Design of a Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle with CAVs Capability for the MaaS Market

There is significant potential for connected and autonomous vehicles to impact vehicle efficiency, fuel economy, and emissions, especially for hybrid-electric vehicles. These improvements could have large-scale impact on oil consumption and air-quality if deployed in large Mobility-as-a-Service or ride-sharing fleets. As part of the US Department of Energy's current Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition (AVCT), EcoCAR: The Mobility Challenge, Mississippi State University’s EcoCAR Team is redesigning and doing the development work necessary to convert a conventional gasoline spark-ignited 2019 Chevy Blazer into a hybrid-electric vehicle with SAE Level 2 autonomy. The target consumer segments for this effort are the Mobility-as-a-Service fleet owners, operators and riders. To accomplish this conversion, the MSU team is implementing a P4 mild hybridization strategy that is expected to result in a 30% increase in fuel economy over the stock Blazer. MATLAB models of the vehicle system shows the potential for additional improvement with the use of connected and autonomous features in the vehicle. This paper presents the design rationale for selection of the P4 strategy, vehicle modeling, and fuel economy simulation results completed during Year 1 of the competition. A detailed discussion of further improvements arising from incorporating connected and autonomous technology strategies, focusing on longitudinal control methods is also presented.