Hybrid vehicles

Hybrid Vehicle
• Conventional vehicles with IC engines provide good
performance and long operating range by utilizing the high-
energy-density advantages of petroleum fuels. However,
conventional IC engine vehicles have the disadvantages of
poor fuel economy and environmental pollution.
• Battery-powered EVs, on the other hand, possess some
advantages over conventional IC engine vehicles, such as high-
energy efficiency and zero environmental pollution. However,
the performance, especially the operation range per battery
charge, is far less competitive than IC engine vehicles, due to
the much lower energy density of the batteries than that of
gasoline.
• HEVs, which use two power sources(a primary power source
and a secondary power source), have the advantages of both
IC engine vehicles and EVs and overcome their disadvantages.
• A vehicle that has two or more power trains is called a
hybrid vehicle.
• A hybrid drive train can supply its power to the load by a
selective power train.
 Types of Hybrid vehicle
• Depending on the drive train structure
– Series hybrid
– Parallel hybrid
– Combined hybrid
• Depending on the share of the electromotor to the
traction power
– Mild hybrid
– Micro hybrid
– Full hybrid
– Plug-in hybrid
 Series hybrid
• In a series hybrid system, the combustion engine drives
an electric generator (usually a three-phase alternator
plus rectifier) instead of directly driving the wheels.
• The electric motor is the only means of providing power
to the wheels.
• The generator both charges a battery and powers an
electric motor that moves the vehicle.
• When large amounts of power are required, the motor
draws electricity from both the batteries and the
generator.
Design
IC engine with electric motor

Fuel cell with electric motor

 Working Modes
• The drive train needs a vehicle controller to control the
operation and power flows based on the driver’s operating
command through accelerator and brake pedals and other
feedback information from the components.
• The vehicle controller will control the IC engine through its
throttle, electric coupler (controllable rectifier and DC/DC
converter), and traction motor to produce the demanded
propelling torque or regenerative braking torque
• with one of the following operation modes:
1. Pure electric traction mode: The engine is turned off and the vehicle is
propelled only from the batteries.
2. Pure engine traction mode: The vehicle traction power comes only from the
engine–generator, while the batteries neither supply nor accept any power
from the drive train. The electric machines serve as an electric transmission
from the engine to the driven wheels.
3. Hybrid traction mode: The traction powers are drawn from both the
engine–generator and the batteries, merging together in the electrical
coupler.
4. Engine traction with battery charging mode: The engine–generator supplies
power to charge the batteries and to propel the vehicle simultaneously. The
engine–generator power is split in the electric coupler.
5. Regenerative braking mode: The engine–generator is turned off and the
traction motor is operated as a generator powered by the vehicle kinetic or
potential energy. The power generated is charged to the batteries and
reused in later propelling.
6. Battery charging mode: The traction motor receives no power and the
engine–generator is operated only to charge the batteries.
7. Hybrid battery charging mode: Both the engine–generator and the traction
motor operate as generators in braking to charge the batteries.
 Weaknesses of series hybrid vehicles:

• The ICE, the generator and the electric motor are

dimensioned to handle the full power of the vehicle.
Therefore, the total weight, cost and size of the powertrain
can be excessive.
• The power from the combustion engine has to run through
both the generator and electric motor. During long-distance
highway driving, the total efficiency is inferior to a
conventional transmission, due to the several energy
conversions.
 Advantages of series hybrid vehicles:

• There is no mechanical link between the combustion

engine and the wheels. The engine-generator group
can be located everywhere.
• There are no conventional mechanical transmission
elements (gearbox, transmission shafts). Separate
electric wheel motors can be implemented easily.
• The combustion engine can operate in a narrow rpm
range (its most efficient range), even as the car
changes speed.
• Series hybrids are relatively the most efficient during
stop-and-go city driving.

Example of SHEV: Renault Kangoo.

 Parallel Hybrid
• Parallel hybrid systems have both an internal combustion
engine (ICE) and an electric motor in parallel connected to a
mechanical transmission.
• conceptually shows a mechanical
torque coupling, which is a three port,
two-degree-of-freedom mechanical
device.
• In a hybrid vehicle application, port 1 is
connected to an IC engine directly or
through a mechanical transmission. Port
2 is connected to the shaft of an electric
motor directly or through a mechanical
transmission. Port 3 is connected to the
driven wheels through a mechanical
linkage.
 Operation mode
• The drive train uses a planetary gear unit as the speed-
coupling device and a set of fixed axle gears as the torque-
coupling device. An IC engine is connected to the yoke of the
planetary gear unit, and a small motor/generator (few
kilowatts) is connected to the sun gear of a planetary gear unit
to constitute the speed-coupling configuration.
• the rotational speed of the ring gear or gear Za, which is
proportional to vehicle speed

• The load torque, acting on the ring gear of the planetary gear
unit by gear Z4, is related to the engine torque and the
motor/generator torque
1.Hybrid traction: When lock 1 and lock 2 are released (the sun gear and ring
gear can rotate), both the engine and electric machine supply positive
speed and torque (positive power) to the driven wheels.
2. Engine-alone traction: When lock 2 locks the ring gear to the vehicle frame
and lock 1 is released, the engine alone supplies power to the driven
wheels. the speed of the yoke is proportional to the speed of the sun gear
as ω3 = ω1/(1 + ig). torque output from the yoke is proportional to the
torque applied on the sun gear from the engine as T3 = (1 + ig)T1.
3. Motor-alone traction: When lock 1 locks the sun gear to the vehicle frame
(engine is shut off and engine clutch is disengaged) and lock 2 is released,
only the electric motor supplies its power to the driven wheels.
4. Regenerative braking: The states of lock 1 and lock 2 are the same as in
motor-alone traction, the engine is also shut off, the engine clutch is
disengaged, and the electric machine is controlled in regenerating mode
(negative torque). The kinetic or potential energy of the vehicle can be
absorbed by the electric system.
5. Battery charging from the engine: The engine clutch and lock 1 and lock 2
are in the same state as in the hybrid traction mode. However, the electric
motor is controlled to rotate in the opposite direction, that is, negative
speed. Thus, the electric machine operates with positive torque and
negative speed (negative power) and absorbs energy from the engine and
delivers it to the batteries.
Weaknesses of parallel hybrid vehicles:

• Rather complicated system.

• The ICE doesn’t operate in a narrow or
constant RPM range, thus efficiency drops at
low rotation speed.
• As the ICE is not decoupled from the wheels,
the battery cannot be charged at standstill.
Advantages of parallel hybrid vehicles:

• Total efficiency is higher during cruising and

long-distance highway driving.
• Large flexibility to switch between electric and
ICE power
• Compared to series hybrids, the electromotor
can be designed less powerful than the ICE, as
it is assisting traction. Only one electrical
motor/generator is required.
 Combined hybrid
• Combined hybrid systems have features of
both series and parallel hybrids. There is a
double connection between the engine and
the drive axle: mechanical and electrical.
• This split power path allows interconnecting
mechanical and electrical power, at some cost
in complexity.
 Weakness
• Very complicated system, more expensive than
parallel hybrid.
• The efficiency of the power train transmission is
dependent on the amount of power being
transmitted over the electrical path, as multiple
conversions, each with their own efficiency, lead to
a lower efficiency of that path (~70%) compared
with the purely mechanical path (98%).
 Advantages of combined hybrid
vehicles
• Maximum flexibility to switch between electric and
ICE power

• Decoupling of the power supplied by the engine

from the power demanded by the driver allows for
a smaller, lighter, and more efficient ICE design.