Robust energy-to-peak sideslip angle estimation with applications to ground vehicles

In this paper, the observer design problem for the sideslip angle of ground vehicles is investigated. The sideslip angle is an important signal for the vehicle lateral stability, which is not measurable by using an affordable physical sensor. Therefore, we aim to estimate the sideslip angle with the yaw rate measurements by employing the vehicle dynamics. The nonlinear lateral dynamics is modeled firstly. As the tyre model is nonlinear and the road adhesive coefficient is subject to a large variation, the nonlinear lateral dynamics is transformed into an uncertain model. Considering the variation of longitudinal velocity, an uncertain linear-parameter-varying (LPV) system is obtained. Based on the LPV model, a gain-scheduling observer is proposed and the observer gain can be determined with off-line computation and on-line computation. The off-line computation includes the calculation of a set of linear matrix inequalities and the on-line computation contains several algebraic operations. The proposed design methodology is applied to a four-wheel-independent-drive electric vehicle in simulation. It infers from different maneuvers that the designed observer has a good performance on estimating the sideslip angle.     

Effects of the film thickness and poling electric field on photovoltaic performances of (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3 ferroelectric thin film-based devices

The ferroelectric photovoltaic (FPV) effect obtained in inorganic perovskite ferroelectric materials has received much attention because of its large potential in preparing FPV devices with superior stability, high open-circuit voltage (V_oc) and large short-circuit current density (J_sc). In order to obtain suitable thickness for the ferroelectric thin film as light absorption layer, in which, the sunlight can be fully absorbed and the photo-generated electrons and holes are recombined as few as possible, we prepare Pb_0.93La_0.07(Zr_0.6Ti_0.4)_0.9825O₃ (PLZT) ferroelectric thin films with different layer numbers by the sol-gel method and based on these thin films, obtain FPV devices with FTO/PLZT/Au structure. By measuring photovoltaic properties, it is found that the device with 4 layer-PLZT thin film (~300 nm thickness) exhibits the largest V_oc and J_sc and the photovoltaic effect obviously depends on the value and direction of the poling electric field. When the device is applied a negative poling electric field, both the V_oc and J_sc are significantly higher than those of the device applied the positive poling electric field, due to the depolarization field resulting from the remnant polarization in the same direction with the built-in electric field induced by the Schottky barrier, and the higher the negative poling electric field, the larger the V_oc and J_sc. At a -333 kV/cm poling electric field, the FPV device exhibits the most superior photovoltaic properties with a V_oc of as high as 0.73 V and J_sc of as large as 2.11 μA/cm². This work opens a new way for developing ferroelectric photovoltaic devices with good properties.     

同频段混合信号中的无人机信号盲检测识别

无人机信号的探测识别技术是应对无人机黑飞滥用的关键技术之一。在实际信号监测环境中，经常会接收到多个信号的混合信号，它们在时域和频域上混叠且各信号分量调制样式相同。为解决在同频段混合信号中检测识别出无人机信号的问题，提出了一种通过谱特征分析判断无人机信号存在性的方法。分别采用基于二次方谱特征的无人机图传和WiFi混合信号检测识别算法以及基于频谱带宽特征的多无人机混合信号检测识别算法，通过对射频电路采集的信号进行仿真验证，实现了从同频段混合信号中检测识别出无人机信号分量。理论分析和实验测试结果证实了所提检测识别算法的有效性。     

Understanding attitudes of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle adopters in Japan

As of January 2021, Japan had the world's largest hydrogen station network with merely 4600 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (HFCVs) on roads, as compared to the 9000 HFCVs in the US, with only one-third of the hydrogen refueling stations in Japan. To understand behavioral differences among Japanese adopters, we administered a survey, in cooperation with public and private sector stakeholders, involving 89 private HFCV adopters in the Aichi Prefectural region, which hosts the largest number of HFCVs and refueling stations in Japan. Results suggest that HFCV adopters have a higher socioeconomic status than non-adopters, are mostly male in their 50s and above, and have a higher interest in new vehicle fuel technology. HFCV adopters who leased and bought vehicles were similar in terms of socioeconomic status, with differences in attitudes toward governmental incentives. The lack of refueling stations and station business hours restrict HFCV adopters from continuing with this fuel technology.     

