Hybrid Vehicle Drives

2C1243

The Parallel Hybrid

Assignment 1b

Nov. 12, 2005

Lutz Kretzschmar
Paul Fraser

Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm

Coordinator: Mats Alaküla & Jonas Ottosson

Table of Contents

1 System Introduction ......................................................................................................... 3

2 Problem Formulation ....................................................................................................... 4
3 Optimization .................................................................................................................... 4
3.1 ICE Power................................................................................................................. 5
3.2 Electric Drive Size .................................................................................................... 7
3.3 ICE Type (gas or diesel) ........................................................................................... 7
3.4 Battery Size............................................................................................................... 8
3.5 Hybrid Control Parameters ..................................................................................... 10
3.5.1 ICE Engine turn on and off point..................................................................... 10
3.5.2 Time Constant.................................................................................................. 12
3.5.3 Stop and Go...................................................................................................... 13
3.5.4 Depletion Mode ............................................................................................... 13
4 System Analysis............................................................................................................. 15
5 Comparison of Diesel VW Golf Hybrid ........................................................................ 20
6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 21
1 System Introduction
An analysis was performed to determine the most fuel efficient parameters for a
parallel hybrid vehicle. The parallel hybrid is the most simple hybrid structure with the
electrical machine between the internal combustion engine (ICE) and the gearbox as seen
in Figure 1 below. The parallel hybrid has an advantage over the series hybrid since both
the ICE and electric motor can drive the vehicle simultaneously. This allows the parallel
hybrid to achieve more power and often can improve fuel efficiency over the series
hybrid.

Figure 1 Traction components in a parallel hybrid vehicle

The parallel hybrid analysis was performed using the specifications of a VW Golf
Hybrid vehicle. These specifications were a coefficient of drag (cd) of 0.31, a rolling
resistance (cv) of 0.15, a frontal area of 2.27 m2 and a vehicle mass of 1300 kg. With
these parameters, many simulations were performed using Matlab Simulink to optimize
the parallel hybrid vehicle for fuel consumption. There were two driving cycles for the
simulation of which the US06 simulated highway driving for 12.8 km and the EUDC
simulated city driving for 10.8km. This analysis was performed strictly for optimizing
fuel consumption and not lowering emissions. Another analysis would have to be
performed to reduce emissions while keeping fuel consumption down.
2 Problem Formulation
The goal of the parallel hybrid vehicle analysis was to optimize the vehicle for
fuel consumption. Vehicle designers often run simulations to determine the optimal way
to design a car. There are many parameters that can be modified in order to improve the
fuel efficiency of the hybrid. A Matlab Simulink simulation was used in order to
determine the most effective way to design components to maximize fuel efficiency. The
program was run to optimize the parallel hybrid fuel consumption with respect to ICE
power, ICE type, electric drive size, battery size, and hybrid control parameters.

3 Optimization
The simulation of the parallel hybrid VW Golf was used to optimize many
components in the vehicle. These would include the ICE power, ICE type, electric drive
size, battery size, and hybrid control parameters. The net power of the vehicle was kept
consistent with the VW Golf at 100kW, so the ICE and electric motor net combined
power would be 100kW. The ICE was tested with a gas and diesel engine, the battery
pack size was simulated between 5 and 150 kilograms, and the hybrid control parameters
were modified. Modifying the hybrid control parameters involved turning the ICE on
and off based on an efficiency diagram (ie. Turn on at 28% efficiency and turn off at 25%
efficiency), changing the time constant of the system, using or not using the stop and go
feature to turn the ICE off at low velocities, and running the vehicle in depletion mode.
Depletion mode runs the vehicle in electric mode until the batteries reach a certain state
of charge. The following sections summarize the simulations run to optimize the
previously mentioned vehicle parameters.
3.1 ICE Power

One of the most important components to size properly in a hybrid vehicle is the
internal combustion engine. The ICE is very important for the power of the vehicle at
higher driving speeds, whereas the electric motor provides excellent torque at lower
speeds. One of the most important factors to consider when sizing an ICE in a parallel
hybrid vehicle would be safety issues at higher speeds. If a fast acceleration is required
at higher speeds, the hybrid vehicle must continue to perform at a high level. If the ICE
is undersized, the electric motor could deplete the batteries to the point where the electric
motor cannot provide the necessary power to accelerate at higher speeds. So the ICE
must be large enough to compensate for acceleration and to properly recharge the
batteries if they are depleted. The benefit of the parallel, however, is that the ICE and the
electric motor can simultaneously power the vehicle and thus provide the power of both
components together.
An analysis was performed to determine the ideal size of the ICE from a fuel
efficiency standpoint. Analyses were performed for both the gas and diesel engines as
shown below in Figure 2. The gas engine ICE was ideal at 60kW with a 40kW electric
motor, and the diesel engine indicated an ICE of only 30kW. That is misleading though
since the diesel engine also indicated a 60kW engine was most efficient once the on/off
characteristic was changed to 38% (and not 28% on and 25% off). This detail can be
seen in Figure 3 below.
 ICE Power Simulation
US06
EUDC city highway Combined
Fuel
Gas ICE size (kW) Electric Motor (kW) Fuel (L/10km) (L/10km)

