This paper describes the development and experimental validation of a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) dynamic simulator that enables development, testing, and calibration of a traction control strategy. EcoCAR 2 is a three-year competition between fifteen North American universities, sponsored by the Department of Energy and General Motors that challenges students to redesign a Chevrolet Malibu to have increased fuel economy and decreased emissions while maintaining safety, performance, and consumer acceptability. The dynamic model is developed specifically for the Ohio State University EcoCAR 2 Team vehicle with a series-parallel PHEV architecture. This architecture features, in the front of the vehicle, an ICE separated from an automated manual transmission with a clutch as well as an electric machine coupled via a belt directly to the input of the transmission. The rear powertrain features another electric machine coupled to a fixed ratio gearbox connected to the wheels. The model accounts for rotational dynamics and inertias of the torque generating components, gearboxes, and wheels. Additionally it considers the effects of stiffness and damping from the belt and shafts in the system. The simulator focuses on the drivetrain dynamics while actuator dynamics are either simplified or not considered. The vehicle simulator is validated by testing on the OSU EcoCAR 2 vehicle in both subsystem and full vehicle configurations.
