Optimization-Based Simulation for Evaluating Electric Vehicles with Use of Fast Battery Chargers

Abstract

To increase the convenience of electric vehicles under current technological situations, fast battery chargers should be densely installed so that the driving distances and durations of electric vehicles are not excessively longer than those of gasoline vehicles. A driving simulator is developed to determine driving routes of electric vehicles and evaluate the corresponding driving distances and numbers of charges in case electric vehicles run by charging their batteries using fast battery chargers. Methods using adjacent and distance matrices based on the graph theory and dynamic programming are proposed to search the optimal driving route with the minimum number of battery charges and the minimum driving distance, respectively, in a rational, systematic, and efficient manner. Through a fundamental analysis using the line distance model, the driving distances and the energy consumption of electric vehicles are clarified in relation to the distance between fast battery chargers. Through a practical analysis using an approximate road distance model with Osaka Prefecture, Japan, selected as the target area, it is clarified how the allocation of existing and additional fast battery chargers affects the driving distances and the energy consumption of electric vehicles and the utilization of the chargers.