A multivariable output neural network approach for simulation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle fuel consumption

This study is laser focused on the simulation of fuel consumption and fuel economy label parameters of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. While fuel economy is a key factor in the design of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, a fuel economy label can educate customers about the economic advantage of purchasing a particular car. The fuel economy label of a PHEV consists of parameters like driving range, electrical energy consumption, fuel economy for city, highway, and combined use, battery recharge time, and fuel consumption rates. The study used an inverse function model of an artificial neural network to simulate and calculate the parameters of the fuel economy labels of PHEVs. Firstly, the selected parameters of the fuel economy label of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were used to develop a single output model. The output variable of the single output model was then merged with dummy functions to form input variables for the inverse function model. The output variables simulated were engine size in litres; estimated driving range when the battery is fully charged in km, battery recharged time in hours, city fuel consumption (L/100 ​km), highway fuel consumption (L/100 ​km), combined fuel consumption (L/100 ​km), estimated driving range when the tank is full, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission in grams/km, electric motor power in kW, number of cylinders, and electrical charges consumed in kWh/100 ​km. Different cases of input variables were considered for the inverse function model. The accuracy of the model was 29.1 times greater than that of the conventional inverse artificial neural network model.