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Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2015) | Viewed by 401355

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Joeri Van Mierlo

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Guest Editor

Mobility, Logistics and Automotive Technology Research Centre (MOBI), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussel, Belgium
Interests: experimental characterisation techniques of batteries; numerical modeling techniques for rechargeable energy storage systems; electric and hybrid vehicles; energy management; life cycle assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Ming Cheng

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Guest Editor

FIEEE, and FIET, Deputy Director, Yancheng Institute of New Energy Vehicles, School of Electrical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Interests: motor drive and control for electric vehicles, permanent magnet machines, wind power technology, energy system for electric vehicles

Prof. Dr. Omar Hegazy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Mobility, Logistics and Automotive Technology Research Center, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Interests: advanced power electronics with WBG (SiC &GaN); powertrains; electric vehicles; connectivity & IoT; digital twin; V2X systems; BMS; co-design optimization; smart DC and AC microgrids
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Wei Hua

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Guest Editor

School of Electrical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Interests: design, analysis, and control of electrical machines; fault-tolerant control; sensorless motor drives; model predictive control; hybrid and electric vehicles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles(PHEVs) and Hybrid Vehicles (HEVs) have received a significant interest in transport industry towards energy-efficient powertrains.These promising vehicles not only significantly improve the fuel economy, but also reduce the greenhouse emissions in transport sector.Today, the commercialization of PHEVs and HEVs has been possible due to the advances in energy-storage systems, power electronics converters, electric machines, control strategies and transmission systems.

This Special Issue (SI) is focused on the recent advances in plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles that address the new vehicular developments and go beyond the state of the art.

Prospective authors are invited to submit original contributions/ articles for review and for possible publication in this SI. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

Architecture of HEV and PHEV;
Novel propulsion systems;
Advanced power electronics interfaces and their control algorithms;
Emerging electric machines and control techniques;
EVT and E-CVT for HEVs and PHEVs;
Energy systems for HEVs;
Energy storage technologies;
Battery management systems;
Energy management strategies for HEVs and PHEVs;
Design optimization for HEVs and PHEVs;
Integrated design methodologies;
Vehicle-to- grid, vehicle-to-home, vehicle-to –vehicle technologies;;
Contactless energy transfer system for PHEVs;
Impact of electric vehicles on low-voltage supply systems;
Environmental and socio-economical aspects of electromobility (LCA, TCO)

Prof. Dr. Joeri Van Mierlo
Prof. Dr. Ming Cheng
Dr. Omar Hegazy
Prof. Dr. Wei Hua
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Related Special Issue

Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Collection in Energies (168 articles)

Published Papers (39 papers)

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7086 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development and Simulation of a Type of Four-Shaft ECVT for a Hybrid Electric Vehicle

by Yong Zhang, Xuerui Ma, Chengliang Yin and Shifei Yuan

Energies 2016, 9(3), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9030141 - 27 Feb 2016

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 7735

In hybrid electric vehicles with power-split configurations, the engine can be decoupled from the wheel and operated with improved fuel economy, while the entire efficiency of the powertrain is affected by the circular electric power flow. Two planetary gear (2-PG) sets with adding [...] Read more.

In hybrid electric vehicles with power-split configurations, the engine can be decoupled from the wheel and operated with improved fuel economy, while the entire efficiency of the powertrain is affected by the circular electric power flow. Two planetary gear (2-PG) sets with adding brakes/clutches, namely a type of four shaft elelctric continuously variable transmission (ECVT) can provide multi-mode operation for the powertrain and extend the efficient area. First, a conventional 2-PG AT (Automatic Transmission) architecture is investigated. By analyzing and comparing the connection and operating modes based on the kinematic relationship and lever analogy, a feasible four-shaft ECVT architecture with two brakes and two simplified versions are picked. To make a trade-off between fuel economy and configuration complexity, an instantaneous optimal control strategy based on the equivalent consumption minimization strategy (ECMS) concept is then developed and employed as the unified optimization method in the simulations of three different configurations. Finally, the simulation results show that the simplified versions are suboptimal sets and the fuel economy is sacrificed by the limits of different modes. From the viewpoint of concept design, a multi-mode power-split configuration is more suitable for hybrid electric vehicles. This research applied a systematic methodology from concept design to energy management optimization, which can provide the guidelines for researchers to select a suitable multi-mode power-split hybrid powertrain. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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730 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Electrode Density on the Performance of Li-Ion Batteries: Experimental and Simulation Results

by Jelle Smekens, Rahul Gopalakrishnan, Nils Van den Steen, Noshin Omar, Omar Hegazy, Annick Hubin and Joeri Van Mierlo

Energies 2016, 9(2), 104; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9020104 - 12 Feb 2016

Cited by 46 | Viewed by 14851

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology further enabled the information revolution by powering smartphones and tablets, allowing these devices an unprecedented performance against reasonable cost. Currently, this battery technology is on the verge of carrying the revolution in road transport and energy storage of renewable [...] Read more.

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology further enabled the information revolution by powering smartphones and tablets, allowing these devices an unprecedented performance against reasonable cost. Currently, this battery technology is on the verge of carrying the revolution in road transport and energy storage of renewable energy. However, to fully succeed in the latter, a number of hurdles still need to be taken. Battery performance and lifetime constitute a bottleneck for electric vehicles as well as stationary electric energy storage systems to penetrate the market. Electrochemical battery models are one of the engineering tools which could be used to enhance their performance. These models can help us optimize the cell design and the battery management system. In this study, we evaluate the ability of the Porous Electrode Theory (PET) to predict the effect of changing positive electrode density in the overall performance of Li-ion battery cells. It can be concluded that Porous Electrode Theory (PET) is capable of predicting the difference in cell performance due to a changing positive electrode density. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Open AccessArticle

Optimization of Fuel Consumption and Emissions for Auxiliary Power Unit Based on Multi-Objective Optimization Model

by Yongpeng Shen, Zhendong He, Dongqi Liu and Binjie Xu

Energies 2016, 9(2), 90; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9020090 - 02 Feb 2016

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 8318

Auxiliary power units (APUs) are widely used for electric power generation in various types of electric vehicles, improvements in fuel economy and emissions of these vehicles directly depend on the operating point of the APUs. In order to balance the conflicting goals of [...] Read more.

Auxiliary power units (APUs) are widely used for electric power generation in various types of electric vehicles, improvements in fuel economy and emissions of these vehicles directly depend on the operating point of the APUs. In order to balance the conflicting goals of fuel consumption and emissions reduction in the process of operating point choice, the APU operating point optimization problem is formulated as a constrained multi-objective optimization problem (CMOP) firstly. The four competing objectives of this CMOP are fuel-electricity conversion cost, hydrocarbon (HC) emissions, carbon monoxide (CO) emissions and nitric oxide (NO x ) emissions. Then, the multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm and weighted metric decision making method are employed to solve the APU operating point multi-objective optimization model. Finally, bench experiments under New European driving cycle (NEDC), Federal test procedure (FTP) and high way fuel economy test (HWFET) driving cycles show that, compared with the results of the traditional fuel consumption single-objective optimization approach, the proposed multi-objective optimization approach shows significant improvements in emissions performance, at the expense of a slight drop in fuel efficiency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Open AccessArticle

Environmental Analysis of Petrol, Diesel and Electric Passenger Cars in a Belgian Urban Setting

by Nils Hooftman, Luis Oliveira, Maarten Messagie, Thierry Coosemans and Joeri Van Mierlo

Energies 2016, 9(2), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9020084 - 29 Jan 2016

Cited by 105 | Viewed by 28551

The combustion of fossil fuels in the transport sector leads to an aggravation of the air quality along city roads and highways. Urban air quality is a serious problem nowadays as the number of vehicles increases on a yearly basis. With stricter Euro [...] Read more.