10 90 0.743 0.755 0.749

50 50 0.458 0.652 0.555
60 40 0.447 0.64 0.5435
70 30 0.449 0.644 0.5465
80 20 0.463 0.667 0.565
90 10 0.49 0.71 0.6

Diesel
30 70 0.3423 0.4829 0.4126
40 60 0.3552 0.4719 0.41355
50 50 0.3512 0.4818 0.4165
60 40 0.353 0.4795 0.41625
70 30 0.3598 0.4869 0.42335
Figure 2 ICE power optimization for fuel economy in a gas and diesel engine

Efficiency of .38 on and

off, diesel engine, 1s.
Time constant

EM Size
ICE Size (kW) (kW) EUDC US06 Combined
Fuel Fuel Fuel
(L/10km) (L/10km) (L/10km)

30 70 0.3454 0.4719 0.40865

40 60 0.3515 0.4621 0.4068
50 50 0.3385 0.4685 0.4035
60 40 0.3354 0.4616 0.3985
70 30 0.3425 0.4682 0.40535
80 20 0.3634 0.4888 0.4261
Figure 3 Diesel engine optimization after optimizing other parameters
3.2 Electric Drive Size

The electric motor is an important component in the parallel hybrid vehicle. The
electric motor is often used as a generator to recharge the batteries and also as a motor to
consume energy from the batteries and provide more power to the wheels. Electric
motors can operate in excess of 90% efficiency which is much greater than gas engines
with about 30% efficiency and diesels with upwards of 40% efficiency. This usually
means that the electric motor should be used to supplement the internal combustion
engine when the ICE is operating at a poor efficiency. The electric motor should not be
run too frequently though since excess power conversions are wasteful of energy, so the
most direct path is the ideal.
Matlab was used to simulate the most ideal size of the electric drive system in the
parallel hybrid. The results are summarized above in Figures 2 and 3. The ideal size of
electric motor was predicted to be 40kW in both the gas and diesel ICE simulations. This
would provide enough power to be efficient, while at the same time, enabling the ICE to
be powerful enough to pass other vehicles at freeway speeds.

3.3 ICE Type (gas or diesel)

Gas engines are more common in the U.S. whereas diesel engines are more
common in Europe. The reason for this is that the U.S. is willing to sacrifice efficiency
in the engine so that the nitrogen oxides and particulate matter is lower in the gas engine.
Gas internal combustion engines operate around 30% efficiency and diesel engines
operate at peak efficiencies of 40%. The simulation in Matlab obviously indicated that
diesel engines optimize the fuel efficiency in an engine. The analysis for the VW Golf
hybrid did not include an optimization for emissions, so the diesel engine was chosen as
the primary energy provider.
3.4 Battery Size

Sizing the battery is very important due to added weight in the vehicle, cost, peak
current available, and life expectancy. Lead acid batteries used to be the battery of
choice in electric vehicles but they have a very low specific energy around 20 Wh/kg.
The battery most common in today’s hybrid vehicles are nickel metal hydride batteries
(NiMH) which have improved specific energy around 60 Wh/kg and can be fully
discharged over 1,000 times. In the near future, lithium ion batteries may be more
common than NiMH since they have even higher energy densities around 120 Wh/kg. A
summary of the specific energy and power of various batteries is shown in Figure 3
below.

Figure 4 Battery specific energy and power levels

 After the other components were optimized for fuel efficiency, an analysis was
performed to determine how large of a battery pack should be in the vehicle. The two
driving cycles were run with batteries ranging from 5kg up to 150kg. The net percentage
change of the state of charge (SOC) was recorded and placed in Figure 5 below and also
the predicted life expectancy of the batteries. The estimated number of cycles was
predicted by looking at Figure 6 and using the recorded percent change of SOC for each
driving cycle. The length of the EUDC was 10.8km and the US06 was 12.8km. The
calculation to estimate the life was to obtain the estimated number of cycles in Figure 6,
and then multiply that number by 11.8km since that is the average between the two
common driving cycles. The results indicated an excessively long life which may be
reduced by thermal cycling, and if each charge and discharge was more accurately
recorded over the 12km drive cycle. The battery type was also not indicated from the
source in Figure 6. The best battery pack size would probably be 40kg to ensure enough
peak power can be supplied by the batteries, minimize cost, and ensure a long life.

