Comparative Analysis of Differential Ratios in Electric City Bus Energy Consumption Using MATLAB Simulink

Year 2025, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 71 - 86, 29.12.2025

Yunus Kizilarslan , Oğuzhan Arı , Sezgin Kaçar

https://doi.org/10.70395/cunas.1821869

Abstract

This study presents a MATLAB/Simulink-based analysis to investigate the effect of differential gear ratios on the energy consumption of a 13-meter low-entry electric city bus. Four differential ratios (5.12, 5.73, 6.19, and 7.36) were simulated under SORT-1, SORT-2, and SORT-3 driving cycles, representing different urban operation patterns. The developed simulation model incorporates vehicle longitudinal dynamics, motor efficiency maps, and battery energy flow. Results indicate that increasing the differential ratio reduces the specific energy consumption in all driving cycles. The lowest value of 1.747 kWh/km was obtained at a 7.36 ratio under the SORT-3 cycle. The recovery ratio remained stable around 27 ± 1 %, confirming consistent regenerative braking performance. The findings highlight the importance of differential ratio selection for optimizing the drivetrain efficiency of electric buses and can serve as a guideline for future powertrain configurations in urban public transport applications.

Keywords

electric city bus , differential ratio , MATLAB Simulink , energy consumption , regenerative braking , SORT cycle

