Research Article
Optimal Routing and Scheduling of Charge for Electric Vehicles:
A Case Study
J. Barco,
1,2
A. Guerra,
3
L. Muñoz,
3
and N. Quijano
2
1
Engineering Department, Electronics Engineering Program, Instituci´ on Universitaria CESMAG, Carrera 20A No. 14–54,
San Juan de Pasto, Colombia
2
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, Universidad de Los Andes, Carrera 1 Este No. 19 A 40, Bogot´ a, Colombia
3
Mechanical Engineering Department, Universidad de Los Andes, Carrera 1 Este No. 19 A 40, Bogot´ a, Colombia
Correspondence should be addressed to L. Mu˜ noz; lui-muno@uniandes.edu.co
Received 8 April 2017; Revised 4 September 2017; Accepted 3 October 2017; Published 14 November 2017
Academic Editor: Domenico Quagliarella
Copyright © 2017 J. Barco et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Tere are increasing interests in improving public transportation systems. One of the proposed strategies for this improvement is
the use of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). Tis approach leads to a new challenge as the BEVs’ routing is exposed to the traditional
routing problems of conventional vehicles, as well as the particular requirements of the electrical technologies of BEVs. Examples of
BEVs’ routing problems include the autonomy, battery degradation, and charge process. Tis work presents a diferential evolution
algorithm for solving an electric vehicle routing problem (EVRP). Te formulation of the EVRP to be solved is based on a scheme
to coordinate the BEVs’ routing and recharge scheduling, considering operation and battery degradation costs. A model based on
the longitudinal dynamics equation of motion estimates the energy consumption of each BEV. A case study, consisting of an airport
shuttle service scenario, is used to illustrate the proposed methodology. For this transport service, the BEV energy consumption is
estimated based on experimentally measured driving patterns.
1. Introduction
Te integration of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) to the
public transportation system has been encouraged by the
favorable efciency in the use of energy and the reduction
of CO
2
emissions [1]. From the energy consumption per-
spective, BEVs are driven by high-efciency motors with the
possibility of implementing a regenerative braking system.
Additionally, charging a BEV is less expensive than refueling
a conventional vehicle because the electric energy is cheaper
than its equivalent in fossil fuel (e.g., gasoline and diesel).
From the emissions point of view, when a BEV is used in
combination with renewable sources for the electricity gen-
eration, the outcome is a reduction in emissions associated
with fossil fuel combustion; therefore, BEVs are one of the
best alternatives to be integrated into cities as part of a public
transportation system.
Te use of BEVs in public transportation systems faces
several challenges, mainly related to the combination of
conventional-fuel-service characteristics with those of elec-
tric vehicles. Examples of these challenges are the routing of
electric vehicles used in public transportation, the recharge
scheduling, and the battery state of health (SOH) [2]. Tese
three challenges are treated in this work using a methodology
developed for the optimal routing and scheduling of charge
for BEVs.
Te frst challenge is the routing of BEVs. In addition to
the usual routing issues, the BEVs should be routed taking
particular attention to minimizing energy consumption. For
the routing of BEVs, two steps are considered. Te frst step
consists in fnding the minimum consumption paths to travel
between two points. In this step, it is necessary to consider the
technical characteristics of BEVs. Te second step consists
in determining optimal routes to satisfy the transportation
demand in diferent places and at diferent schedules, while
minimizing energy consumption. Similar to the frst step,
the calculation of optimal routes is performed considering
the BEVs’ characteristics. For this case, the vehicle’s traveling
Hindawi
Mathematical Problems in Engineering
Volume 2017, Article ID 8509783, 16 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8509783