Research Article

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

2020, Vol. 12(1) 1–16
Ó The Author(s) 2020
Parameters optimization of two-speed DOI: 10.1177/1687814020901652
journals.sagepub.com/home/ade
powertrain of electric vehicle based on
genetic algorithm

Yuhang Li1 , Bo Zhu2 , Nong Zhang1,2, Hao Peng1 and

Yongzhong Chen1

Abstract
Aiming at the shortcomings of only optimizing the gear ratios of two-speed transmission in the optimization process of
two-speed powertrain parameters of electric vehicles, the optimization of two-speed powertrain parameters of electric
vehicles based on genetic algorithm is proposed. The optimization process is to optimize the main performance para-
meters of the drive motor and the gear ratios of two-speed transmission. That is, taking the economy and dynamic of
the electric vehicle as the fitness function, the gear ratios of two-speed transmission is optimized under the main perfor-
mance parameters of different drive motors, so as to find the powertrain parameter with the best fitness function value.
Among them, the AMESim software is used to build the vehicle optimization model, the genetic algorithm is improved
by MATLAB, and the improved genetic algorithm is used to optimize the vehicle optimization model. The results show
that the optimization of the vehicle’s economic and dynamic performance has been improved, indicating that this optimi-
zation method is effective.

Keywords
Electric vehicle, powertrain optimization, dynamic performance, economical performance, genetic algorithm, two-speed
transmission

Date received: 9 June 2019; accepted: 17 December 2019

Handling Editor: James Baldwin

Introduction of the vehicle under the same power battery

conditions.2,3
Today’s stringent environmental standards and new At present, most electric vehicles use fixed speed
fuel economy regulations have obliged automobile ratio reducers, which can simplify the structure and
manufacturers to design vehicles with improved fuel reduce the weight and cost. However, to meet the accel-
economy and better emission performance. To comply eration performance and the maximum speed of the
with these new challenging requirements, the automo-
tive industry has a strong tendency toward using
‘‘green’’ technologies.1 1
School of Automotive and Transportation Engineering, Hefei University
Among them, the development of electric vehicles is of Technology, Hefei, China
relatively rapid, and related technologies continue to 2
Automotive Research Institute, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei,
progress, and gradually become mature. And the drive China
motor and transmission are the key components of the
Corresponding author:
pure electric vehicle drive system. It is necessary to do Bo Zhu, Automotive Research Institute, Hefei University of Technology,
reasonable parameter matching and design optimiza- 193 Tunxi Road, Baohe District, Hefei 230009, Anhui, China.
tion to make it possible to maximize the driving range Email: [email protected]

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2 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