The combustion of fossil fuels in the transport sector leads to an aggravation of the air quality along city roads and highways. Urban air quality is a serious problem nowadays as the number of vehicles increases on a yearly basis. With stricter Euro emission regulations, vehicle manufacturers are not meeting the imposed limits and are also disregarding the non-exhaust emissions. This paper highlights the relevance of non-exhaust emissions of passenger vehicles, both conventional (diesel and petrol) or electric vehicles (EV), on air quality levels in an urban environment in Belgium. An environmental life cycle assessment was carried out based on a real-world emission model for passenger cars and fuel refinery data. A cut-off was applied to the models to highlight what emissions, both from the refinery to the exhaust and electricity production for EV, do actually occur within Belgium’s borders. Results show that not much progress has been made from Euro 4 to 6 for conventional vehicles. Electric vehicles pose the best alternative solution as a more environmentally friendly means of transportation. The analysis results target policy makers with the intention that regulations and policies would be developed in the future and target the characterization of non-exhaust emissions from vehicles. These results indicate that EVs offer a valid solution for addressing the urban air quality issue and that non-exhaust emissions should be addressed in future regulatory steps as they dominate the impact spectrum. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Open AccessArticle

The Chaotic-Based Control of Three-Port Isolated Bidirectional DC/DC Converters for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

by Zheng Wang, Bochen Liu, Yue Zhang, Ming Cheng, Kai Chu and Liang Xu

Energies 2016, 9(2), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9020083 - 27 Jan 2016

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 9316

Three-port isolated (TPI) bidirectional DC/DC converters have three energy ports and offer advantages of large voltage gain, galvanic isolation ability and high power density. For this reason this kind of converters are suitable to connect different energy sources and loads in electric and [...] Read more.

Three-port isolated (TPI) bidirectional DC/DC converters have three energy ports and offer advantages of large voltage gain, galvanic isolation ability and high power density. For this reason this kind of converters are suitable to connect different energy sources and loads in electric and hybrid vehicles. The purpose of this paper is to propose chaotic modulation and the related control scheme for TPI bidirectional DC/DC converters, in such a way that the switching harmonic peaks can be suppressed in spectrum and the conducted electromagnetic interference (EMI) is reduced. Two chaotic modulation strategies, namely the continuously chaotic modulation and the discretely chaotic modulation are presented. These two chaotic modulation strategies are applied for TPI bidirectional DC/DC converters with shifted-phase angle based control and phase-shifted PWM control. Both simulation and experiments are given to verify the validity of the proposed chaotic modulation-based control schemes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Open AccessArticle

Investigation of a Co-Axial Dual-Mechanical Ports Flux-Switching Permanent Magnet Machine for Hybrid Electric Vehicles

by Wei Hua and Ling Kang Zhou

Energies 2015, 8(12), 14361-14379; https://doi.org/10.3390/en81212434 - 18 Dec 2015

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 6338

In this paper, a co-axial dual-mechanical ports flux-switching permanent magnet (CADMP-FSPM) machine for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) is proposed and investigated, which is comprised of two conventional co-axial FSPM machines, namely one high-speed inner rotor machine and one low-speed outer rotor machine and [...] Read more.

In this paper, a co-axial dual-mechanical ports flux-switching permanent magnet (CADMP-FSPM) machine for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) is proposed and investigated, which is comprised of two conventional co-axial FSPM machines, namely one high-speed inner rotor machine and one low-speed outer rotor machine and a non-magnetic ring sandwiched in between. Firstly, the topology and operation principle of the CADMP-FSPM machine are introduced; secondly, the control system of the proposed electronically-controlled continuously-variable transmission (E-CVT) system is given; thirdly, the key design specifications of the CADMP-FSPM machine are determined based on a conventional dual-mechanical ports (DMP) machine with a wound inner rotor. Fourthly, the performances of the CADMP-FSPM machine and the normal DMP machine under the same overall volume are compared, and the results indicate that the CADMP-FSPM machine has advantages over the conventional DMP machine in the elimination of brushes and slip rings, improved thermal dissipation conditions for the inner rotor, direct-driven operation, more flexible modes, lower cogging torque and torque ripple, lower total harmonic distortion (THD) values of phase PM flux linkage and phase electro-motive force (EMF), higher torque output capability and is suitable for the E-CVT systems. Finally, the pros and cons of the CADMP-FSPM machine are highlighted. This paper lays a theoretical foundation for further research on CADMP-FSPM machines used for HEVs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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4782 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design and Optimization of Permanent Magnet Brushless Machines for Electric Vehicle Applications

by Weiwei Gu, Xiaoyong Zhu, Li Quan and Yi Du

Energies 2015, 8(12), 13996-14008; https://doi.org/10.3390/en81212410 - 10 Dec 2015

Cited by 37 | Viewed by 9900

In this paper, by considering and establishing the relationship between the maximum operating speed and d-axis inductance, a new design and optimization method is proposed. Thus, a more extended constant power speed range, as well as reduced losses and increased efficiency, especially [...] Read more.

In this paper, by considering and establishing the relationship between the maximum operating speed and d-axis inductance, a new design and optimization method is proposed. Thus, a more extended constant power speed range, as well as reduced losses and increased efficiency, especially in the high-speed region, can be obtained, which is essential for electric vehicles (EVs). In the first step, the initial permanent magnet (PM) brushless machine is designed based on the consideration of the maximum speed and performance specifications in the entire operation region. Then, on the basis of increasing d-axis inductance, and meanwhile maintaining constant permanent magnet flux linkage, the PM brushless machine is optimized. The corresponding performance of the initial and optimal PM brushless machines are analyzed and compared by the finite-element method (FEM). Several tests are carried out in an EV simulation model based on the urban dynamometer driving schedule (UDDS) for evaluation. Both theoretical analysis and simulation results verify the validity of the proposed design and optimization method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Open AccessArticle

A Lossy Counting-Based State of Charge Estimation Method and Its Application to Electric Vehicles

by Hong Zhang, Li Zhao and Yong Chen

Energies 2015, 8(12), 13811-13828; https://doi.org/10.3390/en81212395 - 04 Dec 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6063

Estimating the residual capacity or state-of-charge (SoC) of commercial batteries on-line without destroying them or interrupting the power supply, is quite a challenging task for electric vehicle (EV) designers. Many Coulomb counting-based methods have been used to calculate the remaining capacity in EV [...] Read more.

Estimating the residual capacity or state-of-charge (SoC) of commercial batteries on-line without destroying them or interrupting the power supply, is quite a challenging task for electric vehicle (EV) designers. Many Coulomb counting-based methods have been used to calculate the remaining capacity in EV batteries or other portable devices. The main disadvantages of these methods are the cumulative error and the time-varying Coulombic efficiency, which are greatly influenced by the operating state (SoC, temperature and current). To deal with this problem, we propose a lossy counting-based Coulomb counting method for estimating the available capacity or SoC. The initial capacity of the tested battery is obtained from the open circuit voltage (OCV). The charging/discharging efficiencies, used for compensating the Coulombic losses, are calculated by the lossy counting-based method. The measurement drift, resulting from the current sensor, is amended with the distorted Coulombic efficiency matrix. Simulations and experimental results show that the proposed method is both effective and convenient. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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9651 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Steady-State Characteristics Analysis of Hybrid-Excited Flux-Switching Machines with Identical Iron Laminations

by Gan Zhang, Wei Hua and Ming Cheng

Energies 2015, 8(11), 12898-12916; https://doi.org/10.3390/en81112351 - 16 Nov 2015

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 7170

Since the air-gap field of flux-switching permanent magnet (FSPM) machines is difficult to regulate as it is produced by the stator-magnets alone, a type of hybrid-excited flux-switching (HEFS) machine is obtained by reducing the magnet length of an original FSPM machine and introducing [...] Read more.

