Validation, Testing, and Refinement of the Equinox REVLSE E85 Hybrid Electric Vehicle

The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech (HEVT) is participating in the 2005 - 2008 Challenge X advanced technology vehicle competition series, sponsored by General Motors Corporation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and Argonne National Lab. This paper presents the Equinox REV_LSE (Renewable Energy Vehicle, the Larsen Special Edition) design, simulation and modeling results to set the Vehicle Technical Specifications (VTS), improvements made to approach the 99 % buyoff level of vehicle readiness, and the HEVT hybrid control strategy that selects vehicle propulsion modes to meet VTS. The paper also compares the REV_LSE to the production Equinox.