vehicle at the same time, higher requirements are that the traction interruption of traditional AMT can
imposed on the design of the motor system with a fixed be canceled. And after the gear ratios are optimized
speed ratio.4 An electric vehicle that matches a using Dynamic Programming, gear shift control is
two-speed transmission reduces the performance addressed, and smooth shift process without torque
requirements of the drive motor while improving over- hole is achieved through feed-forward and feed-back
all vehicle power and economy.5–7 Many literatures control of the clutch and the motor .
have studied the feasibility of multi-speed transmission. But at present, most of the research on the optimiza-
The literatures compare the electric vehicle matching tion of electric vehicle powertrain parameters is carried
the power system of the single-stage reducer with the out for the transmission gear ratios optimization, and
electric vehicle matching the power system of the two- the optimization of the main performance parameters
speed transmission, which shows that two-speed trans- (peak torque, peak speed) of the drive motor is not
mission can improve vehicle performance better than considered. Generally give the drive motor parameters
single-stage transmission.8,9 The literature focuses on directly, and then optimizing the transmission ratios,
the possibility of using a transmission over 2 speeds in does not guarantee that the drive motor parameters
a pure electric vehicle (EV), and the results demonstrate and transmission ratios are optimal.
that the efficiency and performance of the motor are Therefore, this article takes the design optimization
improved by adding gears. However, under conditions of electric vehicle powertrain parameters as the objec-
of different routes, the requirements of the quantity of tive, based on New European Driving Cycle (NEDC)
speeds are different.10 A new all-electric vehicle layout working conditions, with economic and dynamic opti-
was developed, including two powertrains, each of mization as the optimization goal, and uses improved
which included a two-speed transmission for improving genetic algorithm to optimize parameters.
vehicle acceleration and grade ability.11–13 Therefore,
the development of electric vehicle transmission sys-
tems has become a trend. Vehicle model
In the research of multi-speed electric vehicle
The whole vehicle modeling of electric vehicles mainly
research, the gear ratio optimization design of the
includes vehicle longitudinal dynamics model, battery
transmission is an important part. Countries have stud-
model, drive motor model, transmission model, trans-
ied the gear ratio matching and optimization of electric
mission control unit (TCU) model, and vehicle control
vehicles. The literatures take the energy consumption
unit (VCU) model.
of the whole vehicle as the optimization objective and
adopts the standard working condition to optimize the
gear ratios.7,14–18 And in literature,17 the enumeration Vehicle longitudinal dynamics model
algorithm is used to optimize the gear ratios of the
two-speed transmission of the electric vehicle under the This research focuses on the dynamic and economy
ECE–EUDC–LOW working condition, and the power performance of the EV, thus only the longitudinal
and economy of the whole vehicle are improved. But it dynamics is considered in the vehicle model, regardless
does not consider the influence of shift schedule on the of the vertical vibration and handling stability.
optimization of gear ratios, so the literatures considers According to the vehicle kinematics equation, the vehi-
the influence of shift schedule on the optimization of cle resistance is as follows
gear ratios when carrying out the optimization of two-
speed transmission of electric vehicle.2,5,19 And in order Fr = Fw + Ff + Fa ð1Þ
to obtain the best economic performance of vehicle, the
where Fw is the air resistance, N; Ff is the rolling resis-
corresponding shift schedule is adopted to adapt to dif-
tance, N; Fa is the ramp resistance, N.
ferent gear ratios in the literature.19 And this method
The vehicle driving dynamic formula is as follows
takes the gear ratios of the transmission system as the
design variable and establishes the objective function Td ig i0
considering the lightweight design principle of the Fd =  ht ð2Þ
r
transmission system. In the literatures, the two-speed
transmission of pure electric special vehicle is opti- where Td is the torque generated by the drive motor in the
mized, which greatly improves the performance of spe- drive mode, Nm; ig is the gear ratio of the current gear; i0
cial vehicle.20–22 A new structure of electric vehicle is the ratio of the final drive; r is the rolling radius of the
transmission system has been developed in literature, wheel, m; ht is the current gear transmission efficiency.
and its gear ratios has been optimized.23,24 And in The vehicle braking force formula is as follows
literature,24 a novel two-speed I-AMT (Inverse
Automated Manual Transmission) is studied, and the Tb ig i0
Fb =  ht + Fcb ð3Þ
dry clutch is located at the rear of the transmission so r
Li et al. 3

Table 1. Vehicle parameters and design indicators.

Design parameters or indicators Numerical value Design parameters or indicators Numerical value

Vehicle mass m/kg 1614 Main reducer ratio i0 4

Rolling radius r/m 0.308 The efficiency of current gear transmission ht 0.95
Rolling factor ƒ 0.013 Maximum speed umax/(kmh-1) 150
Air resistance coefficient CD 0.316 0–100 km/h acceleration time t/s 12
Frontal area A/m2 2.718 15 km/h maximum grade a/% 25

