Dualhybrid - Proof of a Concept for an HEV with Two Combustion Engines

Due to the prevalent fuel economy, research on electric hybrid vehicles (HEVs) has attracted recently widespread attention. However, most researches were focused on electrification, neglecting the crucial role of internal combustion engines (ICEs) in reducing fuel consumption. Holding the opinion that ICEs can contribute more in developing fuel economic vehicles, we present in this paper a new HEV topology with two ICEs - Dualhybrid. Two separate traction units, conventional drivetrain with ICE1at front axle and electric hybrid drivetrain with ICE2+battery at rear axle constitute the powertrain of this new HEV concept.

One dimensional simulation with sub-models built upon different modelling methods is implemented. Energy management of Dualhybrid is identified with a rule-based control strategy. Base and Fullhybrid model were built as references and a comparative simulation among the three models was conducted. On the basis of the simulation results, an analysis of the efficiency of the powertrains was performed in detail. Results show that Dualhybrid equipped with two ICEs is more fuel economic compared to the reference models and has proven to be an effective HEV concept.