2^nd Prize for Dr. Alessandro Ferrara

On 7^th June 2024, the Austrian Association of the Automotive Industry awarded Dr Alessandro Ferrara the 2^nd prize of the Vehicle Association Anniversary Foundation 2023 for his dissertation on "Predictive energy management of fuel cell electric trucks’ at the Vienna University of Technology".

The dissertation was written during research activities at the Institute of Mechanics and Mechatronics and as part of the funded HyTruck and FC4HD projects and examines innovative solutions to promote the further development and market penetration of (heavy-duty) electric vehicles with fuel cells and contribute to the decarbonisation of the transport sector. Effective energy management helps to extend the service life of battery and fuel cell systems and enables the optimal utilisation of energy and resources.

A predictive and highly modular control scheme for fuel cell lorries was developed that takes into account the optimum operation of all powertrain components and at the same time reduces the premature ageing of key components, in particular the fuel cell and battery system. This is a forward-looking concept that takes into account the possibilities of information technology through networking with road traffic and the infrastructure. With the information thus available, such as predictions about traffic, road, environmental conditions, etc., predictive control concepts can develop their full potential and open up new possibilities for optimising hydrogen consumption and, in particular, for increasing component service life.

For further informationen on the projects see

• HyTruck
• FC4HD

3^rd Prize for Dipl.-Ing. Manuel Eberhart

On 7^th June 2024, the Austrian Association of the Automotive Industry awarded Dipl.-Ing. Manuel Eberhart the 3^rd prize of the Vehicle Association Anniversary Foundation 2023 for his master thesis at the TU Wien entitled "Theoretical investigation and development of a driver assistance system to stabilise the powerslide".

As part of Mr Manuel Eberhart's master thesis, which was written in collaboration with Cariad/Porsche and the Research Unit of Technical Dynamics and Vehicle Dynamics at the Institute of Mechanics and Mechatronics, a fundamental theoretical investigation of the powerslide was carried out. Powerslide, also known as drift, is an unstable vehicle state at the limits of handling.

On an all-wheel drive electric vehicle with two separate motors on the front and rear axles, the possible steady-states during steady-state concerning are calculated and analysed for stability. By calculating the controllability and observability of the unstable mode, the possibilities of stabilising the powerslide are analysed. For the first time, the torque distribution between the front and rear axles is used as a control variable for stabilisation, giving the all-wheel drive a new function as a yaw torque actuator. The driver or a human driver model only has to follow the specified path trajectory, while the stabilisation on snow, ice, wet or dry roads is carried out with different degrees of support by the all-wheel torque control.

See also:

• Testing a Steer Assist for Drifting on the Ice in Lapland
• Powerslide - Controlling vehicle motion at the limits – From theoretical analysis to application
• Reinforcement Learning in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems to support the driver in stabilizing the powerslide