where Tb is the torque that the driving motor emits in Twg = Tg i0 ig  ht ð8Þ
the braking mode, Nm; Fcb is the normal braking
force, N. The purpose of the dynamic shift decision is to keep
The vehicle longitudinal dynamic balance formula is the maximum output torque of the vehicle at its best, so
as follows as to ensure the best dynamic performance of the vehi-
cle. Figure 1 is a flowchart of the dynamic shift deci-
Fd  ðFr + Fb Þ sion. After the dynamic shift decision, the power of
a= ð4Þ vehicle can be guaranteed. Figure 2 is a dynamic shift
m
diagram of the AMESim vehicle model. It can be seen
where a is the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle, from the figure that the first gear torque is larger at low
m/s2; m is the mass of the whole vehicle, kg. speed and the second gear torque is larger at high speed.
The main parameters and performance indicators of The dynamic shift strategy determines the gear that the
the whole vehicle are shown in Table 1. transmission should currently hang, it indicates that the
dynamic shift decision logic is correct. At the same
TCU model time, the dynamic shift strategy ensures that the shift
schedule is matched with the parameters of the power-
The TCU model is mainly for gear decision making and train in real time.
is divided into dynamic decision making and economic
decision making.
Economic shift decision. The purpose of the economic
shift decision is to optimize the operating efficiency of
Dynamic parameter calculation. Motor speed under each
the motor to ensure the best economic performance of
gear is as follow
the vehicle. Figure 3 is a flowchart of economic shift
8 decision-making, which can ensure the economics of
> vi0 i1
< g=1 the whole vehicle through economical gear decision.
ng = 0:377r ð5Þ
> Figure 4 shows the economic shift diagram of the
: vi0 i2 g = 2
0:377r AMESim vehicle model. It can be seen from the figure
that the efficiency of the motor in the first gear and the
where v is the current speed of the vehicle, km/h; g is efficiency of the motor in the second gear are con-
the gear number of different gears. stantly changing with the operation of the motor. The
Motor rated speed is as follow economic shift decision can be judged according to the
operating efficiency of the motor under each gear to
9550Pmax ensure that the motor operating efficiency is in the best
ne = ð6Þ
Tmax state, indicating that the economic gear decision logic is
where Pmax is the peak power of the motor, kW; Tmax is correct. a in the flowchart is to avoid cyclic shifting. At
the constant torque maximum of the external character- the same time, the economic shift strategy ensures that
istics of the motor, Nm. the shift schedule is matched with the parameters of the
Motor torque under each gear is as follow powertrain in real time.
8
< 9550Pmax
>
ng .ne VCU model
Tg = ng ð7Þ
>
:T Because the model in this article is only for the vehicle
max ng ł ne
transmission system, the execution logic of VCU model
in this article only includes the torque command and
Dynamic shift decision. The driving torque at the wheel brake force distribution command of driving motor
end of each gear is as follow generated according to the current vehicle power
4 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 1. Dynamic shift decision diagram.

Figure 2. Dynamic shift diagram.

demand, so as to ensure the smooth operation of the drtorq = acc  Tmax ðnÞ ð10Þ
vehicle.
where Tmax ðnÞ is the maximum motor torque corre-
The speed of motor is as follow
sponding to the motor speed at the current vehicle
vi0 ig speed, Nm.
n= ð9Þ Conventional Brake Command: When the vehicle is
0:377r
braking, the motor can recover the braking energy in
where ig is the gear ratio of the current gear. generator mode and store the recovered energy in the
Drive torque command is as follow battery. This model adopts the series brake recovery
strategy.
Li et al. 5

Figure 3. Economic shift decision diagram.

Figure 4. Economic shift diagram.

Motor braking torque is as follow Wheel brake torque command is as follow


Motorq = bra  ðTmax ðnÞÞ ð11Þ 0 bratorqre ø  Tmax ðnÞ
bratorq = ð14Þ
bra  CBmax bratorqre ł  Tmax ðnÞ
Total braking torque is as follow

Bratorqmax = Motorq  CBmax ð12Þ

Battery model
where CBmax is the maximum torque value of the con- The battery model in this article uses a simplified
ventional brake, Nm. model, without considering the internal resistance of
Brake torque request is as follow the battery, temperature and other factors.
Battery open circuit voltage is as follow
bratorqre = bra  Bratorqmax ð13Þ
6 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Ubat = Upp + Unp ð15Þ Pelec = Pmec d + Plost ð23Þ