Since the air-gap field of flux-switching permanent magnet (FSPM) machines is difficult to regulate as it is produced by the stator-magnets alone, a type of hybrid-excited flux-switching (HEFS) machine is obtained by reducing the magnet length of an original FSPM machine and introducing a set of field windings into the saved space. In this paper, the steady-state characteristics, especially for the loaded performances of four prototyped HEFS machines, namely, PM-top, PM-middle-1, PM-middle-2, and PM-bottom, are comprehensively compared and evaluated based on both 2D and 3D finite element analysis. Also, the influences of PM materials including ferrite and NdFeB, respectively, on the characteristics of HEFS machines are covered. Particularly, the impacts of magnet movement in the corresponding slot on flux-regulating performances are studied in depth. The best overall performances employing NdFeB can be obtained when magnets are located near the air-gap. The FEA predictions are validated by experimental measurements on corresponding machine prototypes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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5088 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Control and Performance Evaluation of Multiphase FSPM Motor in Low-Speed Region for Hybrid Electric Vehicles

by Feng Yu, Ming Cheng, Kwok Tong Chau and Feng Li

Energies 2015, 8(9), 10335-10353; https://doi.org/10.3390/en80910335 - 21 Sep 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7571

The flux-switching permanent-magnet (FSPM) motor has been viewed as a highly reliable machine with both armature windings and magnets on the stator. Owing to the high torque-production capability with low torque ripple, FSPM motors with a higher number of phases are potential candidates [...] Read more.

The flux-switching permanent-magnet (FSPM) motor has been viewed as a highly reliable machine with both armature windings and magnets on the stator. Owing to the high torque-production capability with low torque ripple, FSPM motors with a higher number of phases are potential candidates for traction applications in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). However, existing research has mostly focused on the principles and static performance of multiphase FSPM motors, and little attention has been paid to advanced control strategies. In this paper, the fully decoupled current control of a 36/34-pole nine-phase FSPM (NP-FSPM) motor is developed and the performance under different operating conditions is investigated. The aim of the design is to alleviate cross coupling effects and unwanted low-order stator harmonic currents, to guarantee fast transient response and small steady-state error. In addition, its fault-tolerance is further elaborated. These features are very important in automotive applications where low torque pulsation, high fault-tolerant capability and high dynamic performance are of major importance. Firstly, the research status of multiphase FSPM motors is briefly reviewed. Secondly, the mathematical model in the dq reference frames and control strategies are presented. Then, the control and performance of the NP-FSPM motor are evaluated by using MATLAB/Simulink. Finally, experiments on an NP-FSPM motor prototype are carried out to validate the study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Open AccessArticle

A Study of Fuel Economy Improvement in a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle using Engine on/off and Battery Charging Power Control Based on Driver Characteristics

by Seulgi Lee, Jingyu Choi, Kiyun Jeong and Hyunsoo Kim

Energies 2015, 8(9), 10106-10126; https://doi.org/10.3390/en80910106 - 16 Sep 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7218

In this study, driving data for various types of drivers are collected using a VIDE (virtual integrated driving environment), and a driver model is developed. To represent the driver tendencies quantitatively, the DDA (degree of driver aggression) is proposed based on fuzzy logic. [...] Read more.

In this study, driving data for various types of drivers are collected using a VIDE (virtual integrated driving environment), and a driver model is developed. To represent the driver tendencies quantitatively, the DDA (degree of driver aggression) is proposed based on fuzzy logic. DDA has a 0-1 value; the closer the DDA is to one, the more aggressive the driver. Using the DDA, an engine on/off and battery charging power control algorithm are developed to improve the fuel economy of a power-split-type plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The engine on/off control reduces the frequent engine on/off caused by aggressive driving, whereas the battery charging power control maintains the battery state of charge (SOC) by operating the engine according to the DDA. It is found that the proposed control algorithm improves fuel economy by 17.3% compared to the existing control for an aggressive driver. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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2064 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study and Implementation of a Two-Phase Interleaved Bidirectional DC/DC Converter for Vehicle and DC-Microgrid Systems

by Ching-Ming Lai, Yuan-Chih Lin and Dasheng Lee

Energies 2015, 8(9), 9969-9991; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8099969 - 14 Sep 2015

Cited by 64 | Viewed by 11935

The objective of this paper is to implement a two-phase, interleaved, bidirectional DC/DC converter topology with an improved voltage conversion ratio for electric vehicle (EV) and DC-microgrid systems. In this study, a two-phase interleaved charge-pump topology is introduced to achieve a high voltage [...] Read more.

The objective of this paper is to implement a two-phase, interleaved, bidirectional DC/DC converter topology with an improved voltage conversion ratio for electric vehicle (EV) and DC-microgrid systems. In this study, a two-phase interleaved charge-pump topology is introduced to achieve a high voltage conversion ratio with very simple control circuits. In discharge mode, the circuit topology acts as a voltage-multiplier boost converter to achieve a high step-up conversion ratio (48 V to 240 V). In charge mode, the circuit topology acts as a voltage-divider buck converter to achieve a high voltage step-down conversion ratio (240 V to 48 V). The circuit configuration, operating principle, steady-state analysis and the closed-loop control of the proposed converter are presented. Experiments conducted on a laboratory prototype with 500 W power-rating are presented to verify the effectiveness. The maximum efficiency levels in discharge and charge modes are about 97.7% and 98.4% respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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8157 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of Electromagnetic, Thermal and Mechanical Characteristics of a Five-Phase Dual-Rotor Permanent-Magnet Synchronous Motor

by Jing Zhao, Wei Liu, Bin Li, Xiangdong Liu, Congzhe Gao and Zhongxin Gu

Energies 2015, 8(9), 9688-9718; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8099688 - 09 Sep 2015

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 10486

This paper investigates of a kind of five-phase dual-rotor permanent-magnet synchronous motor (DRPMSM), which contains dual rotors and a single stator. This kind of motor has the potential advantages of high power density, high reliability and high efficiency, which make it more appropriate [...] Read more.

This paper investigates of a kind of five-phase dual-rotor permanent-magnet synchronous motor (DRPMSM), which contains dual rotors and a single stator. This kind of motor has the potential advantages of high power density, high reliability and high efficiency, which make it more appropriate for using in electric vehicles (EVs). In order to evaluate the most suitable power level for this kind of structure, the electromagnetic, the thermal and the mechanical characteristics are investigated in this paper. The length to diameter ratio of motors is researched to obtain the highest power density and then the optimum ratio is obtained. Based on the optimum ratio, the thermal characteristics are researched under natural condition and forced-air cooling condition with different wind speeds. In addition, the mechanical characteristics are analyzed under no-load and different loads conditions, respectively. All of the results are analyzed by two-dimension (2-D) and three-dimension (3-D) finite element method (FEM) simulation, which provide a good reference to select suitable power level for this kind of motor structure. Finally, a DRPMSM prototype is manufactured and tested. The experimental results effectively verify the FEM results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Open AccessArticle

Taxi Fleet Renewal in Cities with Improved Hybrid Powertrains: Life Cycle and Sensitivity Analysis in Lisbon Case Study

by António P. Castel-Branco, João P. Ribau and Carla M. Silva

Energies 2015, 8(9), 9509-9540; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8099509 - 02 Sep 2015

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6910

Stringent emissions regulations in cities and the high amount of daily miles driven by taxi vehicles enforce the need to renew these fleets with more efficient and cleaner technologies. Hybrid vehicles are potential candidates due to their enhanced powertrain, and slower battery depletion [...] Read more.

