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Learning and Optimizing Charging Behavior at PEV Charging Stations: Randomized Pricing Experiments, and Joint Power and Price Optimization

Obeid, Hassan
Ozturk, Ayse Tugba
Zeng, Wente
Moura, Scott J.
2023

In this paper, we introduce, implement, and assess a framework for jointly optimizing the pricing policy and the charging schedule of electric vehicles (EVs) by learning and shaping human behavior with pricing. The proposed methodology uses time-based pricing to incentivize user behavior at charging stations towards actions that achieve the station operator's objectives. The optimization framework incorporates endogenous human behaviors by explicitly accounting for the willingness to delay charging, as well as the plug-in duration of each session, as a function of the hourly prices. The...

Pack Level State-of-Power Prediction for Heterogeneous Cells

Dangwal, Chitra
Moura, Scott
Gill, Preet
Zhang, Dong
Couto, Luis D.
Zeng, Wente
Benjamin, Sebastien
2023

A method of predicting state of power (SOP) for a battery includes estimating first state parameter bounds of the battery using an internal observer process; obtaining a current value based upon the first state parameter bounds, system constraint variables, a scaling factor and a reference current using a modified reference governor process; performing adaptive parameter bounding to obtain second state parameter bounds using the current value; determining a constraint variable based upon the second state parameter bounds and whether the constraint variable is within the system constraint...

State-of-Health Estimation Pipeline for Li-Ion Battery Packs with Heterogeneous Cells

Gill, Preet
Moura, Scott
Dangwal, Chitra
Zhang, Dong
Couto, Luis D.
Zeng, Wente
Benjamin, Sebastien
2023

A method for assessing a state of health of a battery having a plurality of heterogeneous cells includes subjecting the cells of the battery to a plurality of diagnostic current pulse cycles; identifying extreme cells based upon the cycles; estimating model parameters of the extreme cells; and estimating upper and lower bounds for the estimated model parameters. Estimating model parameters includes performing a recursive least squares analysis on the extreme cells. Estimating the upper and lower bounds for the estimated model parameters includes performing a sparse Gaussian process...

Electric Vehicles Embedded Virtual Power Plants Dispatch Mechanism Design Considering Charging Efficiencies

Cui, Jingshi
Wu, Jiaman
Wu, Chenye
Moura, Scott
2023

The increasingly popular electric vehicles (EVs) are changing the control paradigm of the power grid due to their uncoordinated charging behaviors. However, if well coordinated, smart homes, workplaces, and other locations that support EV charging could provide the grid with the urgently required flexibility via virtual power plants (VPP). In this paper, we develop the EV charging schedule model by capturing the unwillingness of EV drivers to alter their initial charging behaviors, referred to as the discomfort function. Predictability and the value of charging time, which represent the...

Methods and Systems for Optimal Pricing and Charging Control of a Plug-in Electric Vehicle Charging Station

Moura, Scott
Zeng, Teng
Bae, Sangjae
Zeng, Wente
Lenox, Carl
Travacca, Bertrand
2023

Systems and methods for including overstay and human behavior in the pricing structure of a plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging station, in order to maximize operating revenue, and manage overstay duration. A mathematical framework with discrete choice models (DCM) is incorporated to operate a PEV charging station with an optimal pricing policy and charge control. The framework determines the probability of a PEV driver selecting various charging options, including overstay price. The pricing options are charging-flexibility, which allows a controller to manage charging costs...

Robo-Chargers: Optimal Operation and Planning of a Robotic Charging System to Alleviate Overstay

Ju, Yi
Zeng, Teng
Allybokus, Zaid
Moura, Scott
2024

Charging infrastructure availability is a major concern for plug-in electric vehicle users. Nowadays, the limited public chargers are commonly occupied by vehicles which have already been fully charged. Such phenomenon, known as overstay, hinders other vehicles’ accessibility to charging resources. In this paper, we analyze a charging facility innovation to tackle the challenge of overstay, leveraging the idea of Robo-chargers - automated chargers that can rotate in a charging station and proactively plug or unplug plug-in electric vehicles. We formalize an operation model for stations...

Sustainable Plug-In Electric Vehicle Integration into Power Systems

Zhang, Hongcai
Hu, Xiaosong
Hu, Zechun
Moura, Scott J.
2024

Integrating plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) into the power and transport sectors can help to reduce global CO2 emissions. This synergy can be achieved with advances in battery technology, charging infrastructures, power grids and their interaction with the environment. In this Review, we survey the latest research trends and technologies for sustainable PEV–power system integration. We first provide the rationale behind addressing the requirements for such integration, followed by an overview of strategies for planning PEV charging infrastructures. Next, we introduce smart PEV charging...

LiFePO4 Battery Thermal Modeling: Bus Bar Thermal Effects⁎

Haas, Meridian
Nemati, Alireza
Moura, Scott
Nazari, Shima
2024

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are ideal for electrification of off-road heavy-duty vehicles with less concerns on the system weight. However, the limited battery life aggravated by the long working hours is a primary concern for some of-road applications such as construction equipment. Temperature is one of the main influencing factors in battery aging. Therefore, accurate prediction of temperature dynamics with fast lumped parameter models is essential and can be used for long-term analysis. This paper introduces a thermal model for pack of cells, with each cell represented by...

Economic and Environmental Benefits of Automated Electric Vehicle Ride-Hailing Services in New York City

Zeng, Teng
Zhang, Hongcai
Moura, Scott
Shen, Zuo-Jun M.
2024

A precise, scalable, and computationally efficient mathematical framework is proposed for region-wide autonomous electric vehicle (AEV) fleet management, sizing and infrastructure planning for urban ride-hailing services. A comprehensive techno-economic analysis in New York City is conducted not only to calculate the societal costs but also to quantify the environmental and health benefits resulting from reduced emissions. The results reveal that strategic fleet management can reduce fleet size and unnecessary cruising mileage by up to 40% and 70%, respectively. This alleviates traffic...

Parking of Connected Automated Vehicles: Vehicle Control, Parking Assignment, and Multi-agent Simulation

Shen, Xu
Choi, Yongkeun
Wong, Alex
Borrelli, Francesco
Moura, Scott
Woo, Soomin
2024

This paper introduces a novel approach to optimize the parking efficiency for fleets of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs). We present a novel multi-vehicle parking simulator, equipped with hierarchical path planning and collision avoidance capabilities for individual CAVs. The simulator is designed to capture the key decision-making processes in parking, from low-level vehicle control to high-level parking assignment, and it enables the effective assessment of parking strategies for large fleets of ground vehicles. We formulate and compare different strategic parking spot assignments...