Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) have demonstrated the potential to provide significant reduction in fuel use across a wide range of dynamometer test driving cycles. Companies and research organizations are involved in numerous research activities related to PHEVs. One of the current unknowns is the impact of driving behavior and standard test procedure on the true benefits of PHEVs from a worldwide perspective. To address this issue, five different PHEV powertrain configurations (input split, parallel, series, series-output split and series-parallel), implemented on vehicles with different all-electric ranges (AERs), were analyzed on three different standard cycles (i.e., Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule, Highway Fuel Economy Test, and New European Driving Cycle). Component sizes, manufacturing cost, and fuel consumption were analyzed for a midsize car in model year 2020 through the use of vehicle system simulations. These configurations represent typical mass-production vehicles, including the Toyota Prius PHEV, Chevrolet Volt, and Honda Accord PHEV.
In addition, this study examined the impact of the transmission mechanical losses, and especially the planetary gear losses, modeled using power split ratio analysis. The powertrain components were sized to meet AER, performance, and grade-capacity requirements. The impact of driving behavior was analyzed through fuel consumption benefits. The PHEV system analysis in this study will provide insight into how PHEVs can be designed to support market introduction of a limited number of vehicle options to maximize market penetration.