where Upp is the battery positive voltage, V; Unp is the When the motor is in drive mode, the efficiency of
battery negative voltage, V, take 0 V here. the motor is as follow
Battery current is as follow
Pmec d
 h= ð24Þ
Id driving Pelec
Ibat = ð16Þ
Ib braking
h is also considered to be the efficiency of the motor
where Id is the battery current when the motor is in in the generation mode because only the experimental
drive mode, A; Ib is the battery current in the motor data of the loss of power when the motor is driven are
brake mode, A. measured. Using the experimental data of the driving
Drive energy consumption is as follow motor, the efficiency MAP diagram of the driving
ð motor is obtained by MATLAB interpolation calcula-
tion, as shown in Figure 5.
Wd = Ubat  Ibat dt ð17Þ
When the vehicle is driving, the motor input current
is as follow
where Ibat = Id , A; Wd, kWh.
Brake recovery energy is as follow Pmec d 1
Id =  ð25Þ
ð Ubat h
Wb = Ubat  Ibat dt ð18Þ
When the vehicle is braking, the motor input current
is as follow
where Ibat = Ib , A; Wb, kWh.
The total energy consumption at the battery end is Pmec b
as follow Ib = h ð26Þ
Ubat
W = Wd + Wb ð19Þ The main operating characteristic parameters of the
drive motor are rated power, peak power, peak torque,
where W, kWh.
and maximum speed. The peak torque and maximum
speed of the drive motor in this article are optimized
Driving motor model parameters, so they are not given here. Only the rated
power and peak power are given. The rated power is
The driving motor model in this article is a simplified
determined by the highest designed vehicle speed, and
motor or generator model. The output torque and
the peak power is determined by the designed upper
power loss can be determined by data files or character-
limit of 100 km acceleration time. The specific para-
istic parameters.
meters are listed in Table 2.
When the motor is in drive mode, the mechanical
power of the motor is as follow
Transmission model
drtorq  n
Pmec d = ð20Þ The transmission model in this article uses a simplified
9550
transmission model.
When the motor is in generation mode, the mechani- Input shaft speed is as follow
cal power of the motor is as follow
nin = n ð27Þ
Motorq  n
Pmec b = ð21Þ
9550 Input shaft torque is as follow
When the motor is in drive mode, the loss power of Tin = T ð28Þ
the motor is as follow
where n is the motor output speed, r/min; T is the drive
Plost = F ðn, drtorqÞ ð22Þ motor output torque, Nm.
Output shaft speed is as follow
where F is an interpolation function, and the loss power
of the current motor, kW, is obtained by interpolating nin
the experimentally measured motor loss power data. nout = ð29Þ
ig  i0
When the motor is in drive mode, the input power of
the motor is as follow Output shaft torque is as follow
Li et al. 7

Figure 5. Motor efficiency MAP diagram.

Table 2. Drive motor parameters. this parameter and genetic algorithm are used to opti-
mize the gear ratio iteratively. Second, the motor para-
Design parameters or indicators Numerical value meters are iteratively optimized, and finally the optimal
Rated power Pe/kW 49.1 powertrain parameters are obtained. In order to avoid
Peak power Pmax/kW 74.8 optimizing different gear ratios under the same drive
motor parameters, the parameter storage link is added
to ensure that the gear ratio optimized under the same
drive motor parameters is optimal. The optimization
Tout = Tin  ig  i0  ht ð30Þ process is shown in Figure 7.

AMESim vehicle model Design variable

The whole vehicle model in this article uses the
In the case where the vehicle parameters are deter-
AMESim software to build a pure electric vehicle
mined, the powertrain parameters including the drive
model as shown in Figure 6.
motor parameters (Tmax and nmax) and the transmission
ratio parameters (i1 and i2) are parameters that affect
Optimization of powertrain parameters the vehicle’s dynamic and economy. Therefore, the
based on genetic algorithm optimization design variable of this article is as follow

Optimization ideas using improved genetic X = ½X1 , X2 , X3 , X4 T = ½Tmax , nmax , i1 , i2 T ð31Þ

algorithms
In the article, when the dynamic assembly parameters
are dynamically optimized, the economic and dynamic
Objective function
indicators calculated by the AMESim vehicle model are In this article, the dynamic optimization of the trans-
used as the fitness function. First, the genetic algorithm mission system gear ratios will be based on the vehicle
is used to select the driving motor parameters. Then, dynamic performance as the constraint conditions, and
8 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 6. AMESim vehicle model diagram.

