Analysis of Current Hybrid-Electric Automobile Drivetrains and Proposal of an Alternative Powertrain

Author(s):  
Andrew Ahn ◽  
Thomas S. Welles ◽  
Benjamin Akih-Kumgeh

Abstract Byproducts of fossil fuel combustion contribute to negative changes in the global climate. Specifically, emissions from automobiles are a major source of greenhouse gas pollution. Efforts to minimize these harmful emissions have led to the development and sustained improvement of hybrid drivetrains in automobiles. Despite many advancements, however, hybrid systems still face substantial challenges which bear on their practicality, performance, and competitive disadvantage in view of the low cost of today’s traditional internal combustion engines. These imperfections notwithstanding, hybrid electric vehicles have the potential to play significant roles in the future as cleaner transportation solutions. Actualization of this potential will depend on the ability of hybrid-electric vehicles to minimize their disadvantages while increasing their positive features relative to traditional combustion engines. This research investigates current hybrid electric architectures in automobiles with the aim of suggesting an alternative, more efficient hybrid configuration that utilizes current technology. This is completed by utilizing an iterative design process to compare how various components of existing hybrids can be combined and/or improved to develop a single, efficient and cohesive system that performs comparably to or surpasses existing ones in fuel efficiency and low emissions in all driving conditions. A critical and comparative analysis is provided based on current hybrid-electric vehicle architectures as well as a plausible alternative.

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsiu-Ying Hwang

The use of hybrid electric vehicles is an effective means of reducing pollution and improving fuel economy. Certain vehicle control strategies commonly automatically shut down or restart the internal combustion engines of hybrid vehicles to improve their fuel consumption. Such an engine autostart/stop is not engaged or controlled by the driver. Drivers often do not expect or prepare for noticeable vibrations, noise, or an unsmooth transition when the engine is autostarted/stopped. Unsmooth engine autostart/stop transitions can cause driveline vibrations, making the ride uncomfortable and the customer dissatisfied with the vehicle. This research simulates the dynamic behaviors associated with the neutral starting and stopping of a power-split hybrid vehicle. The seat track vibration results of analysis and hardware tests of the baseline control strategy are correlated. Several antivibration control strategies are studied. The results reveal that pulse cancellation and the use of a damper bypass clutch can effectively reduce the fluctuation of the engine block reaction torque and the vibration of the seat track by more than 70% during the autostarting and stopping of the engine. The initial crank angle can have an effect on the seat track vibration as well.


2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 599-606
Author(s):  
Punyavathi Ramineni ◽  
Alagappan Pandian

Many pollution-related issues are raising due to the usage of conventional internal combustion engines (ICEs) vehicles. Electric Vehicles/ Hybrid electric vehicles (EVs/HEVs) are the finest solutions to overcome those problems associated with ICE-based vehicles. The EVs are introduced with a signal energy source (SES), which is not a successful attempt, especially during transient vehicles, driving, etc. Multiple energy sources (MES) EVs are introduced to attain better performance than the SES vehicles, which is obtained by combining two sources like battery/fuel cells, ultracapacitor. In this contest, energy management (EMNG) plays a vital role in sharing the load to the sources as per the EVs requirement. In the case of MES-based EVs, the controller always plays a significant role in the related EMNG system because it is the key factor in improving vehicle efficiency. In this article, a study has mainly been done related to several conventional, intelligent controllers and control algorithms to do the proper EMNG between sources present in the EV.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaijiang Yu ◽  
Xiaozhuo Xu ◽  
Qing Liang ◽  
Zhiguo Hu ◽  
Junqi Yang ◽  
...  

This paper presents a new model predictive control system for connected hybrid electric vehicles to improve fuel economy. The new features of this study are as follows. First, the battery charge and discharge profile and the driving velocity profile are simultaneously optimized. One is energy management for HEV forPbatt; the other is for the energy consumption minimizing problem of acc control of two vehicles. Second, a system for connected hybrid electric vehicles has been developed considering varying drag coefficients and the road gradients. Third, the fuel model of a typical hybrid electric vehicle is developed using the maps of the engine efficiency characteristics. Fourth, simulations and analysis (under different parameters, i.e., road conditions, vehicle state of charge, etc.) are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the method to achieve higher fuel efficiency. The model predictive control problem is solved using numerical computation method: continuation and generalized minimum residual method. Computer simulation results reveal improvements in fuel economy using the proposed control method.


Thermo ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-150
Author(s):  
Rogelio León ◽  
Christian Montaleza ◽  
José Luis Maldonado ◽  
Marcos Tostado-Véliz ◽  
Francisco Jurado

The mobility industry has experienced a fast evolution towards electric-based transport in recent years. Recently, hybrid electric vehicles, which combine electric and conventional combustion systems, have become the most popular alternative by far. This is due to longer autonomy and more extended refueling networks in comparison with the recharging points system, which is still quite limited in some countries. This paper aims to conduct a literature review on thermodynamic models of heat engines used in hybrid electric vehicles and their respective configurations for series, parallel and mixed powertrain. It will discuss the most important models of thermal energy in combustion engines such as the Otto, Atkinson and Miller cycles which are widely used in commercial hybrid electric vehicle models. In short, this work aims at serving as an illustrative but descriptive document, which may be valuable for multiple research and academic purposes.


Author(s):  
Dario Solis ◽  
Chris Schwarz

Abstract In recent years technology development for the design of electric and hybrid-electric vehicle systems has reached a peak, due to ever increasing restrictions on fuel economy and reduced vehicle emissions. An international race among car manufacturers to bring production hybrid-electric vehicles to market has generated a great deal of interest in the scientific community. The design of these systems requires development of new simulation and optimization tools. In this paper, a description of a real-time numerical environment for Virtual Proving Grounds studies for hybrid-electric vehicles is presented. Within this environment, vehicle models are developed using a recursive multibody dynamics formulation that results in a set of Differential-Algebraic Equations (DAE), and vehicle subsystem models are created using Ordinary Differential Equations (ODE). Based on engineering knowledge of vehicle systems, two time scales are identified. The first time scale, referred to as slow time scale, contains generalized coordinates describing the mechanical vehicle system that includs the chassis, steering rack, and suspension assemblies. The second time scale, referred to as fast time scale, contains the hybrid-electric powertrain components and vehicle tires. Multirate techniques to integrate the combined set of DAE and ODE in two time scales are used to obtain computational gains that will allow solution of the system’s governing equations for state derivatives, and efficient numerical integration in real time.


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