Stringent emissions regulations in cities and the high amount of daily miles driven by taxi vehicles enforce the need to renew these fleets with more efficient and cleaner technologies. Hybrid vehicles are potential candidates due to their enhanced powertrain, and slower battery depletion and fewer lifetime issues, relative to full electric vehicles. This paper proposes a methodology to analyze the best theoretical hybrid powertrain candidate with maximum in-use efficiency, minimum life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, and minimum additional cost, for a Lisbon taxi fleet case study. A multi-objective genetic algorithm integrated with a vehicle simulator is used to achieve several trade-off optimal solutions for different driving patterns. Potential improvements in taxi carbon footprint are discussed as a function of its lifetime, urban/extra-urban driving and maintenance/fuel life cycle uncertainty. Hybrid powertrains reveal to be advantageous comparatively to the conventional vehicle, especially in urban conditions. Specifically optimized solutions could reduce in-use energy consumption by 43%–47% in urban driving, and 27%–34% in extra-urban driving conditions, and reduce life cycle emissions by 47%–49% and 34%–36% respectively, relative to the conventional taxi. A financial gain of 50 $/km/fleet in extra-urban and 226 $/km/fleet in urban routes could be achieved by replacing the taxi fleet with the optimal solutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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600 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Detuning Minimization of Induction Motor Drive System for Alternative Energy Vehicles

by Habibur Rehman

Energies 2015, 8(9), 9117-9136; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8099117 - 26 Aug 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5997

This paper evaluates different types of AC machines and various control techniques for their suitability for the drive system of Alternative Energy Vehicles (AEV). An Indirect Field Oriented (IFO) drive system for the AEV application is chosen and its major problem of detuning [...] Read more.

This paper evaluates different types of AC machines and various control techniques for their suitability for the drive system of Alternative Energy Vehicles (AEV). An Indirect Field Oriented (IFO) drive system for the AEV application is chosen and its major problem of detuning is addressed by designing an offline and an online rotor resistance adaptation technique. The offline scheme sets the slip gain at various operating conditions based on the fact that if the rotor resistance is set correctly and field orientation is achieved, then there should be a linear relationship between the torque current and the output torque. The online technique is designed using Model Reference Adaptive System (MRAS) for the rotor resistance adaptation. For an ideal field oriented machine, the rotor flux along the q-axis should be zero. This condition acts as a reference model for the proposed MRAS scheme. The current model flux observer in the synchronous frame of reference is selected as an adjustable model and its rotor resistance is tuned so that the flux along the q-axis becomes zero. The effectiveness of the offline tuning scheme is evident through performance validation of the drive system, which is implemented in a real Ford vehicle. The experimental results obtained while driving the test vehicle are included in the paper while the proposed online scheme is validated on a 3.75 kW prototype induction motor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Effect of Operating Parameters on Thermal Performance of an Integrated Starter Generator in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

by Moo-Yeon Lee, Dong Hyun Lim and Sung Chul Kim

Energies 2015, 8(8), 8990-9008; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8088990 - 24 Aug 2015

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 8140

The belt-driven-type integrated starter generator motor in a hybrid electric vehicle is vulnerable to thermal problems owing to its high output power and proximity to the engine. These problems may cause demagnetization and insulation breakdown, reducing the performance and durability of the motor. [...] Read more.

The belt-driven-type integrated starter generator motor in a hybrid electric vehicle is vulnerable to thermal problems owing to its high output power and proximity to the engine. These problems may cause demagnetization and insulation breakdown, reducing the performance and durability of the motor. Hence, it is necessary to evaluate the thermal performance and enhance the cooling capacity of the belt-driven type Integrated Starter Generator. In this study, the internal temperature variations of the motor were investigated with respect to the operating parameters, particularly the rotation speed and environment temperature. At a maximum ambient temperature of 105 °C and rotation speed (motor design point) of 4500 rpm, the coil of the motor was heated to approximately 189 °C in generating mode. The harsh conditions of the starting mode were analyzed by assuming that the motor operates during the start-up time at a maximum ambient temperature of 105 °C and rotation speed (motor design point) of 800 rpm; the coil was heated to approximately 200 °C, which is close to the insulation temperature limit. The model for analyzing the thermal performance of the ISG was verified by comparing its results with those obtained through a generating-mode-based experiment Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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A Real-Time Joint Estimator for Model Parameters and State of Charge of Lithium-Ion Batteries in Electric Vehicles

by Jianping Gao, Yongzhi Zhang and Hongwen He

Energies 2015, 8(8), 8594-8612; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8088594 - 12 Aug 2015

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 8212

Accurate state of charge (SoC) estimation of batteries plays an important role in promoting the commercialization of electric vehicles. The main work to be done in accurately determining battery SoC can be summarized in three parts. (1) In view of the model-based SoC [...] Read more.

Accurate state of charge (SoC) estimation of batteries plays an important role in promoting the commercialization of electric vehicles. The main work to be done in accurately determining battery SoC can be summarized in three parts. (1) In view of the model-based SoC estimation flow diagram, the n-order resistance-capacitance (RC) battery model is proposed and expected to accurately simulate the battery’s major time-variable, nonlinear characteristics. Then, the mathematical equations for model parameter identification and SoC estimation of this model are constructed. (2) The Akaike information criterion is used to determine an optimal tradeoff between battery model complexity and prediction precision for the n-order RC battery model. Results from a comparative analysis show that the first-order RC battery model is thought to be the best based on the Akaike information criterion (AIC) values. (3) The real-time joint estimator for the model parameter and SoC is constructed, and the application based on two battery types indicates that the proposed SoC estimator is a closed-loop identification system where the model parameter identification and SoC estimation are corrected mutually, adaptively and simultaneously according to the observer values. The maximum SoC estimation error is less than 1% for both battery types, even against the inaccurate initial SoC. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Torque Distribution Algorithm for an Independently Driven Electric Vehicle Using a Fuzzy Control Method

by Jinhyun Park, Houn Jeong, In Gyu Jang and Sung-Ho Hwang

Energies 2015, 8(8), 8537-8561; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8088537 - 12 Aug 2015

Cited by 41 | Viewed by 9851

The in-wheel electric vehicle is expected to be a popular next-generation vehicle because an in-wheel system can simplify the powertrain and improve driving performance. In addition, it also has an advantage in that it maximizes driving efficiency through independent torque control considering the [...] Read more.

The in-wheel electric vehicle is expected to be a popular next-generation vehicle because an in-wheel system can simplify the powertrain and improve driving performance. In addition, it also has an advantage in that it maximizes driving efficiency through independent torque control considering the motor efficiency. However, there is an instability problem if only the driving torque is controlled in consideration of only the motor efficiency. In this paper, integrated torque distribution strategies are proposed to overcome these problems. The control algorithm consists of various strategies for optimizing driving efficiency, satisfying driver demands, and considering tire slip and vehicle cornering. Fuzzy logic is used to determine the appropriate timing of intervention for each distribution strategy. A performance simulator for in-wheel electric vehicles was developed by using MATLAB/Simulink and CarSim to validate the control strategies. From simulation results under complex driving conditions, the proposed algorithm was verified to improve both the driving stability and fuel economy of the in-wheel vehicle. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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A Multi-Function Conversion Technique for Vehicle-to-Grid Applications

by Ying Fan, Weixia Zhu, Zhongbing Xue, Li Zhang and Zhixiang Zou

Energies 2015, 8(8), 7638-7653; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8087638 - 27 Jul 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7640

This paper presents a new multi-function conversion technique for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications. The proposed bi-directional charger can achieve three functions, including EV battery charging, grid-connection and reactive compensation, which are keys for energy management of the grid. With the proposed multi-function technology, the [...] Read more.