Battery Optimization
Estimated Estimated
EUDC US06 Combined Life Life
SOC % SOC % SOC %
Mass of Batteries (kg) change change change # cycles # kilometers

5 29 28 28.5 30,000 354,000

15 14 13 13.5 80,000 944,000
20 7.3 6.7 7 300,000 3,540,000
30 4.8 4.5 4.65 400,000 4,720,000
40 3.7 3.4 3.55 500,000 5,900,000
100 1.45 1.3 1.375 1,000,000 11,800,000
150 0.97 0.89 0.93 1,000,000 11,800,000
Figure 5 Measured percentage change of SOC for battery sizes and predicted life expectancy
 Figure 6 Number of battery cycles for a specific depth of discharge

3.5 Hybrid Control Parameters

A hybrid vehicle has many power electronics and traction components that must
be controlled continually to ensure the efficiency of the vehicle is not compromised.
Hybrid vehicles are more complex than conventional vehicles, so have much more
signals and often several computers to process all the vehicle information. There are
many parameters that can be controlled on a hybrid vehicle, but only four parameters
were modified in the Matlab simulation to optimize the vehicle for fuel efficiency. These
included the engine turn on and off point, the time constant, setting the vehicle in stop
and go mode, and running the vehicle in depletion mode. The results of the simulations
are discussed below.

3.5.1 ICE Engine turn on and off point

The internal combustion engine in a hybrid vehicle can be turned on and off at
various points to optimize the fuel efficiency in a vehicle. When the engine is turned off,
the electric motor functions as the sole provider of power and receives energy from the
batteries. The internal combustion engine is turned off when it is operating at efficiency
 below the set turn off point, and turns on when the efficiency has hit the turn on point.
These points are chosen based on a torque and velocity efficiency map that indicates the
efficiency of the engine based on the input signals from the engine. If an engine becomes
less efficient in time, the engine will still operate in the same manner, because the turn on
and off point occurs based on the given torque and speed signals from the engine.
The simulation was run using the diesel engine since that is more fuel efficient
than the gas engine. The gas engine would have different optimal turn on and off points
because it is much less efficient than the diesel engine. The results of this simulation are
given in Figure 7 below. The optimal point was determined to be 38% efficiency to turn
the engine on and off. This allowed for the vehicle to consume only .335 liters of diesel
per 10 kilometers. The optimal point should not be too high because the engine will run
less often and may not have enough time to recharge the batteries properly. Another
drawback would be cycling the batteries too often so they do not last as long. With the
simulated turn on and off point of 38%, the battery cycling did not appear to be a
problem.
Engine On/Off
Parameters Diesel
EUDC (city) US06 Combined EUDC US06
Efficiency fuel Fuel fuel SOC % SOC %
Efficiency On Off (L/10km) (L/10km) (L/10km) change change
1 peak 4 peaks
0.28 0.25 0.353 0.4795 0.41625 7 7
0.3 0.27 0.3511 0.4788 0.41495 7 7
0.32 0.29 0.3493 0.4776 0.41345 7 6.5
0.32 0.32 0.3476 0.4761 0.41185 7 6.5
0.34 0.3 0.3481 0.4771 0.4126 7 6.5
0.34 0.34 0.3455 0.4754 0.41045 7 6.5
0.36 0.32 0.3476 0.4758 0.4117 7 6.5
0.36 0.36 0.3434 0.4709 0.40715 7 6.5
0.38 0.38 0.3354 0.4619 0.39865 7.5 6.5
0.4 0.4 0.3502 0.4805 0.41535 8 6.5
Figure 7 Fuel efficiency optimization for an engine turn on and off point with 20kg battery
3.5.2 Time Constant

The time constant is responsible for the charging regulation velocity of the battery. If
you have a smaller time constant, you can store more energy, because in the other case
the energy at first time can’t be stored. And in most cases the braking energy is largest in
first ms (milli seconds). For that reason the fuel consumption decreases as well.
But the time constant is no free eligible parameter, it is dependent on electrical and
chemical processes. So the challenge is to decrease further the time constant to reduce
the fuel consumption.

