Enhancing Efficiency and Reliability of Electric Vehicles via Adaptive E-Gear Control

Abstract

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) offer a sus tainable alternative to Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICEVs). This paper addresses some of the challenges faced by the automotive industry and the scientific community in defining the technology for the next generation of automotive power converters. The focus is on achieving an improved drivetrain’s energy efficiency, enhancing drivetrain reliability, while minimizing costs to enable large-scale adoption of BEVs and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs). The paper leverages an automotive converter equipped with the recently developed Adjustable Hybrid Switch (AHS) based electric gear and proposes a reliability-based control algorithm for operating the converter E-Gear (EG) of BEVs. By integrat ing reliability control principles, the proposed algorithm min imizes system damage over time and enhances the converter’s lifetime. The case studies, based on standardised driving cycles, demonstrate the benefits of the presented approach in terms of energy losses and lifetime expectations. Overall, this work contributes a novel approach to drivetrain control in BEVs, highlighting the potential of the proposed control strategy to improve energy efficiency and reliability. The research findings provide valuable insights for the development of next-generation automotive power converters.