Argonne engineers develop ARDAQ tool for onboard PHEV performance evaluation

Front: Ted Bohn. Back, left to right: Don Hillebrand, Daniel Bocci, Keith Hardy.

A group of Argonne engineers have strengthened the lab's capability to analyze and evaluate the performance of prototype plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) with the development of a tool called the Argonne Real-Time Data Acquisition (ARDAQ) system.

ARDAQ provides onboard data collection and diagnostics of PHEVs.

"Argonne is the nation's lead lab for the simulation, validation and laboratory evaluation of PHEVs and the advanced technologies required for these vehicles," said Ted Bohn, ARDAQ lead-developer and an electrical engineer in Argonne's Center for Transportation Research. "So when faced with evaluating a vehicle's performance, we quickly realized that existing commercial onboard data collection systems lacked the sophistication and range of diagnostics we require. So we developed ARDAQ."

Most recently, ARDAQ was used by event judges to verify vehicle performance which helped determine the winner of Challenge X, a four-year long competition between 17 university-student teams to produce advanced vehicle powertrain technologies that increased energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact.

Meanwhile, Argonne's transportation research partners, many of who stand at the forefront of PHEV development, seek to fine-tune and adjust their PHEV engine systems and models for mass market production. This new research tool provides information on the most critical vehicle performance measures, Bohn said.

"Because we started from scratch, we were able to configure ARDAQ with an optimal mix of off-the-shelf components and Argonne’s unique software to support its functionality and user-friendliness," said Daniel Bocci, ARDAQ co-developer and an electrical engineer in the Center for Transportation Research.

ARDAQ provides onboard data collection and diagnostics of PHEVs.

ARDAQ is based on Controller Area Network (CAN) information collected on two separate CAN nodes. CAN technology lets microcontrollers and other devices communicate directly with one another. ARDAQ then uses the global positioning system and other sensors to simultaneously collect moment-by-moment data on a comprehensive package of 25 vehicle performance measures, including driving and engine speed; fuel flow, use and economy; hybrid battery current; frequency of battery charge; hybrid watt-hours per mile; PHEV watt-hours per mile; and length and distance of trip.

Additionally, the standards for every performance measure are derived from physics-based computations, meaning that a range of factors are taken into account to calculate a single performance measure, said Keith Hardy, ARDAQ co-developer and program coordinator in the Argonne Transportation Technology Research and Development Center.

For PHEV and other vehicle platform development purposes, the compact automotive grade processor module and sensor package can be quickly installed and can begin collecting information immediately when properly configured. A month's worth of data can be stored on a 1-gigabyte USB thumb drive. Data from the thumb drive is uploaded to a personal computer after a trip is completed and can be displayed using Google Earth.

Wireless data transmission for ARDAQ was also demonstrated at the recent ChallengeX event. Via WiFi modems in each of the vehicles, and sophisticated ANL software, the 16 competition vehicles on the road rally from New York City to Washington, DC were able to form a rolling mesh network. One of the rally vehicles was used to upload the collective set of near-real-time vehicle data to the ChallengeX data server using a wireless cell broadband modem. Thus the status of all the road rally vehicles was reported through ARDAQ to a server, displaying vehicle status and position in near-real-time, on GoogleEarth maps.

PHEV technology forms part of President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative, which emphasizes the development of technologies that can significantly reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.

"The information provided by ARDAQ during the research and development phase can provide key insight into the real world performance of these vehicles to enable the automakers and consumers to understand the true performance enhancements enabled by PHEV systems," Bohn said.

ARDAQ was developed to address research needs. Because of the interest it has generated, Argonne is evaluating ways, such as licensing, to make the technology more widely available.

ARDAQ's development was funded by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Vehicle Technologies Program, which supports the development of more energy efficient and environmentally friendly transportation technology that will enable America to use less petroleum.

July 2008