the energy consumption and acceleration performance condition is taken as the economic performance, and in
of the vehicle under the standard cycle condition the latter stage, the acceleration time value of the vehi-
(NEDC) as the benchmark to establish the relevant cle is taken as the dynamic performance.
objective function.
Conversion of multi-objective optimization problems. In this
Economic goal. The energy consumption of an electric article, the weighting coefficients are introduced for the
vehicle running a single NEDC operating condition is above two objective functions, and a new optimization
an economic goal objective function is constructed

E=W ð32Þ F ð X Þ = l1 E=1:6 + l2 ðt100 =12Þ ð34Þ

where W is the total energy consumption of the battery where l1, l2 is a coefficient between 0 and 1; 1.6 is the
for an electric vehicle running a single NEDC condi- lower limit of energy consumption for the single NEDC
tion, kWh. operating conditions; 12 is the upper limit of the car
acceleration time. This can align the economic goals
Dynamic goal. Assuming that a pure electric vehicle per- with the dynamic goals in the order of magnitude,
forms an acceleration test on a horizontal road surface which is conducive to the accuracy of the optimization
at 0–100 km/h, the acceleration time is as follow results.

100=3:6
ð Constraint condition
dm
t100 = 1
du ð33Þ In this article, the maximum speed, the maximum gradi-
Ft  2 CD Au2  mgf ent, the maximum adhesion, and the driving resistance
0
are the basic elements to establish the constraints.
where Ft is the driving force of the whole vehicle, N; d
is the conversion coefficient of automobile rotating Drive motor parameter constraint. The parameters of the
mass. drive motor in the article take the parameters com-
This model aims to realize the economical and monly used in the market. The peak torque of the drive
dynamic indicators of the vehicle at the same time. The motor is taken as 150–200 Nm. The peak speed of the
model operation is controlled in two stages, as shown drive motor is taken as 8000–12000 r/min.
in Figure 8, the former stage is the NEDC working con-
dition (the black dotted line encircles the area), and the Gear ratio constraint of transmission. In this article, the
latter stage is the vehicle full throttle acceleration phase transmission ratio constraint is established with the
(black solid line encircled area). In the previous stage, maximum speed, maximum grade, maximum adhesion,
the energy consumption value of the NEDC working and driving resistance as the dynamic conditions.
Li et al. 9

Figure 7. Fitness function flowchart.

Determination of the total gear ratio constraint of 1st CD Au2i

Ft = mgf cos a + mg sin a + ð35Þ
gear. When a pure electric vehicle runs at a constant 21:15
speed on the ramp of the maximum climbing angle in
Ft = Tmax i1 ht ð36Þ
1st gear, the driving force equation is as follow
10 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 8. Working condition division diagram.

where Ft is the driving force that the vehicle needs when At this time, the output torque of the driving motor
driving, N; Tmax is the maximum torque of the drive should be greater than the resistance torque after decel-
motor, Nm; r is the radius of the wheel, m; m is the erating and increasing the torque of the transmission
vehicle full load quality, kg. The maximum torque pro- system
vided by the drive motor needs to be greater than the  
resistance torque after deceleration and torque increase CD Au2max
r mgf + 21:15
of the transmission system. Substituting equation (35) i2 ø ð41Þ
into equation (36) can be obtained as follow T ht

