The inclusion of vehicle shape and aerodynamic drag estimations within the life cycle energy optimisation methodology

摘要

The present work describes a widening of the scope of the Life Cycle Energy Optimisation (LCEO) methodology with the addition of shape-related design variables. They describe the curvature of a vehicle which impacts its aerodynamic drag and therewith its operational energy demand. Aerodynamic drag is taken into account through the estimation of the drag coefficient of the vehicle body shape using computational fluid dynamics simulations. Subsequently, the aforementioned coefficient is used to calculate the operational energy demand associated with the vehicle. The methodology is applied to the design of the roof of a simplified 2D vehicle model which is both mechanically and geometrically constrained. The roof is modelled as a sandwich structure with its design variables consisting of the material compositions of the different layers, their thicknesses as well as the shape variables. The efficacy of the LCEO methodology is displayed through its ability to deal with the arising functional conflicts while simultaneously leveraging the design benefits of the underlying functional alignments. On average, the optimisation process resulted in 2.5 times lighter and 4.5 times less life cycle energy-intensive free shape designs. This redesign process has also underlined the necessity of defining an allocation strategy for the energy necessary to overcome drag within the context of vehicle sub-system redesign.