Real-time energy-efficient anticipative driving control of connected and automated hybrid electric vehicles

In this paper, we propose a real-time energy-efficient anticipative driving control strategy for connected and automated hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Considering the inherent complexities brought about by the velocity profile optimization and energy management control, a hierarchical control architecture in the model predictive control (MPC) framework is developed for real-time implementation. In the higher level controller, a novel velocity optimization problem is proposed to realize safe and energy-efficient anticipative driving. The real-time control actions are derived through a computationally efficient algorithm. In the lower level controller, an explicit solution of the optimal torque split ratio and gear shift schedule is introduced for following the optimal velocity profile obtained from the higher level controller. The comparative simulation results demonstrate that the proposed strategy can achieve approximately 13% fuel consumption saving compared with a benchmark strategy.