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The increasing demand for sustainable transportation solutions has led to the rapid evolution of hybrid and electric vehicles. This thesis, undertaken as part of the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, presents the development and implementation of a control system for a P4 parallel through-the-road hybrid electric vehicle. A comprehensive vehicle model was developed using MATLAB Simulink. This model was used to model overall vehicle performance and component-specific performance throughout the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge and served as the foundation for the subsequent stages of control system development. Extensive component and vehicle testing formed the crux of this thesis. These bench tests provide invaluable data that aided in the implementation of the component control loops into the MAC Team vehicle. On-road vehicle testing further refined the energy management strategy, drivability, and charge sustaining of the high voltage battery. The vehicle control system has 10 control modules that successfully operated the MAC Team vehicle for over 1500km on public roads. The methodologies and findings can guide future projects aiming to optimize hybrid vehicle performance. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / With hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles rising in popularity, the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge and its sponsors created an opportunity for McMaster University and 10 other universities across North America to modify a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer into a hybrid electric vehicle. This thesis focuses on the development of the control strategy for the McMaster University vehicle. A mathematical vehicle model was developed to run vehicle simulations in order to evaluate vehicle performance and the performance of individual components. Individual components were tested in order to develop control loops for these components. These control loops and other control modules were used during vehicle testing. On-road vehicle testing refined the vehicle control strategy evidenced by the over 1500km driven on public roads.

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This work describes the design, development and research applications of a Modular Automotive Technology Testbed (MATT). MATT is built to evaluate technology components in a hybrid vehicle system environment. MATT can also be utilized to evaluate energy management and torque split control strategies and to produce physical measured component losses and emissions to monitor emissions behavior. In the automotive world, new technology components are first developed on a test bench and then they are integrated into a prototype vehicle for transient evaluation from the vehicle system perspective. This process is expensive and the prototype vehicles are typically inflexible in hardware and software configuration. MATT provides flexibility in component testing through its component module approach. The flexible combination of modules provides a vehicle environment to test and evaluate new technology components. MATT also has an open control system where any energy management and torque split strategy can be implemented. Therefore, the control's impact on energy consumption and emissions can be measured. MATT can also emulate different types and sizes of vehicles. MATT is a novel, unique, flexible and powerful automotive research tool that provides hardware-based data for specific research topics. Currently, several powertrain modules are available for use on MATT: a gasoline engine module, a hydrogen engine module, a virtual scalable energy storage and virtual scalable motor module, a manual transmission module and an automatic transmission module. The virtual battery and motor module uses some component Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) principles by utilizing a physical motor powered from the electric grid in conjunction with a real time simulation of a battery and a motor model. This module enables MATT to emulate a wide variety of vehicles, ranging from a conventional vehicle to a full performance electric vehicle with a battery pack that has virtually unlimited capacity. A select set of PHEV research studies are described in this dissertation. One of these studies had an outcome that influenced the PHEV standard test protocol development by SAE. Another study investigated the impact of the control strategy on emissions of PHEVs. Emissions mitigation routines were integrated in the control strategies, reducing the measured emissions to SULEV limits on a full charge test. A special component evaluation study featured in this dissertation is the transient performance characterization of a supercharged hydrogen internal combustion engine on MATT. Four constant air-fuel ratio combustions are evaluated in a conventional vehicle operation on standard drive cycles. Then, a variable air fuel ratio combustion strategy is developed and the test results show a significant fuel economy gain compared to other combustion strategies, while NOx emissions levels are kept low. / Ph. D.

This thesis seeks to understand the relationship between government influence and market forces pertaining to the introduction of new technologies in the market. The thesis will do this by utilizing electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) in California and Virginia as a historical analysis case study to determine the historical catalysts for change in the public EVSE market since its introduction in 1995. Comparing the rate of change to historical timelines for both states, "market tendencies" and "government involvement" played the greatest role in EVSE growth, with there being a distinct shift from "market tendencies" to "government involvement" over time. Results show that California has fully embraced the interventionist role, with state and local actors playing a part. Virginia, on the other hand, has just begun to allow state intervention, so much of the change in the state has come from economic or business events. Data shows, however, that this could be changing, and that Virginia could be on the verge of allowing for market intervention based on equitable development and future economic opportunity. / Master of Arts / The 21st century is ripe with innovative technologies and ideas that influence the future of the world, but not all these ideas are fully embraced in the private market. This thesis looks to understand the different roles that the government can play in assisting with the development of markets by analyzing the introduction of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) for public use in California and Virginia. Using a historical-analytic approach, I gathered data on the rate of increase in EVSE and compared that to the historical timelines to determine the variables with the most influence. After identifying four "pivotal moments" in the timeline, I discovered that the major catalysts for change were "market tendencies" and "government involvement." Looking at the progression, I determined that there is a distinct trend shifting from market tendencies, at the beginning of the timeline, to government involvement in modern changes. Evidence shows that not only is this trend embraced in California, with many state and local bodies working on the issue, but it also shows that Virginia, the laggard of the two states, could be on the verge of straying from its ideals of "free markets" to embrace change.