Time Constant Simulation 60kW ICE 40kW EM

EUDC (city) US06 Combined

Time Constant fuel (L/10km) fuel (L/10km) fuel (L/10km)

0.5 0.4498 0.6393 0.54455

1.0 0.4467 0.6399 0.5433
2.0 0.4456 0.652 0.5488
4.0 0.4428 0.6804 0.5616
Figure 8 Fuel consumption for different time constants
3.5.3 Stop and Go

The higher process of automation in vehicles leads to that software can control
also the engine. So at standstill the engine is immediately deactivated and when you step
on the gas pedal it starts immediately. In a Hybrid car should this are included, because
at lower speed is the efficiency also very low and the electric engine should drive the car.

But for comparison we should simulate it with a conventional combustion engine.

Stop and Go Simulation 60kW ICE 40kW EM

EUDC (city) US06 Combined

fuel (L/10km) Fuel (L/10km) fuel (L/10km)

Without 0.6270 0.6402 0.6336
With 0.5202 0.6215 0.5708
Figure 9 Stop and Go simulation with conventional 100 kW diesel engine

Table 8 shows a big potential for conventional cars to save fuel by including the
Stop and Go mode. The difference is for the ECE 15 cycle bigger, because in city you
have more waiting time at traffic lights and similar things.

3.5.4 Depletion Mode

When the energy density of batteries will be better than now, the possibility for
plug-in will be included in cars and the energy support for charging car batteries at home
station is warranted, it will be possible to use the car most time in depletion mode. Than
you get all energy for driving from the battery and recharges it staying at home or
somewhere other. For example when you go to work and drive only some kilometres,
you can plug it in at the parking place and later drive back and plug it in at home again.
For emergencies or longer drives you have the combustion engine, so you are not only
dependent on the electric supply.
The other question is how much energy do you need for your daily way to work?
So the car builder should offer different battery sizes that everybody can choose the most
efficient for their ways.
 In simulation want we to know, how big the battery must be to go the whole way
without recharging. When the SOC is below 20 % the simulation program gives
sometimes an error and it breaks off and so we can’t get good results for cases of
recharging.

Depletion Mode Simulation 60kW ICE 40kW EM

Battery State of Charge (SOC) at End / Min SOC / Recharge?

Battery Mass
EUDC (city) US06
30 kg Yes Yes
38 kg 22.90 / 22.34 / No Yes
40 kg 28.10 / 24.72 / No Yes
100 kg - Yes
130 kg - 25.40 / 24.93 / No
150 kg - 36.20 / 35.84 / No
Figure 10 Minimum SOC and SOC at end depending on battery mass

Simulation result that you need for the ECE 15 cycle about 38 kg weight of
battery for the 10.64 km way. For the high speed cycle US06 are two times more weight
and capacity of battery requisitely. You need about 130 kg of battery to drive in
depletion mode only. When you take the ECE 15 and US06 tracks as a basis, you can
calculate the size of the battery for each way by multiplying the ratio of your own way to
the basis.

As basis we have assumed an energy density power density of 100 Wh/kg like
new Nickel-Metal-Hydrid (NiMH) batteries have.
In future there will exist some batteries with higher energy density, so the weight will be
decreased by equal total energy.
One other problem is that the discharge is until 20 % of SOC and in relation to
figure 5 you have only 2000 to 5000 cycles, what corresponds to 20,000 to 50,000 km.
However the battery is not destroyed after 2000 cycles, but the capacity of it decreases
slowly. So the first time you have no problems to go the way only in depletion mode, but
one day is the capacity of the battery smaller then the necessary energy to drive the way.
So at this point you know that the battery is not longer good enough.
4 System Analysis
The system of the hybrid vehicle running a specific way is modelled by
MATLAB/Simulink with a forward model. That implies that the vehicle is described by
models built up by differential equations. This included possibilities of simulating
dynamic effects like acceleration and vehicle inertia.
First there is an initiation file (figure 9) for assigning some basic values and generate and
load the look-up tables and diagrams.

%Driving Cycles

load eudc;
load us06;

% Vehicle type ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Fuel=1; % Defines if gasoline (Fuel=1) or Diesel (Fuel=2) is

used, (DEFAULT=1)
Hybrid=1; % 0 for conventional, 1 for parallellhybrid
(DEFAULT = 0)
Depletion=1; % Depletion = 0 for Charge Sustaining mode and 1 for
depletion mode (DEFAULT = 0)
StopAndGo=0; % 1 if stop & go is on (DEFAULT = 0)
Speedy=0; % 1 for "sporty" driving (DEFAULT = 0)
TotalPower=1E5; % 100 kW total power
Xmotor=60; % [%] Electric Motor - Percentage of total power;
(Power of combustion Engine)/(total Power)
mbatt=15 % [kg] mass of battery

…
Figure 11 Cut-out of the code of ‘InitiateParallel.m’

