Dynamic Vehicle Positioning for Emissions Control in Platoons
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicles in a platoon face challenges in maintaining emissions control device temperatures and efficiency when traveling in close formation, leading to potential increased fuel consumption and reduced emissions performance.
Innovation Solution
The method involves dynamically adjusting the positions of vehicles within the platoon based on emissions control device temperatures and requests, allowing vehicles to move from a lead to a follower position or vice versa to optimize engine load and emissions performance, using a weighted sum of factors to arbitrate leader position changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If vehicles travel in close formation to benefit from slip stream, then fuel consumption is reduced, but emissions control device temperature decreases leading to degraded emissions performance
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts vehicle positions within the platoon based on real-time emissions control device temperatures. When a follower vehicle's emissions control device temperature drops below a threshold, the system commands position swaps to allow that vehicle to occupy the lead position, where it can operate at higher engine loads and generate higher exhaust temperatures to maintain emissions performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of vehicles by altering their position in the platoon. By switching between lead and follower positions, the system varies the engine load and exhaust temperature parameters to maintain emissions control effectiveness while still benefiting from slip stream fuel savings when appropriate.
2Reliability
If a vehicle operates at higher engine load to increase emissions control device temperature, then emissions performance is maintained, but fuel consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic position swaps within the platoon to distribute the higher engine load requirements among multiple vehicles. Instead of one vehicle continuously operating at high load, different vehicles take turns in the lead position, allowing each to periodically operate at higher loads to maintain emissions performance while the platoon as a whole benefits from slip stream fuel efficiency during follower positions.
3Stability of the object's composition
If vehicles maintain fixed positions in platoon, then formation stability is maintained, but emissions control device temperatures become unoptimized
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains platoon formation stability through coordinated position swaps rather than random individual movements. When position changes are needed for emissions optimization, the system manages the transitions to maintain overall platoon integrity and stability while allowing necessary reconfigurations to optimize emissions control device temperatures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach improves emissions performance over distance, facilitates diagnostics, and ensures desirable emissions levels by optimizing vehicle positions within the platoon, reducing fuel consumption and maintaining efficient emissions control.
Implementation Method 1
The slip stream is a zone of moving air generated by the leader vehicle and following vehicles that reduce air being moved by following vehicles
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for organizing vehicles within a vehicle platoon are described. In one example, temperatures and storage amounts of emissions control devices in vehicles of the vehicle platoon provide a basis for determining which vehicle is a leader and which vehicles are followers in a vehicle platoon. Vehicles having emissions devices at low temperatures may be commanded to a lead position to maintain emissions control device performance.