Safety Watchdog for universally safe gaseous high pressure hydrogen fillings

The fast filling time for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles makes them a user-friendly zero emission alternative to fossil fuel powered vehicles. The filling, by compressing gas into the vehicle tanks, produces heat that can be damaging. There are different protocols, standardized or the intellectual property of station operators, dedicated for different specific applications taking into account the specificity of the vessel and customer requirements. Standard protocols are developed for worst case conditions across a broad range of vehicle tank sizes and configurations. These worst case conditions do not result in the most economical equipment solution for hydrogen fueling. To ensure safety for different existing and future potential protocols a new “Safety Watchdog” approach is suggested in the current paper. This “Safety Watchdog” monitors the fueling process boundary conditions independently from the main process controls. The decoupling between the watchdog and the protocol allows use of protocols that are more economically beneficial while ensuring full safety conditions. The current paper provides a mathematical formulation of the Safety Watchdog as well as its validation versus modeling and field experimental data.     

Effects of Smart Charging of Multiple Electric Vehicles in Reducing Power Generation Fuel Cost

The high penetration of variable sources of renewable power generation will lead to operational difficulties in supply/demand balancing in the entire power system. The mass deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug‐in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) will also cause significant changes in electricity demand. Therefore, controlling and managing the charging time of EVs/PHEVs are effective approaches that are imperative for improving balancing in power system operation. We assumed travel patterns for EVs in a model of the future Tokyo power system and analyzed the power system loads, including the charging load of the EVs, under several charging control scenarios. We verified that charging time controls are substantially effective for reducing the fuel costs in the power system. Further, we found that load leveling under a multicar charging management scenario gave the best results in terms of the fuel costs in all cases.     

A Restart Control Method for Position Sensorless PMSM Drive Systems Without Potential Transformer for Railway Vehicle Traction

This paper proposes a restart control method for position sensorless PMSM drive systems without a potential transformer for railway vehicle traction. This method can estimate the initial rotor speed and position under coasting conditions over the entire speed range. The method can also be used when the back‐EMF voltage is higher than the inverter DC link voltage. The proposed method is verified by experiments using a 200‐kW PMSM.     

Experimental investigation of supercapacitor based regenerative energy storage for a fuel cell vehicle equipped with an alternator

Recently, researchers have devoted more attention to supercapacitors (SCs) to integrate with batteries in energy storage systems (ESSs) for vehicle applications. In this study, we attempted to characterize the use of SCs in the ESS for a PEM fuel cell vehicle equipped with an alternator to maximize the performance of regenerative braking. We applied lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and SCs as energy storage devices to examine their effect on ESS. Then we used a hysteresis brake to apply controllable braking force on the flywheel to form hybrid braking (HB) and made efforts to study its behavior to suggest a braking control strategy. We also ran the whole system over the rotational speed to cover the range of driving speed. At last, we sized the SCs for the most commonly used fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) in Korea, i.e., Hyundai NEXO, based on the results obtained from the above study by alternator efficiencies.     

Electric Vehicle Charging Simulation Framework Considering Traffic, User, and Power Grid

The traffic and user have significant impacts on the electric vehicle (EV) charging load but are not considered in the existing research. We propose a novel integrated simulation framework considering the traffic, the user, and power grid as well as the EV traveling, parking and charging based on cellular automaton (CA). The traffic is modeled by the traffic module of the proposed framework based on CA, while the power grid and user are modeled in the EV charging module. The traffic flow, user’s charging preference, user’s charging satisfaction, and the total supply capability (TSC) in the surveyed region are considered in the proposed framework. Two cases are carried out to show the interactions between the user and power grid. It is shown that the proposed framework can accurately simulate the interactions among traffic situation, user’s behavior and TSC， which are significantly lacking in the existing research. The proposed framework is scalable in considering additional interrelated elements.     

Flash Sintering using Controlled Current Ramp

In conventional flash sintering, the current rises nonlinearly to a set current limit, accompanied by a spike in the power density. This sudden power spike may cause hot spot formation, in which current preferentially channels through a small area, causing localized melting while other areas remain unsintered. By using a controlled current ramp early on the sudden power spike can be avoided. In addition, by changing the ramp rate material properties such as porosity, grain size and conductivity can be tuned.