Further the model is built in Simulink and has a structure similar to the real
structure of a car. You can see it in figure 12. Each of these blocks, connected by black
lines (signal routes), contains a subsystem of blocks or equations. So you can build up a
clear system of blocks and each block can include rough or very precise descriptions
these subsystems. So called ‘Scopes’ display the characteristic of signals and you can
compare those. These diagrams are useful for view over dependence of characteristics.
Beginning with the block of ‘Driving cycle’ this is only a table with initiate values
for time and speed. The driver is modeled by a PID-controller who compares the speed
difference and tried to reach the given speed of the ‘Driving cycle’. The
‘Power flow control’ is a soft- and hardware that could be a part of vehicle’s controller
and it has to handle a lot of parameters. For example if the ICE is activated or calculating
the optimal operation point of the combustion engine.

Figure 12 Structure of parallel hybrid model

The ‘ICE-model’ describes the behavior of the combustion engine. Inputs are the
desired value of engine speed, the need of torque and switches for ON/OFF of the engine
and the clutch. Output values are the real torque and the consumed fuel energy. Parallel
to it is the electrical machine and the inputs are also desired value of engine speed and
need of torque. Afterwards is the transmission like in the real vehicle. But here includes
also the tires and the vehicle force. So the output is the real speed and some additional
values like friction energy. The ‘Brake Control’ controls how much force has to be at the
brakes. Normally you should brake with the electrical engine and generate electrical
energy and store this in battery, but at an emergency brake is the power of the electrical
engine not high enough and the mechanical brakes help.
Further there are a simple model of a battery as energy storage and the road model that
calculate with speed and vehicle parameters the friction forces.

The optimized parameters for fuel consumption are a diesel hybrid vehicle with a 40 kW
electric and a 60 kW combustion engine. The On- and Off-parameter are set at 38 % so
you use the combustion engine only at highest efficiency and compensate all swaying
with the electrical battery. Relating to the simulation charging and discharging has
efficiency about 38 % . However you have more charge-cycles in the battery.
Another optimization is for depletion mode. Here you can choose the battery size
to a definite way. Or you choose battery size to lifetime in charge sustaining mode.
 In following are some diagrams of simulation of an optimized hybrid vehicle on
EUDC cycle for example.

Figure 13 EUDC cycle ( x: time[s] ; y:speed [m/s] )

Figure 14 diagrams of the electric machine model
Figure 15 diagrams of state of charge (SOC) and battery flow
5 Comparison to Diesel VW Golf Hybrid
In contrast to our optimized hybrid car engine has the VW Golf-ECO-Power only
a 15 kW electric engine and a 76 kW combustion engine. The reason why they have
chosen a smaller engine is probably a question of weight of the electric engine and the
battery. When you have a bigger engine you need also a bigger battery to have enough
reserves.
Our deliberations and simulation results give us the persuasion that also VW will
include a bigger engine in future. But today the price for all the new technology is very
high and so they begin with small steps.
A test of the VW Golf-ECO-Power shows that the acceleration of 0-100 km/h with 11 s
is very good. The fuel consumption on a ECE 15 track is about 3.8 l/100km and
therewith 20 % less then comparable standard compact cars. Probably emissions are
related to the fuel consumption, because there is no big difference in the engine, only that
it is not the sole one.
The solution of VW shows very good an effective use of combustion an electric engine.
There is only one electric motor and not as in Toyota Prius two electric motors. The
electric and the combustion engine are separated by a twin clutch. So first the electric
motor can drive the vehicle alone, when more power is needed starts the electrical engine
the ICE by clutch in the ICE. However the electrical motor can act as a generator and
produce energy. So you have no second generator, only a more difficult clutch.
6 Conclusion
Nowadays the price of fuel increases rapidly and the large CO2 emissions destroy
our environment. So we have to search after new possibilities of travelling. One step to
reduce the fuel consumption is combining the conventional ICE with an electric motor.
So we can use the ICE at more efficient points and can store the braking energy.
However we need many choices for sizing the components and lots of parameters
to control the unit of ICE and electrical engine and we determined some of these in
reference to lowest fuel consumption. So the highest efficiency is achievable with diesel
hybrid with 60 kW combustion and 40 kW electric engines. The best values are with
On/Off-control parameters about 38 % and as less as possible time constants.
Further are some optimizations for only-depletion mode and battery-lifetime of
the battery. That shows as much as possible is the best, but each car designer has to
decide how big the battery could be in the vehicle and how the price of the car would
increase.
In general you could say that a parallel hybrid driveline is a good topology of
hybrid cars, because there are not as much energy transformations as in a series hybrid.
In future should there be better batteries and control systems for controlling the driveline.