A CONNECTED VEHICLE SUPPORTED ROUTING STRATEGY FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

摘要

Electric Vehicle (EV) charging problem hinders its wide scale commercial adoption. In this paper, the authors address the problem through an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) based routing algorithm that is dedicated to accommodate electric vehicle trips. By using Connected Vehicle Technology, connected EVs communicate with other vehicles and infrastructure components to transmit information in real time for finding the best route, and for intelligently recharging on the move. Such connected EVs are capable of adapting each trip with the lowest travel time and/or the lowest recharge cost along with an optimal recharge plan to prevent battery drain. As a case study, a real world roadway network in Charleston, SC was simulated to examine the performance of the routing strategy. Simulation analysis revealed that connected EVs can reduce not only the total travel time and the energy consumption, but also the recharged volume of electricity and corresponding cost, thus significantly relieving the concerns of range anxiety of EV drivers. This routing approach potentially leads to a reduction in the EV battery capacity, which in turn can reduce the cost of energy storage systems to a reasonable level.