Optimizing and Verifying Controllers for Electric Vehicles
The Hochschule Mannheim's Delta Racing team entered the Formula Student Electric competition with its new race car, the DR14-E, completed in 2014. The team placed second in the very first race of the Formula Student Czech Republic series in Hradec Králové. In the energy efficiency ranking, the race car even placed first with an impressively low energy consumption of only 0.068 kWh per lap.
The team's success is based on controller optimizations that improve the DR14-E's vehicle dynamics and energy efficiency. Because the race car has separate drive motors on the left and right rear wheels, it can be driven and slowed down actively. This opens up new possibilities for control interventions. The full potential of the vehicle dynamics control was tapped, especially in terms of improved cornering handling and energy efficiency.
Early analyses performed with the dSPACE ASM Vehicle Dynamics simulation model supported algorithm development. In particular, the modular setup of the ASMs (Automotive Simulation Models) made integrating the team's own torque vectoring concept, including the required control design, easy and efficient. With the model, Delta Racing was able to verify all approaches, which were then implemented on a dSPACE MicroAutoBox in the vehicle.
During the development process, the vehicle model was completely parameterized. It is now also available for future generations of the Delta Racing team to optimize and further develop vehicle dynamics controls. This is useful because the ASM simulation model offers functionalities which have not been used yet, such as simulating the effects of spring-damper combinations or aerodynamic optimizations.
