Comparison of Fuel Economy over Different Drive Cycles Each Having the Same Average Speed

Abstract: The fuel economy of a vehicle is known to be highly dependent on its average speed during driving, with a maximum in fuel economy being present at around 40-50mph. Comparatively little work has been done on the investigation of how fuel economy varies for the same average speed. In this paper we report a theoretical simulation study of nine drive cycles each having the same average speed. The fuel economy for a typical C-segment vehicle varied from 37.3 to 74.4mpg for the nine drive cycles studied. Of the various metrics considered, standard deviation of speed, appears to be the most promising to explain the range of fuel economy. The results have important implications for transport planners, local authorities and national governments who rely on emissions predictions derived from vehicle average speeds. This research highlights the issues associated with this approach.

Keywords: Fuel Economy, Driver Behaviour, Powertrain Simulation

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100743

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