This paper presents a new multi-function conversion technique for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications. The proposed bi-directional charger can achieve three functions, including EV battery charging, grid-connection and reactive compensation, which are keys for energy management of the grid. With the proposed multi-function technology, the bi-directional charger will benefit both the grid and electricity customers. A hybrid regulation of energy bi-directional transfer for V2G systems is proposed in this paper, which consists of the battery-side controller and the grid-side controller. This proposed multi-function conversion technique improves the whole system performance with proportional-resonant (PR) control and achieves reactive power compensation with instantaneous reactive theory and a deadbeat control scheme. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the validity of this new multi-function technique in a V2G system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Reinforcement Learning–Based Energy Management Strategy for a Hybrid Electric Tracked Vehicle

by Teng Liu, Yuan Zou, Dexing Liu and Fengchun Sun

Energies 2015, 8(7), 7243-7260; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8077243 - 16 Jul 2015

Cited by 82 | Viewed by 8650

This paper presents a reinforcement learning (RL)–based energy management strategy for a hybrid electric tracked vehicle. A control-oriented model of the powertrain and vehicle dynamics is first established. According to the sample information of the experimental driving schedule, statistical characteristics at various velocities [...] Read more.

This paper presents a reinforcement learning (RL)–based energy management strategy for a hybrid electric tracked vehicle. A control-oriented model of the powertrain and vehicle dynamics is first established. According to the sample information of the experimental driving schedule, statistical characteristics at various velocities are determined by extracting the transition probability matrix of the power request. Two RL-based algorithms, namely Q-learning and Dyna algorithms, are applied to generate optimal control solutions. The two algorithms are simulated on the same driving schedule, and the simulation results are compared to clarify the merits and demerits of these algorithms. Although the Q-learning algorithm is faster (3 h) than the Dyna algorithm (7 h), its fuel consumption is 1.7% higher than that of the Dyna algorithm. Furthermore, the Dyna algorithm registers approximately the same fuel consumption as the dynamic programming–based global optimal solution. The computational cost of the Dyna algorithm is substantially lower than that of the stochastic dynamic programming. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Wheel Slip Control for Improving Traction-Ability and Energy Efficiency of a Personal Electric Vehicle

by Kanghyun Nam, Yoichi Hori and Choonyoung Lee

Energies 2015, 8(7), 6820-6840; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8076820 - 07 Jul 2015

Cited by 70 | Viewed by 13971

In this paper, a robust wheel slip control system based on a sliding mode controller is proposed for improving traction-ability and reducing energy consumption during sudden acceleration for a personal electric vehicle. Sliding mode control techniques have been employed widely in the development [...] Read more.

In this paper, a robust wheel slip control system based on a sliding mode controller is proposed for improving traction-ability and reducing energy consumption during sudden acceleration for a personal electric vehicle. Sliding mode control techniques have been employed widely in the development of a robust wheel slip controller of conventional internal combustion engine vehicles due to their application effectiveness in nonlinear systems and robustness against model uncertainties and disturbances. A practical slip control system which takes advantage of the features of electric motors is proposed and an algorithm for vehicle velocity estimation is also introduced. The vehicle velocity estimator was designed based on rotational wheel dynamics, measurable motor torque, and wheel velocity as well as rule-based logic. The simulations and experiments were carried out using both CarSim software and an experimental electric vehicle equipped with in-wheel-motors. Through field tests, traction performance and effectiveness in terms of energy saving were all verified. Comparative experiments with variations of control variables proved the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed control design. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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An Electric Bus with a Battery Exchange System

by Jeongyong Kim, Inho Song and Woongchul Choi

Energies 2015, 8(7), 6806-6819; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8076806 - 07 Jul 2015

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 9129

As part of the ongoing effort to be independent of petroleum resources and to be free from pollutant emission issues, various electric vehicles have been developed and tested through their integration with real world systems. In the current paper, yet another application specific [...] Read more.

As part of the ongoing effort to be independent of petroleum resources and to be free from pollutant emission issues, various electric vehicles have been developed and tested through their integration with real world systems. In the current paper, yet another application specific EV for public transportation, an electric bus, is introduced and explained with results from the pilot test program which was carried out under real traffic conditions. The main feature of the current system is a battery exchanging mechanism mounted on the roof of the bus. The current configuration certainly requires an externally fabricated battery exchanging robot system that would complement the electric bus for a fully automated battery exchanging process. The major advantage of the current system is the quick re-charging of the electric energy through the physical battery exchange and the possible utilization of the battery exchange station as a mini scale energy storage system for grid system peak power shaving. With the total system solution approach for the public transportation system, it is fully expected to create outstanding business opportunities in number of areas such as battery suppliers, battery exchanging station management, battery leasing and many more. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Three-Phase High-Power and Zero-Current-Switching OBC for Plug-In Electric Vehicles

by Cheng-Shan Wang, Wei Li, Zhun Meng, Yi-Feng Wang and Jie-Gui Zhou

Energies 2015, 8(7), 6672-6704; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8076672 - 30 Jun 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 7800

In this paper, an interleaved high-power zero-current-switching (ZCS) onboard charger (OBC) based on the three-phase single-switch buck rectifier is proposed for application to plug-in electric vehicles (EVs). The multi-resonant structure is used to achieve high efficiency and high power density, which are necessary [...] Read more.

In this paper, an interleaved high-power zero-current-switching (ZCS) onboard charger (OBC) based on the three-phase single-switch buck rectifier is proposed for application to plug-in electric vehicles (EVs). The multi-resonant structure is used to achieve high efficiency and high power density, which are necessary to reduce the volume and weight of the OBC. This study focuses on the border conditions of ZCS converting with a battery load, which means the variation ranges of the output voltage and current are very large. Furthermore, a novel hybrid control method combining pulse frequency modulation (PFM) and pulse width modulation (PWM) together is presented to ensure a driving frequency higher than 10 kHz, and this will reduce the unexpected inner resonant power flow and decrease the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the input current under a light load at the end of the charging process. Finally, a prototype is established, and experiments are carried out. According to the experimental results, the conversion efficiency is higher than 93.5%, the THD about 4.3% and power factor (PF) 0.98 under the maximum power output condition. Besides, a three-stage charging process is also carried out the experimental platform. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Model-based Sensor Fault Diagnosis of a Lithium-ion Battery in Electric Vehicles

by Zhentong Liu and Hongwen He

Energies 2015, 8(7), 6509-6527; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8076509 - 26 Jun 2015

Cited by 79 | Viewed by 9352

The battery critical functions such as State-of-Charge (SoC) and State-of-Health (SoH) estimations, over-current, and over-/under-voltage protections mainly depend on current and voltage sensor measurements. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a reliable sensor fault diagnosis scheme to guarantee the battery performance, safety and [...] Read more.

