Control System for Regenerative Braking Efficiency in Electric Vehicles with Electro-Actuated Brakes

This article presents the design and the analysis of a control logic capable of optimizing vehicle's energy consumption during a braking maneuver. The idea arose with the purpose of enhancing regeneration and health management in electric vehicles with electro-actuated brakes. Regenerative braking improves energy efficiency and allows a considerable reduction in secondary emissions, but its efficiency is strongly dependent on the state of charge of the battery. In the analyzed case, a vehicle equipped with four in-wheel motors, one for each wheel, four electro-actuated brakes, and a battery was considered. The proposed control system can manage and optimize electrical and energy exchanges between the driveline's components according to the working conditions, monitoring parameters such as SoC of the battery, brake temperature, battery temperature, motor temperature, and acts to optimize the total energy consumption. The solution devised allows first to maximize the effects of regenerative braking when the battery SoC is too high to regenerate efficiently, then to safeguard the condition of the battery for both the battery's long life and overheating and safeguard the condition of the brakes to prevent their overheating.