USE OF GT-SUITE TO STUDY PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE (ICE) AND HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE (HEV) POWERTRAINS

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Idaho, Idaho, USA.

2 Associate Professor, Egyptian Armed Forces.

3 Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Idaho, Idaho, USA.

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) are receiving a great deal of interest around the
world due to not only their promise of higher energy efficiency and reduced highway
emissions, but also their ability to overcome the range limitations inherent in a purely
electric automobile. In a hybrid powertrain, energy is stored as a petroleum fuel and
in an electrical storage device, such as a battery pack, and is converted to
mechanical energy by an internal combustion engine (ICE) and an electric motor
(EM), respectively. The EM is used to improve energy efficiency and vehicle
emissions while the ICE provides extended range capability.
Computer simulation is a valuable tool for analyzing hardware components and
predicting vehicle performance with different powertrain configurations. In this work
a traditional ICE operated vehicle is compared to several hybrid versions of the same
vehicle, all modeled using GT-Suite. A variety of standard driving cycles are
considered, among them the Federal Test Procedure (FTP) for city driving, the
Highway Fuel Economy Test (HWY), the high acceleration aggressive driving
schedule (US06) that is often identified by the Supplemental FTP, and the New
European Driving Cycle (NEDC). This study considers a rule-based energy
management strategy for power splitting in the hybrid powertrain models. ICE only
and hybrid modes are compared based on average as well as instantaneous
performance. The overall fuel economy, energy consumption and losses in the ICE
and HEV powertrain models are monitored and compared based on average
performance, and a comprehensive energy analysis is performed to track energy
sources and sinks. The paper results reveal the benefits of HEVs in terms of reduced
fuel energy consumption and improved fuel economy.

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