In this paper the experimental results of Magica II are presented and discussed; Magica II is a parallel hybrid prototype entirely designed by the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Energy Conversions at University of Rome “La Sapienza” [1], realized and tested in collaboration with ENEA - the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment [2].
Magica II is characterized by a mechanical layout directly derived from the original Ma.Gi.Ca. (an acronym from Eng. MArtellucci, Eng. GIuffrida and Prof. CAputo) Project: it is a two-seat spider, or convertible, with space frame rolling chassis and fiberglass body. An engine and an electric drive acting respectively on rear and front wheels make up the propulsion system. The engine is placed in central position, mounted transversally behind the seats. It is equipped with mechanical gearbox and final drive that transmit the traction power to the rear wheels. The electric drive is placed on front axle, in transversal position, connected to the final drive by a single speed gearbox.
In central position, just under the two seats, takes place the energy storage system, made up by ultracapacitors - 90 elements of 1200 Farad each. The supervising CPU (central processing unit) is a PC/104-standard platform based on x86 microprocessor architecture that realizes also the acquisition of electrical and mechanical data; it has been programmed with rapid-prototyping and real-time techniques in Matlab/Simulink® and its xPC Target toolbox environment.
In ENEA Research Center “Casaccia” road tests have been performed and the collected data are presented in this paper; energy flow evaluations of this HEV configuration and software management optimization are discussed, in order to evaluate in particular the benefits of adopting a light ultracap storage system.