How Size and Performance of Hybrid Electric Vehicle Components are Influenced by Acceleration Patterns

The performance characteristics we expect of a car are determined by our experience with today's vehicles. This has led to a wide acceptance of acceleration patterns that require the power train and storage of an HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle) to operate under unfavorable load conditions. Since the power available from batteries not only depends on the State of Charge (SoC) but even more on the load history it is crucial to understand the relationship between acceleration power requirements and the different vehicle components involved. By means of simulation, it is shown that slight changes in the acceleration profile will have a tremendous impact on the size of the vehicle components and the fuel consumption.

The paper examines the power-distribution of the Federal Urban Drive Schedule and the optimization of the schedule to match the requirements of HEV's. The analysis is presented in the context of a gas turbine powered Hybrid Electric Vehicle which uses Advanced Lead Acid Batteries for energy storage