thermal management components and technologies) an internal thermal management for battery modules is developed. For the battery modules a smart housing will combine the function of protection, cooling and heating (thermal isolator) as well as the possibility of heat storage. Further, the development of a compact refrigeration unit is ongoing. It will provide hot and cold coolant, that can be redirected in the demonstrator vehicle for all heating and cooling purposes including conditioning of the passenger cabin and other vehicle components (e.g. the battery). Additionally research on interior technologies for passenger comfort is ongoing, where a smart seat (heated or cooled via Peltier elements) and smart cover panels (radiation heating and transfer of excessive heat
away from the interior) are developed.
In Workpackage 3 (Energy management architectures & operation strategies) a preconditioning strategy is developed, that provides a custom conditioning for the passengers and an enhancement of the battery life duration. It exploits a novel concept, using the available energy in the vehicle in the most efficient way by predicting the driver’s behavior (i.e. the approach to the vehicle), and providing a custom conditioning of the cabin room according to the personal user profiles (temperature), which are saved in the user’s smartphone (OPTEMUS app). The vehicle’s preconditioning system dialogs with the user/driver (smartphone) via an HMI (tablet) and also communicates with the CAN bus and the Thermal Management control (TMECU).
The vehicle HMI will also provide a link to the eco-routing web service. Eco-routing navigation aims to find the most energy-efficient route in a road network to travel from an origin to a destination. An algorithm to find the energy-optimal sequence of segments to drive from the desired origin to the desired destination has been developed. The eco-routing system has been tested during a first experimental campaign conducted with the demonstrator vehicle in Turin at CRF.
Further, the work on Eco-driving strategies has been started as well. Therefore, the Android app “Geco” has been set up for the OPTEMUS project. It will evaluate the driving style during the trip and give suggestions how to improve the drive style by showing simple scores and indexes.
In the field of energy harvesting, the work on the photovoltaic panels and regenerative dampers is ongoing. For the photovoltaic panels one innovative solution is tested at the moment. It is based on the control of different PV modules by means of a dedicated DC/DC converter with a centralized MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) algorithm.
The work on regenerative dampers started with an extensive analysis about different technologies that can convert kinetic energy into electricity by using suspension components. Based on this, the architecture has been chosen: an electromechanical rotary hydraulic damper, in which the piston movement produces a pressurised oil flow through a hydraulic motor, which in turn moves an electric generator.
In the frame of Workpackage 4 (System integration demonstrator vehicle and validation) several testing campaigns were carried out with the reference vehicle according to the evaluation criteria defined in WP1 to assess energy consumption and thermal comfort. The vehicle measurements were carried out in the climatic chamber and on a rolling bench, complying with the relevant standards.
