Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DOMUS (Design OptiMisation for efficient electric vehicles based on a USer-centric approach)

Teaser

The DOMUS project aims to change radically the way in which vehicle passenger compartments and their respective comfort control systems are designed so as to optimise energy use and efficiency while keeping user comfort and safety needs central. Although a more thorough...

Summary

The DOMUS project aims to change radically the way in which vehicle passenger compartments and their respective comfort control systems are designed so as to optimise energy use and efficiency while keeping user comfort and safety needs central. Although a more thorough understanding of thermal comfort over recent years has led to significant increases in energy efficiency through better insulation and natural ventilation, substantial room for improvement still exists. With Electric Vehicles (EVs) in particular, which are emerging as the most sustainable option for both satisfying the future mobility needs in Europe and reducing the impact on the environment, inefficiencies must be minimized due to their detrimental effect on the range.
Starting with activities to gain a better understanding of comfort, combined with the development of numerical models which represent both the thermal and acoustic characteristics of the passenger compartment, DOMUS aims to create a validated framework for virtual assessment and optimization of the energy used. In parallel, innovative solutions for glazing, seats, insulation and radiant panels, will be developed along with controllers to optimize their performance individually and when operating in combination, the optimal configuration of which will be derived through numerical simulation.
The aim is that the combined approach of innovating at a component level together with optimising the overall configuration will deliver at least the targeted 25% improvement in EV range without compromising passenger comfort and safety. Furthermore, the project will demonstrate the key elements of the new approach in a real prototype vehicle. As such DOMUS aims to create a revolutionary approach to the design of vehicles from a user-centric perspective for optimal efficiency, the application of which will be key to increasing range and hence customer acceptance and market penetration of EVs in Europe and around the world in the coming years.

Work performed

Since the beginning of the Project the main results achieved include:
• Assessment framework equation that will be later on applied in WP2 and WP5. This equation will allow to assess the best configuration and operation mode possible in a virtual and physical demonstrator of all innovations proposed in DOMUS in order to achieve the best possible combination of safety and comfort while increasing the energy efficiency
• Identification of non-conventional Priority factors influencing passenger comfort perception. After an extensive literature review, questionnaires and interviews with experts it was decided upon the priority non-conventional factors that could influence passengers´ holistic comfort perceptions
• Design and implementation of Experimental jury trials in order to determine the specific influence of each one of the non-conventional factors in the Holistic Comfort Model
• Three different workshops were carried out in WP2 in order to define possible futuristic disruptive cabin designs. Fruit of these discussions, 4 different designs were proposed, each of them were customer designed considering the political and likely development of urban spaces
• WP2 set up the equations, models and interfaces that will form the AFIT (Assessment Framework Innovative Tool) that will be used for evaluating the energy range savings for each disruptive cabin design
• In WP 5 the initial design for each additional component of the Active Comfort System was completed. The Active Comfort System will be able to identify the changes in the environment, react to such changes and provide suitable comfort level in cabin requiring the minimum amount of energy consumption.
• A specific proposal of how to approach the design and implementation of the automatic logic has been defined during this first period. This logic should modify the actuators of the system using the global score from the Fitness Function and the values obtained in the HCM to optimize the comfort while use the least possible amount of energy and ensuring safety
• The definition of pre-conditioning strategies was completed after deciding upon the components involved, their operation mode, scenarios in which they could be used and control mechanisms. These strategies aim to optimise the operating conditions of the thermal subsystems so as to avoid high-consuming events
• Development of active thermal storage subsystems based on the latent heat accumulation of Phase Changing Materials (PCM), that allow the storage of energy
• Setting up the project website and design the first DOMUS flyer.

Final results

DOMUS will develop:

-A holistic comfort model considering all comfort factors and creation of a 3D virtual model of the cabin to be used for optimization

-A virtual design and assessment methodology for process optimization taking into account human characteristics in terms of comfort and driving behaviour.

-New insulation solutions and materials for cabin components such as glazing pigments to improve IR reflection, high thermal insulating coatings or insulating organic aerogel technology with very low thermal conductivity

-New solutions and materials for reducing weight and thermal inertia for cabin components. Such as dashboard panels with NFPP, or air ducts made by extrusion blow-moulding of propylene.

-HVAC user-oriented (rather than cabin) to efficiently enhance comfort perception by means of self-adjusting airflow patterns guided ruled by real-time measuring of user conditions, machine learning HVAC regulation and advanced HMI applications
derived from the understanding of mental models

-An unified control unit for integrated comfort systems with automatic regulation of the whole comfort system

-New preconditioning strategies including new energy storage systems based on PCM with and real time positioning


Thanks to this innovations DOMUS will achieve an increase of the electric drive range of EVs compared to their 2016 reference models across a wide extent of ambient conditions. This will contribute to a wider adoption of EVs by the general public and accelerated transition towards the production of low and zero emission vehicles, in particular, battery EV and (plug in) hybrid EVs.

Website & more info

More info: https://www.domus-project.eu/.