Performance evaluation of a low cost series hybrid electric vehicle

The escalating amount of vehicles on the road has raised awareness to vehicular environmental impacts and sustainability; this has provided a stimulus for future mobility considerations. The conventional car may not meet future requirements regarding noise, emissions and energy consumption. There is a distinct lack of short-term alternative solutions that meet consumer requirements and has a potential for mass production. Furthermore, the internal combustion engine has been developed over 100 years and there may be some risk that the automotive companies choose to invest into the “wrong” alternative. This paper presents a development process in an attempt to find answer this dilemma. The first consideration is the vehicle performance criteria that take into account consumer expectations and operational/regulatory/environmental factors. Secondly, the drive train components are identified, most are commercially available, and are particular to these factors. Finally, a computer simulation isused to assess the performance of the vehicle, in comparison with the factors.The result of these investigations is a series hybrid electric vehicle that is recharged from the mains. The fuel consumption is four times better than that of a comparable car, but vehicle mass and cost have not increased significantly. The driving range of this vehicle is not limited to the battery capacity.This vehicle meets the consumer expectations as well as environmental issues and benefits with added driver comfort. Still being low-cost, it provides the potential for mass-production and thus reducing overall impacts on the environment

Peace-of-Mind Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle Drivetrain : Transfer Thesis (MPhil/PhD)

This study investigates a new series hybrid electric drivetrain concept for on-road vehicles in order to find a means of sustainable individual transport without decreasing quality of life for anybody and without putting the burden of high investments on future generations. The concept called Peace-of-Mind is based on existing technology and promises:Noticeable contribution to lower CO2 emissions and less energy consumption. · Improvements for local air quality in urban areas. · Some improvements in other environmental impacts like noise or emissions. · Fuel and energy supply within the existing infrastructure. · Fuel-flexibility - that means the drivetrain can easily be adapted to other fuels without a complete new design. · Ease of technology changes and improvements - that means new technologies (fuel cell) can be implemented without major redesigns. · Near-term market introduction through mainly employing available technology. · Affordability and desirability.This thesis begins with a review of actual vehicle design considerations, energy considerations and technology considerations including battery issues. The lithium-ion battery is a vital part of this concept and many other possible future car concepts. A new test procedure is proposed and the test-results are used for developing a new battery model.The new series hybrid electric drivetrain concept is specified based on knowledge about available products and using fundamental equations for propulsion. The specified drivetrain is compared with existing vehicles using ADVISOR, a Matlab-based simulation package for drivetrains.The drivetrain management requirements for this concept are discussed and the hardware for this management and in-vehicle data-acquisition is described. The simulation results indicate that the proposed drivetrain concept is viable: the energy consumption is very low, it produces no local pollution in urban traffic, the performance is acceptable and the versatility of the car is comparable with actual vehicles. But simulation and first driving results also indicate that the battery is the key issue: it adds substantial cost, weight and uncertain behaviour. The thesis concludes with suggestions for future work: A field-test with about ten vehicles will reveal cutting-edge knowledge on the changes of battery behaviour over their lifetime. The new battery model will be used to determine the battery behaviour

Testing the ureilite projectile hypothesis for the El'gygytgyn impact: determination of siderophile element abundances and Os isotope ratios in ICDP drill core samples and melt rocks

The geochemical nature of the impactites from International Continental Scientific Drilling Project-El'gygytgyn lake drill core 1C is compared with that of impact melt rock fragments collected near the western rim of the structure and literature data. Concentrations of major and trace elements, with special focus on siderophile metals Cr, Co, Ni, and the platinum group elements, and isotope ratios of osmium (Os), were determined to test the hypothesis of an ureilite impactor at El'gygytgyn. Least squares mixing calculations suggest that the upper volcanic succession of rhyolites, dacites, and andesites were the main contributors to the polymict impact breccias. Additions of 2-13.5 vol% of basaltic inclusions recovered from drill core intervals between 391.6 and 423.0 mblf can almost entirely account for the compositional differences observed for the bottom of a reworked fallout deposit at 318.9 mblf, a polymict impact breccia at 471.4 mblf, and three impact melt rock fragments. However, the measured Os isotope ratios and slightly elevated PGE content (up to 0.262 ng g(-1) Ir) of certain impactite samples, for which the CI-normalized logarithmic PGE signature displays a relatively flat (i.e., chondritic) pattern, can only be explained by the incorporation of a small meteoritic contribution. This component is also required to explain the exceptionally high siderophile element contents and corresponding Ni/Cr, Ni/Co, and Cr/Co ratios of impact glass spherules and spherule fragments that were recovered from the reworked fallout deposits and from terrace outcrops of the Enmyvaam River approximately 10 km southeast of the crater center. Mixing calculations support the presence of approximately 0.05 wt% and 0.50-18 wt% of ordinary chondrite (possibly type-LL) in several impactites and in the glassy spherules, respectively. The heterogeneous distribution of the meteoritic component provides clues for emplacement mechanisms of the various impactite units

Mathematical Simulation of the Asynchronous Electric Drive of Periodic Movement

The article deals with the approach to construction of mathematical models of electric drives working in the mode of periodic motion. An example of a mathematical model and simulation results are presented

Testing and characterisation of large high-energy lithium-ion batteries for electric and hybrid electric vehicles

This thesis considers the drivetrain and battery system requirements of Hybrid Electric Vehicles. The data herein proves that a series hybrid electric drivetrain with Lithium-ion batteries and plug-in recharge promises to be viable and sustainable. However, for mass production of series HEVs comprehensive performance characteristics and prediction of ageing behaviour of Lithium-ion batteries is essential but currently not available.The main part of the thesis, following a graphical comparison of different energy storage solutions, is a detailed treatise on large Li-ion batteries. Construction and Li-ion working principles are summarised, together with several effects such as Peukert and memory effects, ageing of Li-ion cells, their temperature dependence and safety, and limits of charging/discharging.Preliminary performance tests on 50 and 100 Ah Li-ion cells showed the necessity for a careful investigation of suitable reference conditions in order to achieve reproducibly precise results from repeated discharge/charge cycles. Then the main tests result in detailed graphs and tables of the discharge and charge characteristics. These main tests include effects of rate of discharge, energy-efficiency, temperature, resting time between test-cycles, hysteresis, ageing, and degradation. A new testing method that is based on the step response technique is suggested and investigated to whether it gives a meaningful but rapid measure of open circuit voltage and equivalent circuit models of the battery. Statistically significant theoretical models, equations and graphs are included.The Appendix gives summaries of the author's seven main publications and presentations dealing with Systems Approach and five publications on Large Li-ion batteries, followed by most of these in full