The battery critical functions such as State-of-Charge (SoC) and State-of-Health (SoH) estimations, over-current, and over-/under-voltage protections mainly depend on current and voltage sensor measurements. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a reliable sensor fault diagnosis scheme to guarantee the battery performance, safety and life. This paper presents a systematic model-based fault diagnosis scheme for a battery cell to detect current or voltage sensor faults. The battery model is developed based on the equivalent circuit technique. For the diagnostic scheme implementation, the extended Kalman filter (EKF) is used to estimate the terminal voltage of battery cell, and the residual carrying fault information is then generated by comparing the measured and estimated voltage. Further, the residual is evaluated by a statistical inference method that determines the presence of a fault. To highlight the importance of battery sensor fault diagnosis, the effects of sensors faults on battery SoC estimation and possible influences are analyzed. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed diagnostic scheme is experimentally validated, and the results show that the current or voltage sensor fault can be accurately detected. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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A Four-Phase High Voltage Conversion Ratio Bidirectional DC-DC Converter for Battery Applications

by Li-Kun Xue, Ping Wang, Yi-Feng Wang, Tai-Zhou Bei and Hai-Yun Yan

Energies 2015, 8(7), 6399-6426; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8076399 - 25 Jun 2015

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 8816

This study presents a four-phase interleaved high voltage conversion ratio bidirectional DC-DC converter circuit based on coupled inductors and switched capacitors, which can eliminate the defects of conventional high voltage conversion ratio bidirectional DC-DC converters in terms of high-voltage/current stress, less efficiency and [...] Read more.

This study presents a four-phase interleaved high voltage conversion ratio bidirectional DC-DC converter circuit based on coupled inductors and switched capacitors, which can eliminate the defects of conventional high voltage conversion ratio bidirectional DC-DC converters in terms of high-voltage/current stress, less efficiency and low-power limitation. Parallel channels are used to reduce current stress at the low-voltage side and series connected switched capacitors are used to enlarge voltage conversion ratio, reduce voltage stress and achieve auto current sharing. This paper proposes the operation principle, feature analysis and optimization design considerations. On this basis the objectives of high voltage conversion ratio, low voltage/current stress, high power density, high efficiency and high-power applications can be achieved. Some experimental results based on a 500 W prototype converter (24 V to 48 V at low-voltage side, 400 V at high-voltage side) are given to verify the theoretical analysis and the effectiveness of the proposed converter. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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2001 KiB

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Power Management Optimization of an Experimental Fuel Cell/Battery/Supercapacitor Hybrid System

by Farouk Odeim, Jürgen Roes and Angelika Heinzel

Energies 2015, 8(7), 6302-6327; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8076302 - 25 Jun 2015

Cited by 88 | Viewed by 9442

In this paper, an experimental fuel cell/battery/supercapacitor hybrid system is investigated in terms of modeling and power management design and optimization. The power management strategy is designed based on the role that should be played by each component of the hybrid power source. [...] Read more.

In this paper, an experimental fuel cell/battery/supercapacitor hybrid system is investigated in terms of modeling and power management design and optimization. The power management strategy is designed based on the role that should be played by each component of the hybrid power source. The supercapacitor is responsible for the peak power demands. The battery assists the supercapacitor in fulfilling the transient power demand by controlling its state-of-energy, whereas the fuel cell system, with its slow dynamics, controls the state-of-charge of the battery. The parameters of the power management strategy are optimized by a genetic algorithm and Pareto front analysis in a framework of multi-objective optimization, taking into account the hydrogen consumption, the battery loading and the acceleration performance. The optimization results are validated on a test bench composed of a fuel cell system (1.2 kW, 26 V), lithium polymer battery (30 Ah, 37 V), and a supercapacitor (167 F, 48 V). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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A Rule-Based Energy Management Strategy for a Plug-in Hybrid School Bus Based on a Controller Area Network Bus

by Jiankun Peng, Hao Fan, Hongwen He and Deng Pan

Energies 2015, 8(6), 5122-5142; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8065122 - 01 Jun 2015

Cited by 56 | Viewed by 9010

This paper presents a rule-based energy management strategy for a plug-in hybrid school bus (PHSB). In order to verify the effectiveness and rationality of the proposed energy management strategy, the powertrain and control models were built with MATLAB/Simulink. The PHSB powertrain model includes [...] Read more.

This paper presents a rule-based energy management strategy for a plug-in hybrid school bus (PHSB). In order to verify the effectiveness and rationality of the proposed energy management strategy, the powertrain and control models were built with MATLAB/Simulink. The PHSB powertrain model includes an engine model, ISG (integrated started and generator) model, drive motor model, power battery packs model, driver model, and vehicle longitudinal dynamics model. To evaluate the controller area network (CAN) bus performance features such as the bus load, signal hysteresis, and to verify the reliability and real-time performance of the CAN bus multi-node control method, a co-simulation platform was built with CANoe and MATLAB/Simulink. The co-simulation results show that the control strategy can meet the requirements of the PHSB’s dynamic performance. Meanwhile, the charge-depleting mode (CD) and charge-sustaining mode (CS) can switch between each other and maintain a state-of-charge (SoC) of around 30%, indicating that the energy management strategy effectively extends the working period of the CD mode and improves the fuel economy further. The energy consumption per 100 km includes 13.7 L diesel and 10.5 kW·h electricity with an initial SoC of 75%. The CANoe simulation results show that the bus communication performs well without error frames. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Energy Efficiency Comparison between Hydraulic Hybrid and Hybrid Electric Vehicles

by Jia-Shiun Chen

Energies 2015, 8(6), 4697-4723; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8064697 - 26 May 2015

Cited by 62 | Viewed by 16467

Conventional vehicles tend to consume considerable amounts of fuel, which generates exhaust gases and environmental pollution during intermittent driving cycles. Therefore, prospective vehicle designs favor improved exhaust emissions and energy consumption without compromising vehicle performance. Although pure electric vehicles feature high performance and [...] Read more.

Conventional vehicles tend to consume considerable amounts of fuel, which generates exhaust gases and environmental pollution during intermittent driving cycles. Therefore, prospective vehicle designs favor improved exhaust emissions and energy consumption without compromising vehicle performance. Although pure electric vehicles feature high performance and low pollution characteristics, their limitations are their short driving range and high battery costs. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are comparatively environmentally friendly and energy efficient, but cost substantially more compared with conventional vehicles. Hydraulic hybrid vehicles (HHVs) are mainly operated using engines, or using alternate combinations of engine and hydraulic power sources while vehicles accelerate. When the hydraulic system accumulator is depleted, the conventional engine reengages; concurrently, brake-regenerated power is recycled and reused by employing hydraulic motor–pump modules in circulation patterns to conserve fuel and recycle brake energy. This study adopted MATLAB Simulink to construct complete HHV and HEV models for backward simulations. New European Driving Cycles were used to determine the changes in fuel economy. The output of power components and the state-of-charge of energy could be retrieved. Varying power component models, energy storage component models, and series or parallel configurations were combined into seven different vehicle configurations: the conventional manual transmission vehicle, series hybrid electric vehicle, series hydraulic hybrid vehicle, parallel hybrid electric vehicle, parallel hydraulic hybrid vehicle, purely electric vehicle, and hydraulic-electric hybrid vehicle. The simulation results show that fuel consumption was 21.80% lower in the series hydraulic hybrid vehicle compared to the series hybrid electric vehicle; additionally, fuel consumption was 3.80% lower in the parallel hybrid electric vehicle compared to the parallel hydraulic hybrid vehicle. Furthermore, the hydraulic–electric hybrid vehicles consumed 11.4% less electricity than the purely electric vehicle did. The simulations indicated that hydraulic-electric hybrid vehicle could provide the best energy cost among all the configurations studied. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Lithium-Ion Battery Cell Cycling and Usage Analysis in a Heavy-Duty Truck Field Study

by Pontus Svens, Mårten Behm and Göran Lindbergh

Energies 2015, 8(5), 4513-4528; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8054513 - 20 May 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6970

This paper presents results from a field test performed on commercial power-optimized lithium-ion battery cells cycled on three heavy-duty trucks. The goal with this study was to age battery cells in a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) environment and find suitable methods for identifying [...] Read more.

