Energy management of electric and hybrid vehicles dependent on powertrain configuration

Abstract

Electric and hybrid vehicles are going to become the most reliable source of transport for future years. The CO₂ and NOx targets in Euro 6 normative puts the producers of vehicles in a dilemma, whether to adapt the internal combustion engines further, or to develop hybrid or electric power trains that are going to reach the pollution limit of the future norms or to go below that. Before acting a well-developed strategy in determining the optimum power flow has to be developed by producers; CRUISE software is a tool with the unique and special characteristics to determine the optimum in this highly important area.

Whether electric vehicle, electric vehicle with range extender or a hybrid with CVT or planetary gearbox, the complexity of the mathematical modules remains the same, giving the developer the possibility to create complex functions and distinctive characteristics for each component of the vehicle.

With such a powerful tool it becomes extremely easy to evaluate the energy flow in all directions, from electric machine to the battery, from electric machine to the power generator, and from the electric machine to the internal combustion engine. Applying to the (Electric Vehicle, Electric Vehicle with Range Extender, Hybrid vehicle with CVT, Hybrid vehicle with planetary gear set) the ECE-15 in a virtual environment (urban driving cycle) the simulation results show a different usage, rate of storage and efficiency concerning the energy, this being dependent of the power train configuration in most part.