Commercial vehicle drive train technology and topology pre-selection

Electrification of the vehicle drive train is one proven path towards higher efficiency and lower emissions for road transportation. Light and heavy duty commercial vehicles account for up to 40 percent of the overall traffic volume and therefore are an interesting area to implement alternative propulsion systems. Contrary to passenger cars, the auxiliary units of urban commercial vehicles can account for a major amount of the energy consumption. Drive train topologies incorporating these auxiliaries can be very complex, especially if the main drive and the auxiliary drive are interlinked. To support researchers and developers selecting suitable concepts for further evaluation and for them to comprehend the available design space, this paper provides a structured methodology introducing a morphological analysis for commercial vehicles with energy intensive auxiliaries. Furthermore, a structured approach is offered in order to reduce the design space utilizing energy consumption simulation, requirement analysis and expert interviews. In a case study the methodology is applied to large street sweeping vehicles in metropolitan areas.