This paper presents results from a field test performed on commercial power-optimized lithium-ion battery cells cycled on three heavy-duty trucks. The goal with this study was to age battery cells in a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) environment and find suitable methods for identifying cell ageing. The battery cells were cycled on in-house developed equipment intended for testing on conventional vehicles by emulating an HEV environment. A hybrid strategy that allows battery usage to vary within certain limits depending on driving patterns was used. This concept allows unobtrusive and low-cost testing of battery cells under realistic conditions. Each truck was equipped with one cell cycling equipment and two battery cells. One cell per vehicle was cycled during the test period while a reference cell on each vehicle experienced the same environmental conditions without being cycled. Differential voltage analysis and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to identify ageing of the tested battery cells. Analysis of driving patterns and battery usage was performed from collected vehicle data and battery cell data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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The Concept of EV’s Intelligent Integrated Station and Its Energy Flow

by Da Xie, Haoxiang Chu, Yupu Lu, Chenghong Gu, Furong Li and Yu Zhang

Energies 2015, 8(5), 4188-4215; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8054188 - 11 May 2015

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6641

The increasing number of electric vehicles (EVs) connected to existing distribution networks as time-variant loads cause significant distortions in line current and voltage. A novel EV’s intelligent integrated station (IIS) making full use of retired batteries is introduced in this paper to offer [...] Read more.

The increasing number of electric vehicles (EVs) connected to existing distribution networks as time-variant loads cause significant distortions in line current and voltage. A novel EV’s intelligent integrated station (IIS) making full use of retired batteries is introduced in this paper to offer a potential solution for accommodating the charging demand of EVs. It proposes the concept of generalized energy in IIS, based on the energy/power flow between IIS and EVs, and between IIS and the power grid, to systematically evaluate the energy capacity of IIS. In order to derive a unique and satisfactory operation mode, information from both the grid (in terms of load level) and IIS (in terms of its energy capacity and EVs battery charging/exchanging requests) is merged. Then, based on the generalized energy of different systems, a novel charging/discharging control strategy is presented and whereby the operating status of the grid and energy capacity of IIS are monitored to make reasonable operation plans for IIS. Simulation results suggest that the proposed IIS offers peak load shifting when EV battery charging/exchanging requests are satisfied compared to existing charging stations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Acceleration Slip Regulation Strategy for Distributed Drive Electric Vehicles with Independent Front Axle Drive Motors

by Lingfei Wu, Jinfang Gou, Lifang Wang and Junzhi Zhang

Energies 2015, 8(5), 4043-4072; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8054043 - 08 May 2015

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 7397

This paper presents an acceleration slip regulation strategy for distributed drive electric vehicles with two motors on the front axle. The tasks of the strategy include controlling the slip ratio to make full use of the road grip and controlling the yaw rate [...] Read more.

This paper presents an acceleration slip regulation strategy for distributed drive electric vehicles with two motors on the front axle. The tasks of the strategy include controlling the slip ratio to make full use of the road grip and controlling the yaw rate to eliminate the lateral movement due to the difference between motor torques. The rate of the slip ratio change can be controlled by controlling the motor torque, so that the slip ratio can be controlled by applying a proportional-integral control strategy to control the rate of the slip ratio change. The yaw rate can be controlled to almost zero by applying torque compensation based on yaw rate feedback. A coordination control strategy for the slip ratio control and yaw rate control is proposed based on analysis of the priorities and features of the two control processes. Simulations were carried out using MATLAB/Simulink, and experiments were performed on a hardware-in-loop test bench with actual motors. The results of the simulations and experiments showed that the proposed strategy could improve the longitudinal driving performance and straight line driving stability of the vehicle. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Multi-Period Optimization Model for Electricity Generation Planning Considering Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Penetration

by Lena Ahmadi, Ali Elkamel, Sabah A. Abdul-Wahab, Michael Pan, Eric Croiset, Peter L. Douglas and Evgueniy Entchev

Energies 2015, 8(5), 3978-4002; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8053978 - 07 May 2015

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6502

One of the main challenges for widespread penetration of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) is their impact on the electricity grid. The energy sector must anticipate and prepare for this extra demand and implement long-term planning for electricity production. In this paper, the [...] Read more.

One of the main challenges for widespread penetration of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) is their impact on the electricity grid. The energy sector must anticipate and prepare for this extra demand and implement long-term planning for electricity production. In this paper, the additional electricity demand on the Ontario electricity grid from charging PHEVs is incorporated into an electricity production planning model. A case study pertaining to Ontario energy planning is considered to optimize the value of the cost of the electricity over sixteen years (2014–2030). The objective function consists of the fuel costs, fixed and variable operating and maintenance costs, capital costs for new power plants, and the retrofit costs of existing power plants. Five different case studies are performed with different PHEVs penetration rates, types of new power plants, and CO₂ emission constraints. Among all the cases studied, the one requiring the most new capacity, (~8748 MW), is assuming the base case with 6% reduction in CO₂ in year 2018 and high PHEV penetration. The next highest one is the base case, plus considering doubled NG prices, PHEV medium penetration rate and no CO₂ emissions reduction target with an increase of 34.78% in the total installed capacity in 2030. Furthermore, optimization results indicate that by not utilizing coal power stations the CO₂ emissions are the lowest: ~500 tonnes compared to ~900 tonnes when coal is permitted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Indirect Matrix Converter for Hybrid Electric Vehicle Application with Three-Phase and Single-Phase Outputs

by Yeongsu Bak, Eunsil Lee and Kyo-Beum Lee

Energies 2015, 8(5), 3849-3866; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8053849 - 30 Apr 2015

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 9111

This paper presents an indirect matrix converter (IMC) topology for hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) application with three-phase and single-phase outputs. The HEV includes mechanical, electrical, control, and electrochemical systems among others. In the mechanical system, a traction motor and a compressor motor are [...] Read more.

This paper presents an indirect matrix converter (IMC) topology for hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) application with three-phase and single-phase outputs. The HEV includes mechanical, electrical, control, and electrochemical systems among others. In the mechanical system, a traction motor and a compressor motor are used to drive the HEV. The traction motor and the compressor motor are usually operated as three-phase and single-phase motors, respectively. In this respect, a dual AC-drive system can operate the traction and the compressor motor simultaneously. Furthermore, compared to a conventional dual matrix converter system, the proposed topology can reduce the number of switches that the dual outputs share with a DC-link. The application of this system for HEV has advantages, like long lifetime and reduced volume due to the lack of a DC-link. The proposed control strategy and modulation schemes ensure the sinusoidal input and output waveforms and bidirectional power transmission. The proposed system for the HEV application is verified by simulation and experiments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Wheel Torque Distribution of Four-Wheel-Drive Electric Vehicles Based on Multi-Objective Optimization

by Cheng Lin and Zhifeng Xu

Energies 2015, 8(5), 3815-3831; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8053815 - 30 Apr 2015

Cited by 80 | Viewed by 9100

The wheel driving torque on four-wheel-drive electric vehicles (4WDEVs) can be modulated precisely and continuously, therefore maneuverability and energy-saving control can be carried out at the same time. In this paper, a wheel torque distribution strategy is developed based on multi-objective optimization to [...] Read more.