A growing dependence on foreign oil, along with a heightened concern over the environmental impact of personal transportation, had led the U. S. government to investigate and sponsor research into advanced transportation concepts. One of these future technologies is the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), typically featuring both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, with the goal of producing fewer emissions while obtaining superior fuel economy. While vehicles such as the Virginia Tech designed and built HEV Lumina have provided a substantial proof of concept for hybrids, there still remains a great deal of research to be done regarding optimization of hybrid vehicle design. This optimization process has been made easier through the use of ADVISOR, a MATLAB simulation program developed by the U. S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab. ADVISOR allows one to evaluate different drivetrain and subsystem configurations for both fuel economy and emissions levels. However, the present version of ADVISOR uses a constant power model for the auxiliary power unit (APU) that, while effective for cursory simulation efforts, does not provide for a truly accurate simulation. This thesis describes modifications made to the ADVISOR code to allow for the use of a load sharing APU scheme based on models developed from vehicle testing. Results for typical driving cycles are presented, demonstrating that the performance predicted by the load sharing simulation more closely follows the results obtained from actual vehicle testing. This new APU model also allows for easy adaptation for future APU technologies, such as fuel cells. Finally, an example is given to illustrate how the ADVISOR code can be used for optimizing vehicle design. This work was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy under contract XCG-6-16668-01 for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. / Master of Science

Battery Electric Vehicles and Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles are increasingly becoming more popular in recent years. Stricter regulations from government agencies to curb emissions and reduce impact on climate have led to automobile makers adopt electric powertrains. Eco-Routing is one such method to reduce energy usage in personal transport. EcoRouting is a methodology that determines the route with the least energy consumption between two points. Standard navigation systems often determine the shortest or the fastest route, emphasizing travel time. EcoRouting considers an alternative criterion - energy consumption. In this thesis, an automation methodology is presented that determines the EcoRoute among given route alternatives based on route distance, speed limits, road grades, traffic signs, driver aggression and the powertrain. There are three major objectives in this thesis: Developing the automation methodology for the determination of EcoRoute for use in on-board applications, validating the EcoRouting methodology on actual driving conditions and studying the impact of traffic on the choice of EcoRoute. The automation methodology has been developed on the Android framework for use with on-board applications on Android mobile devices. The automation methodology used to conduct sensitivity studies show that factors such as driver aggression, distance and conditional stops impact energy consumption. The comparison of results of simulation using the automation methodology against results from actual driving to validate the methodology on actual driving conditions show that transient traffic conditions can have significant impact on energy consumption. Finally, route energy consumptions for various traffic conditions are estimated using simulation to understand the impact of traffic on energy consumption and EcoRoute choice. Results that are obtained show that apart from traffic affecting the energy consumption, travel times can have an impact on choice of EcoRoute. / Master of Science / Government agencies have been introducing tighter regulations in order to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. These regulations are targeted at reducing the impact of vehicle usage on climate. Automobile manufacturers have increasingly adopted electric powertrains to meet these regulations. Battery Electric Vehicles and Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles are more popular than ever. Other methods in reducing environmental impact by automobiles are also being conducted. EcoRouting is one such method. EcoRouting determines the route that consumes the least energy between two locations. EcoRouting requires no modifications to be done on the vehicle or its powertrain. A methodology has been developed in this thesis that takes into account various factors such as traffic signs, speed limits, road grades, powertrain and driver aggression to determine the route that consumes the least energy. Research in this thesis has been divided into three major parts: development of the automation methodology, validating the methodology for actual driving conditions and understanding the impact of traffic on energy consumption. Results of case studies show that the input parameters affect energy consumption significantly. Traveling speeds affect the energy consumption and since transient traffic conditions can affect traveling speeds, transient traffic conditions can have a significant impact on energy consumption. Since energy consumption alone is not considered in determining the EcoRoute and the travel times are also considered so as to not inconvenience the user, traffic conditions impact the choice of EcoRoute both due to differences in energy consumption and travel time.

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) come in many sizes and degrees of hybridization. Mild hybrid systems, where a simple idle stop strategy is employed, eliminate fuel use for idling. Multiple motor hybrid systems with complex electrically continuously variable transmissions in passenger cars, SUVs and light duty trucks have large increases in fuel economy. The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) takes the electrification of the automobile one step further than the HEV by increasing the battery energy capacity. The additional capacity of the battery is used to propel the vehicle without using onboard fuel energy. Commercial software of great complexity and limited availability is often used with sophisticated models to simulate powertrain operation. A simple method of evaluating technologies, component sizes, and alternative fuels is the goal of the model presented here. The objective of this paper is to define a PHEV model for use in the EcoCAR competition series. E85, gaseous hydrogen, and grid electricity are considered. The powertrain architecture selected is a series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (SPHEV). The energy for charge sustaining operation is converted from fuel in an auxiliary power unit (APU). Compressed hydrogen gas is converted to electricity via the use of a fuel cell system and boost converter. For E85, the APU is an engine coupled to a generator. The results of modeling the vehicle allow for the comparison of the new architecture to the stock vehicle. In combination with the GREET model developed by Argonne National Lab, the multiple energy sources are compared for well to wheel energy use, petroleum energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions. / Master of Science

No / This paper presents a new-designed compact power pack for a series hybrid vehicle. A new type of rotary induction machine with an outer rotor construction is designed to be coupled with the novel rotary internal combustion engine (ICE) with cylindrical crankcase in order to form the compact power unit. The starting and generation performance of the designed machine as well as the overall vehicle performance is analysed. Results show that the proposed power pack has the best performance in terms of fuel economy, emissions and battery charging compared to the existing power units in ADVISOR. Over a city cycle, fuel economy is increased by up to 47% with emissions reduced by up to 36% and over the highway cycle, fuel economy is increased by up to 69% with emissions reduced by up to 42%.