References

• [1] Hakkoymaz, F. (2017). Hibrit araçlar ve enerji verimliliği analizi. Mersin Üniversitesi Tarsus Teknoloji Fakültesi Raporu, Mersin, Türkiye.
• [2] Cebeci, H. (2020). Elektrikli Araçlarda Enerji Tüketimi Analizi ve Simülasyonu. Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Gazi Üniversitesi, Ankara, Türkiye.
• [3] Kıyaklı, A.O. (2021). MATLAB/Simulink ile Elektrikli Bir Taşıtın Modellenmesi. Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Karabük Üniversitesi, Karabük, Türkiye.
• [4] Yiğit, B.H. (2017). Otobüslerin güç aktarma organlarında kullanılacak ana parçaları seçmek amacıyla bir programın geliştirilmesi. Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Sakarya Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Makine Mühendisliği ABD, Sakarya, Türkiye.
• [5] Türk, M. (2017). Efficiency analysis of regenerative braking in electric vehicles. Journal of Engineering Research, 4(2):121–128.
• [6] Spanoudakis, K., Epapadopoulakis, A., Tzamtzis, G., Mintsis, E., Sarigiannidis, P. (2020). Efficient Gear Ratio Selection of a Single-Speed Drivetrain for Improved Electric Vehicle Energy Consumption. Sustainability, 12(21): 9254. DOI: 10.3390/su12219254.
• [7] Puma-Benavides, D.S.; Izquierdo-Reyes, J.; Galluzzi, R.; Calderón-Nájera, J.d.D. (2021). Influence of the Final Ratio on the Consumption of an Electric Vehicle under Conditions of Standardized Driving Cycles. Applied Sciences, 11(23): 11474. DOI: 10.3390/app112311474.
• [8] Yılmaz, A. (2016). Powertrain sizing, power and energy management of 18 m hybrid BRT for Metrobus Istanbul. Proceedings of OTEKON 2016, 211–217.
• [9] Amini, H., Başlamışlı, S.C., İnce, E. (2017). Design of energy management systems for electric/hybrid buses with optimal con-trol methods. International Journal of Automotive Engineering and Technologies, 6(2):45–54.
• [10] AVL Research Team (2021). AVL Programı ile Araç Modellenmesi ve Yapay Zeka Kontrolü. Hacettepe Üniversitesi, Ankara, Türkiye.
• [11] İnce, E., Amini, H., Başlamışlı, S.C. (2017). Elektrikli Hibrit Otobüslerin Enerji Yönetimi Algoritmalarının Tasarlanması. Hacet-tepe Üniversitesi Konferans Bildirileri, 421–428.
• [12] ASELSAN-İŞYE (2021). Elektrikli Taşıt Modellenmesi ve Enerji Dağıtımı Raporu. İç Teknik Doküman, ASELSAN Savunma Sanayi A.Ş., Ankara, Türkiye.
• [13] Gedik University Research Group (2022). Elektrikli Bir Taşıtın MATLAB/Simulink’te Modellenmesi. İstanbul Gedik Üniversi-tesi, İstanbul, Türkiye.
• [14] Mersin University Faculty of Technology (2017). Hibrit Araçlarda Enerji Dönüşümü ve Verimlilik Raporu. Mersin, Türkiye.
• [15] Epapadopoulakis, A., Mintsis, E., Tzamtzis, G., Sarigiannidis, P. (2020). Efficient gear ratio selection of a single-speed drivetrain for improved electric vehicle energy consumption. Sustainability, 12(21):9254. DOI: 10.3390/su12219254.
• [16] Martínez, M., Ortega, J., Torres, J., Moreno, M. (2021). Influence of the final ratio on the consumption of an electric vehicle under conditions of standardized driving cycles. Applied Sciences, 11(4):1846. DOI: 10.3390/app11041846.
• [17] Xu, Y., Zhao, D., Li, W., Xie, S. (2020). Transmission ratio design for electric vehicles via analytical modeling and optimization. IEEE VPPC Conference Proceedings, 1–6. DOI: 10.1109/VPPC49601.2020.9330872.
• [18] Ji, J., Bie, Y., Zeng, Z., et al. (2022). Trip energy consumption estimation for electric buses. Communications in Transportation Research, 2, 100069. DOI: 10.1016/j.commtr.2022.100069
• [19] Beckers, C. J. J. (2022). Energy consumption prediction for electric city buses: Using physics-based principles. PhD Thesis, Mechanical Engineering, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. DOI: 10.6100/94326d40-7f9b-4a77-89fe-4fd4606d9a8f
• [20] Önçağ, A. Ç., Üzkat, H., Yeşil, Z. C., & Eliyi, U. (2021). A comparative evaluation on electric buses: Izmir city field analysis. Pamukkale University Journal of Engineering Sciences, 27(1), 43–51. DOI: 10.5505/pajes.2020.99582
• [21] Ritari, A., Vepsäläinen, J., Kivekäs, K., Tammi, K., & Laitinen, H. (2020). Energy consumption and lifecycle cost analysis of electric city buses with multispeed gearboxes. Energies, 13(9), 2117. DOI: 10.3390/en13092117
• [22] Abdelaty, H., & Mohamed, M. (2021). A prediction model for battery electric bus energy consumption in transit. Energies, 14(10), 2824. DOI: 10.3390/en14102824
• [23] Jahic, A., Eskander, M., Avdeicius, E., & Schulz, D. (2023). Energy consumption of battery-electric buses: Review of influential parameters and modelling approaches. B&H Electrical Engineering, 17(2), 7–17. DOI: 10.2478/bhee-2023-0007
• [24] Rahman, M.A., Holt, D., Farajpour, Y., Mammeri, A., & Khabani, H. (2025). Predictive modeling of energy demands for bat-tery electric buses using real-world data. Energy Informatics, 8:118. DOI: 10.1186/s42162-025-00564-y
• [25] Yeşil, Z.C. (2018). Şehir içi ulaşımda enerji verimliliği ve çevre kirliliği açısından elektrikli otobüs kullanımının araştırılması: İzmir örneği. Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Ege Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Makina Mühendisliği Anabilim Dalı, İzmir, Türkiye.
• [26] Yiğit, B.H. (2024). İstanbul Metrobüs Hattı İçin 25 m ve Çift Körüklü Elektrikli Metrobüsün Güç Aktarma Organları Seçiminin Yapılması. Doktora Tezi, Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Otomotiv Mühendisliği Anabilim Dalı, Bursa, Türkiye.