Energy-Oriented Hybrid Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Platoons

Given the complex powertrain of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and diversified vehicle platooning synergy constraints, a control strategy that simultaneously considers inter-vehicle synergy control and energy economy is one of the key technologies to improve transportation efficiency and release the energy-saving potential of platooning vehicles. In this paper, an energy-oriented hybrid cooperative adaptive cruise control (eHCACC) strategy is proposed for an FCEV platoon, aiming to enhance energy-saving potential while ensuring stable car-following performance. The eHCACC employs a hybrid cooperative control architecture, consisting of a top-level centralized controller (TCC) and bottom-level distributed controllers (BDCs). The TCC integrates an eco-driving CACC (eCACC) strategy based on the minimum principle and random forest, which generates optimal reference velocity datasets by aligning the comprehensive control objectives of the platoon and addressing the car-following performance and economic efficiency of the platoon. Concurrently, to further unleash energy-saving potential, the BDCs utilize the equivalent consumption minimization strategy (ECMS) to determine optimal powertrain control inputs by combining the reference datasets with detailed optimization information and system states of the powertrain components. A series of simulation evaluations highlight the improved car-following stability and energy efficiency of the FCEV platoon.