Digital twin based simulation platform for heavy duty hybrid electric vehicles

The reduction of Greenhouse Gases is of great interest inside the industry and, especially, the road transport sector. Heavy-duty vehicles have been extensively researched due to their significant contribution. This work presents a digital twin (LONGRUN simulation platform) to analyse different heavy-duty vehicle aerodynamic designs and powertrain topologies. Based on a forward-looking formulation, this work allows the analysis of novel hybridisation and electrification control strategies impact. We validated our platform components against a commercial tool (VECTO) adopted by the European Commission for combustion powertrain analysis. In this article, we provide a modular platform for heavy-duty vehicles, in a widely used software inside the automotive industry. Furthermore, our platform offers the possibility to introduce customised control strategies for hybrid-electric vehicles. This work analyses the impact of parallel and serial hybrid powertrain topologies.