mgrðf cos a + sin aÞ rCD Au2i Optimized contrast and analysis

i1 ø + ð37Þ
Tmax ht 21:15Tmax ht
The simulation optimization of powertrain parameters
The driving force of the driving wheel must not in this article is divided into three aspects: only consider
exceed the maximum adhesion requirement of the the vehicle dynamics, that is, l1 = 0, l2 = 1, as shown
ground in Figure 9; only consider the overall vehicle economy,
that is, l1 = 1, l2 = 0, as shown in Figure 10; consider
i1 Tmax ht the economics and dynamic performance of the whole
ł Fz u ð38Þ
r vehicle, that is, l1 and l2 take a certain ratio of coeffi-
cients at the same time, when l1 = 0.9 and l2 = 0.1, as
where Fz is the normal reaction of the ground to the
shown in Figure 11, when l1 = 0.8 and l2 = 0.2, as
drive wheel, N, axle load distribution ratio is 55%; u is
shown in Figure 12.
the road adhesion coefficient, take 0.8 here.
It can be seen from the figure that under different
vehicle performance optimization indicators, the overall
Determination of the total gear ratio constraint of 2nd trend of the fitness function value is downward, which
gear. Generally, the driving motor speed corresponding is consistent with the optimized design idea, indicating
to the highest speed is n, take n = 0.95nmax here that the vehicle performance tends to be optimal. The
nmax r final fitness function no longer changes, that is, the
i2 ł 0:377 3 0:95 3 ð39Þ vehicle performance has reached the optimal value of
umax
this optimization. It can also be seen from the optimiza-
When the pure electric vehicle runs at the highest tion diagram that the number of optimization iterations
speed umax on a good straight road, the driving force is 50, that is, the motor parameters (peak torque and
equation is as follow peak speed) are iterated 50 times. The transmission
parameters (first gear ratio and second gear ratio) are
CD Au2max shown in the figure as the optimum values for the cur-
Ft = mgf + ð40Þ rent motor parameters, which are also iterated 50 times.
21:15
Li et al. 11

Figure 9. Dynamic performance optimization diagram of power assembly parameters.

From the changes in the parameters and perfor- change process of the fitness function is consis-
mance indicators of the iterative graph, it can be seen tent with the change process of economic indi-
that cators, which is caused by the large proportion
of economic indicators in the fitness function.
1. The change trend of the first gear ratio and the 4. In the process of comprehensive performance
second gear ratio is basically the same, and the optimization, it is not seen that the economic
change trend of the peak speed of the motor is performance is opposite to the overall change
basically the same, while the change trend of the trend of dynamic performance. And if only the
peak torque of the motor is contrary, which is gear ratio is optimized, the economic perfor-
consistent with the constraint conditions of the mance and dynamic performance trend are
gear ratio. opposite. This shows that the overall optimiza-
2. The product of the first gear ratio and the peak tion of the powertrain parameters can effec-
torque of the motor, that is, the maximum out- tively weaken the sensitivity of the optimization
put torque of the transmission has a great influ- parameters to the contradiction between the
ence on the dynamic performance of the vehicle economic performance and dynamic perfor-
(100 km acceleration time). At the same time, it mance of the vehicle.
can be seen that the larger first gear ratio can
effectively reduce the peak torque of the motor. Table 3 lists the comparison of the optimization
3. In the process of economic performance and results of the optimization methods provided in this
comprehensive performance optimization, the article. It can be seen from the table that both the
12 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 10. Economic performance optimization diagram of power assembly parameters.

Table 3. Comparison of results under different optimizations in this article.

Objective Parameter
Peak speed of Peak torque of First Second Energy 100 km
motor motor gear gear consumption acceleration
Tmax/(r/min) nmax/(Nm) ratio i1 ratio i2 E/(kWh) time t100/s

Dynamic (l1 = 0, l2 = 1) 10,050 192.9 2.925 1.603 1.667 11.24

Economic (l1 = 1, l2 = 0) 8736 150 3.026 1.464 1.5149 11.83
Comprehensive (l1 = 0.9, l2 = 0.1) 8000 164.3 2.763 1.341 1.5153 11.81
Comprehensive (l1 = 0.8, l2 = 0.2) 8751 164.3 3.05 1.396 1.527 11.4

dynamic index and the economic index are optimal in the economic and dynamic weighting coefficients are
the optimization process of dynamic performance and 0.9 and 0.1, respectively, the results of optimization are
economic performance, but the relative indicators are similar to those of economic performance optimization,
poor. In the comprehensive performance optimization, which shows that the appropriate economic and
when the economic weighting coefficient l1 and the dynamic weighting coefficients will have a greater
dynamic weighting coefficient l2 are 0.8 and 0.2, impact on vehicle performance optimization. At the
respectively, the economic performance and dynamic same time, it can be seen from the table that the bigger
performance of the vehicle are better optimized. When the dynamic weighting coefficient is, the larger the
Li et al. 13

Figure 11. Comprehensive performance optimization of power assembly parameters (l1 = 0.9, l2 = 0.1).