The wheel driving torque on four-wheel-drive electric vehicles (4WDEVs) can be modulated precisely and continuously, therefore maneuverability and energy-saving control can be carried out at the same time. In this paper, a wheel torque distribution strategy is developed based on multi-objective optimization to improve vehicle maneuverability and reduce energy consumption. In the high-layer of the presented method, sliding mode control is used to calculate the desired yaw moment due to the model inaccuracy and parameter error. In the low-layer, mathematical programming with the penalty function consisting of the yaw moment control offset, the drive system energy loss and the slip ratio constraint is used for wheel torque control allocation. The programming is solved with the combination of off-line and on-line optimization to reduce the calculation cost, and the optimization results are sent to motor controllers as torque commands. Co-simulation based on MATLAB^® and Carsim^® proves that the developed strategy can both improve the vehicle maneuverability and reduce energy consumption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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696 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimal Energy Management Strategy of a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Based on a Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

by Zeyu Chen, Rui Xiong, Kunyu Wang and Bin Jiao

Energies 2015, 8(5), 3661-3678; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8053661 - 29 Apr 2015

Cited by 124 | Viewed by 12358

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have been recognized as one of the most promising vehicle categories nowadays due to their low fuel consumption and reduced emissions. Energy management is critical for improving the performance of PHEVs. This paper proposes an energy management approach [...] Read more.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have been recognized as one of the most promising vehicle categories nowadays due to their low fuel consumption and reduced emissions. Energy management is critical for improving the performance of PHEVs. This paper proposes an energy management approach based on a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The optimization objective is to minimize total energy cost (summation of oil and electricity) from vehicle utilization. A main drawback of optimal strategies is that they can hardly be used in real-time control. In order to solve this problem, a rule-based strategy containing three operation modes is proposed first, and then the PSO algorithm is implemented on four threshold values in the presented rule-based strategy. The proposed strategy has been verified by the US06 driving cycle under the MATLAB/Simulink software environment. Two different driving cycles are adopted to evaluate the generalization ability of the proposed strategy. Simulation results indicate that the proposed PSO-based energy management method can achieve better energy efficiency compared with traditional blended strategies. Online control performance of the proposed approach has been demonstrated through a driver-in-the-loop real-time experiment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Open AccessArticle

Application Study on the Dynamic Programming Algorithm for Energy Management of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

by Ximing Wang, Hongwen He, Fengchun Sun and Jieli Zhang

Energies 2015, 8(4), 3225-3244; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8043225 - 22 Apr 2015

Cited by 146 | Viewed by 10929

To explore the problems associated with applying dynamic programming (DP) in the energy management strategies of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), a plug-in hybrid bus powertrain is introduced and its dynamic control model is constructed. The numerical issues, including the discretization resolution of [...] Read more.

To explore the problems associated with applying dynamic programming (DP) in the energy management strategies of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), a plug-in hybrid bus powertrain is introduced and its dynamic control model is constructed. The numerical issues, including the discretization resolution of the relevant variables and the boundary issue of their feasible regions, were considered when implementing DP to solve the optimal control problem of PHEVs. The tradeoff between the optimization accuracy when using the DP algorithm and the computational burden was systematically investigated. As a result of overcoming the numerical issues, the DP-based approach has the potential to improve the fuel-savings potential of PHEVs. The results from comparing the DP-based strategy and the traditional control strategy indicate that there is an approximately 20% improvement in fuel economy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Open AccessArticle

Research on an Axial Flux PMSM with Radially Sliding Permanent Magnets

by Jing Zhao, Bin Li and Zhongxin Gu

Energies 2015, 8(3), 1663-1684; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8031663 - 27 Feb 2015

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 14151

Axial flux permanent-magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs) are very suitable candidates for the power train of electric vehicles (EVs) due to high power density and high efficiency. This paper researches an axial flux PMSM with radially sliding permanent magnets (PMs) to fulfill field-weakening control. [...] Read more.

Axial flux permanent-magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs) are very suitable candidates for the power train of electric vehicles (EVs) due to high power density and high efficiency. This paper researches an axial flux PMSM with radially sliding permanent magnets (PMs) to fulfill field-weakening control. The field weakening principle and the structure of this kind of axial flux PMSM by mechanical method of sliding PMs are proposed and analyzed. The influences of radially sliding PMs on magnetic flux density distribution, inductance, flux linkage and torque are analyzed and discussed based on 3D finite element method (FEM). The field weakening capabilities by mechanical method and electrical method are compared. The field weakening capability of the machine can be much improved by the optimized combination of the two methods, which is very satisfying for EV drive application. The forces on the PMs are analyzed and calculated. The hysteretic characteristics caused by the friction of the PMs are investigated, which provide useful reference for designing this kind of machine. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Review

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Open AccessReview

Flywheel Energy Storage for Automotive Applications

by Magnus Hedlund, Johan Lundin, Juan De Santiago, Johan Abrahamsson and Hans Bernhoff

Energies 2015, 8(10), 10636-10663; https://doi.org/10.3390/en81010636 - 25 Sep 2015

Cited by 96 | Viewed by 26828

A review of flywheel energy storage technology was made, with a special focus on the progress in automotive applications. We found that there are at least 26 university research groups and 27 companies contributing to flywheel technology development. Flywheels are seen to excel [...] Read more.

A review of flywheel energy storage technology was made, with a special focus on the progress in automotive applications. We found that there are at least 26 university research groups and 27 companies contributing to flywheel technology development. Flywheels are seen to excel in high-power applications, placing them closer in functionality to supercapacitors than to batteries. Examples of flywheels optimized for vehicular applications were found with a specific power of 5.5 kW/kg and a specific energy of 3.5 Wh/kg. Another flywheel system had 3.15 kW/kg and 6.4 Wh/kg, which can be compared to a state-of-the-art supercapacitor vehicular system with 1.7 kW/kg and 2.3 Wh/kg, respectively. Flywheel energy storage is reaching maturity, with 500 flywheel power buffer systems being deployed for London buses (resulting in fuel savings of over 20%), 400 flywheels in operation for grid frequency regulation and many hundreds more installed for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) applications. The industry estimates the mass-production cost of a specific consumer-car flywheel system to be 2000 USD. For regular cars, this system has been shown to save 35% fuel in the U.S. Federal Test Procedure (FTP) drive cycle. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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Open AccessReview

Advanced Electrical Machines and Machine-Based Systems for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

by Ming Cheng, Le Sun, Giuseppe Buja and Lihua Song

Energies 2015, 8(9), 9541-9564; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8099541 - 02 Sep 2015

Cited by 109 | Viewed by 15089

The paper presents a number of advanced solutions on electric machines and machine-based systems for the powertrain of electric vehicles (EVs). Two types of systems are considered, namely the drive systems designated to the EV propulsion and the power split devices utilized in [...] Read more.

The paper presents a number of advanced solutions on electric machines and machine-based systems for the powertrain of electric vehicles (EVs). Two types of systems are considered, namely the drive systems designated to the EV propulsion and the power split devices utilized in the popular series-parallel hybrid electric vehicle architecture. After reviewing the main requirements for the electric drive systems, the paper illustrates advanced electric machine topologies, including a stator permanent magnet (stator-PM) motor, a hybrid-excitation motor, a flux memory motor and a redundant motor structure. Then, it illustrates advanced electric drive systems, such as the magnetic-geared in-wheel drive and the integrated starter generator (ISG). Finally, three machine-based implementations of the power split devices are expounded, built up around the dual-rotor PM machine, the dual-stator PM brushless machine and the magnetic-geared dual-rotor machine. As a conclusion, the development trends in the field of electric machines and machine-based systems for EVs are summarized. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles)

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