System Modeling and Simulation as a Tool for Developing a Vision for Future Hybrid Electric Vehicle Drivetrain Configurations

The escalating number of vehicles on the road has raised awareness to their environmental impacts and sustainability; this has provided a stimulus for future mobility considerations. The conventional car may not meet future requirements regarding noise, emissions and energy consumption. There is a distinct lack of short-term alternative solutions that meet consumer requirements and have a potential for mass production. Furthermore, the internal combustion engine has been developed over 100 years and there may be some risk that the automotive companies choose to invest into the "wrong" alternative. However, industry has to accept some responsibility for providing future solutions for the products they introduced and created the demand for in first place. Starting with a vision several years ago, Japanese car companies have now taken the lead with certain types of hybrid electric vehicles. These vehicles exhibit significantly reduced energy consumption, noise emission, exhaust emissions, and yet also have improved comfort and performance. They now thrive in the USA with seemingly unexpected popularity due to rocketing oil prices and increasing awareness of the risk of oil dependency. Many car companies now follow this lead. However, there are a vast variety of possible hybrid drivetrain configurations. Modelling and simulation can help in the development and assessment of future drivetrain solutions. This paper focuses on this task using a commercially available modelling and simulation package. A drivetrain design is developed going through some initial considerations based on vehicle performance criteria that take into account consumer expectations and operational/regulatory/environmental factors. Based on simulation studies the drive train components are identified, mostly from the available range. Finally, a computer simulation is used to assess the performance of the vehicle. The result of these investigations is a series hybrid electric vehicle that is recharged- - from the mains. The fuel consumption is four times better than that of a comparable car, but vehicle mass and cost have not increased significantly. The driving range of this vehicle is not limited by battery capacity. Such a vehicle can meet consumer expectations as well as environmental requirements with added driver comfort. Still being low-cost, it provides the potential for mass-production thus reducing overall impacts on the environment