Table 4. Comparison of results under different optimizations of general methods

Objective Parameter
Peak speed of Peak torque First gear Second gear Energy 100 km
motor of motor ratio i1 ratio i2 consumption acceleration
Tmax/(r/min) nmax/(Nm) E/(kWh) time t100/s

Dynamic (l1 = 0, l2 = 1) 9000 170 3.318 1.65 1.607 11.289

Economic (l1 = 1, l2 = 0) 9000 170 2.471 1.38 1.557 11.981
Comprehensive (l1 = 0.9, l2 = 0.1) 9000 170 2.52 1.412 1.562 11.926
Comprehensive (l1 = 0.8, l2 = 0.2) 9000 170 3.25 1.451 1.576 11.451

maximum torque outputted in each gear of the trans- 170 Nm, the peak speed is 9000 r/min, and other vehicle
mission, and the proper increase of the dynamic parameters are unchanged. The genetic algorithm is used
weighting coefficient can greatly increase the vehicle to optimize the gear ratio. Compared with the optimiza-
dynamic performance, while the economic decline is tion results in Tables 3 and 4, it can be seen that under
small. the same weighting coefficient, the results of the optimi-
Table 4 shows the comparison of the optimization zation method provided in this article are better than the
results of the general method, that is, the optimization of optimization results of this method.
the motor parameters is not considered but only the gear Figure 13 is the operating efficiency diagram of the
ratio parameters. Here, the peak torque of the motor is operating conditions under different powertrain
14 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 12. Comprehensive performance optimization of power assembly parameters (l1 = 0.8, l2 = 0.2).

optimization parameters. Figure 13(a) is the operating high efficiency zone during braking. So it is very neces-
point efficiency diagram of the powertrain dynamic sary to consider the braking energy recovery when opti-
parameters (l1 = 0, l2 = 1); Figure 13(b) is the operat- mizing the electric vehicle powertrain parameters.
ing point efficiency diagram of the powertrain eco-
nomic parameters (l1 = 1, l2 = 0); Figure 13(c) is the
operating point efficiency graph under the powertrain
Conclusion
comprehensive performance (l1 = 0.9, l2 = 0.1) para- By optimizing the powertrain of electric vehicle from
meters; Figure 13(d) is the operating point efficiency three aspects of power performance, economic perfor-
graph under the powertrain comprehensive perfor- mance, and comprehensive performance, the economic
mance (l1 = 0.8, l2 = 0.2) parameters. performance and dynamic performance of the whole
It can be seen from Figure 13 that the greater the vehicle meet the design requirements. After optimizing
economic performance weighting coefficient, the the comprehensive performance, the economic perfor-
greater the proportion of the motor operating point in mance and dynamic performance of the whole vehicle
the high efficiency zone, the better the economic perfor- are well balanced, and the synchronous improvement of
mance of the corresponding vehicle, which affects the the economic performance and dynamic performance
motor operating point during the braking energy recov- of the whole vehicle is realized.
ery process obviously. It can be seen that the greater Through optimization of the powertrain parameters
the economic performance weighting coefficient, the and analysis of the results, it can be seen that the
more advantageous it is for the motor to operate in the weighting of economic performance and dynamic
Li et al. 15

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 13. Operating efficiency map under various powertrain optimization parameters.

performance in the fitness function has an important Declaration of conflicting interests

impact on the balance of economic and dynamic con- The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
tradictions; optimizing the powertrain parameters can respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
effectively reduce the sensitivity of the optimization article.
parameters to the contradiction between the economic
performance and the dynamic performance of the vehi- Funding
cle; it is necessary to consider the braking energy recov-
ery in the optimization process, which contributes a lot The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup-
port for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
to the economic performance index. The comparison
article: This work was supported by a National Key Research
between Tables 3 and 4 shows that the optimization and Development Program of China (2017YFB0103700).
method provided in this article is better than the gen-
eral optimization method.
Therefore, it is necessary to consider the optimiza- ORCID iDs
tion of powertrain parameters when optimizing the
Yuhang Li https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2410-9356
economic performance and dynamic performance of Bo Zhu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5047-4488
electric vehicles. The powertrain parameters can be Hao Peng https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8103-2885
fully utilized to achieve the global optimization of per- Yongzhong Chen https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5278-1721
formance indicators.
16 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

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