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Life-cycle Energy Optimisation for Sustainable Vehicle Design
FISITA2014/F2014-LWS-070

Authors

O’Reilly, Ciarán J; Göransson, Peter; Cameron, Christopher J; Wennhage, Per; - KTH Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering Department
Potting, José; - KTH Environmental Strategies Research Division
O’Reilly, Ciarán J; Göransson, Peter; Wennhage, Per; Potting, José; - The Centre for ECO2 Vehicle Design at KTH
Cameron, Christopher J; - Swerea SICOMP AB

Abstract

A methodology is presented in this paper, in which the trade-offs in energy between vehicle production, operational performance and end-of-life are formulated as a mathematical problem that may be optimised. This methodology enables the consideration of the life-cycle environmental impact, through the proxy of life-cycle energy, in the very first stages of transport vehicle design where it can be concurrently balanced with other functionalities. The methodology is illustrated through a sandwich panel design case study. The optimisation results for this case demonstrate that a design solution does exist, which meets functional requirements with a minimum life-cycle energy cost. They also highlight that a pure lightweight design may result in a solution, which is sub-optimal from a life cycle point-of-view.

KEYWORDS – Life-cycle energy; Vehicle design; Optimisation; Functional conflicts

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