Hybrid electric power train

Buchi F, Tsukada A, Rodutz P, Garcia O, Ruge M, Kotz R, Bartschi M, Dietrich P (2002) Fuel cell supercap hybrid electric power train. In Proceedings of European fuel cell forum conference, Lucerne, pp 218-231... 

Fig. 8.14 (a) Straight fuel cell powertrain, (b) Hybrid electric power train with fuel cell and electric storage. 

So what will the car of the future in the United States be like It seems that we are moving rapidly toward cars that have an electrical component as part of the power train. Hybrid cars, which use a small gasoline motor in conjunction with a powerful battery, have been quite successful. By supplementing the small gasoline engine, which would be inadequate by itself, with power from the battery, the typical... 

Burke, A., H. Zhao, and E. V. Gelder. 2009. Simulated performance of alternative hybrid electric power trains in vehicles diuing various driving cycles. EVS24 International Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Symposium, Norway. Fuel Cells, 1-16. 

Fig. 13.32. Series fuel cell-battery hybrid power train model. The two-way energy flow between the drive motor and electric bus indicates the potential for regenerative braking. (Reprinted with permission from Research and Development of Proton-Exchange-Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell System for Transportation Applications, Phase I. Final Report, prepared for the U.S. Dept, of Energy by General Motors, 1996, Fig. 3.5.2.1.)...

The main issues of hybrid propulsion systems are discussed in this chapter, drawing attention to basic characteristics of power train components and aspects of energy management within each hybrid configuration. The main characteristics of electric drives are described in Sect. 5.2, different types of electric energy storage systems are analyzed in Sect. 5.3 and Sect. 5.4, while different configurations of hybrid electric vehicles are discussed in Sect. 5.5, with particular reference to fuel cell propulsion systems (Sect. 5.5.4). 

The experimental results discussed in this case study are obtained on a fuel ceU power train installed on a laboratory test bench. It is constituted by a 3.5 kW electric drive connected in hybrid configuration to a 2 kW PEM fuel cell system (FCS) and an electrical energy storage system (lead batteries). The main technical specifications of the FCS are reported in Table 6.1, whereas its scheme is shown in Fig. 6.1 [1, 2]. 

Fig. 6.27 Experimental results obtained on the fuel cell power train in hard hybrid configuration for the R47 driving cycle a battery, input electric drive, and output DC-DC converter powers versus cycle length, b hydrogen, input and output DC-DC converter powers versus cycle length, c battery state of charge versus cycle length...

First, a straight fuel cell power train is advocated and, secondly, an electric hybrid power train, combining a fuel cell system and an electric energy storage device such as a super capacitor or a battery is proposed (see Fig. 8.14). The advantage of the straight set-up is its simpler structure, however in this concept the fuel cell system... 

On the basis of the concepts developed in the former sections, the latter section showed a series of design problems. The used approach can also be interesting for problems like system architecture synthesis and comparison [28], parameter synthesis [16], equilibrium or steady-state position determination [4], or the coupling of model inversion with dynamic optimization [24, 26, 27, 32], Finally, the approach was used in the domain of active systems [31], in industrial applications like in aeronautics for electro-hydraulic actuators [17] or in automotive for electric power steering and suspension systems [29, 30], and for classic and hybrid power trains [3,28]. 

McKinsey Company (2010) A Portfolio of Power-Trains for Europe A Fact-Based Analysis - the Role of Battery Electric Vehicles, Plug-In Hybrids and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles, Commission of the European Union, Brussels. 

See color insert.) (a) EC powered Sinautec buses during charging (b) and (c). Hybrid REVA (Image courtesy of E. Hebbert) and AES trinity vehicles using ES. (d) Electric drive train combining fuel cells with ESs. 

An emerging application for large quantities of Li-ion cells is the electrification of power trains, where Li-ion cells seem to be a proper technology which covers a broad spectrum of e-mobility applications like hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. For these applications a precise state determination of the Li-ion battery and its cells is mandatory to ensure a reliable operation of the vehicle. 

FCVs are a special type of electric vehicle, and unlike internal combustion engine vehicles, which we are all familiar with, they are constructed in a different manner. In a conventional diesel or gasoline-fuelled vehicle, energy from the fuel is transmitted from the engine to the wheels by a mechanical power train. In an FCV the power train is electrical. In a hybrid vehicle it may be a combination of the two. A conventional vehicle power train is illustrated in Figure 11.5. 

A simple FCV parallel hybrid power train is shown in Figure 11.6. In this case the fuel cell provides most of the power for the motor and can keep the battery charged when required. Provided the battery is fully charged, it can provide extra power for the motor when it is required for acceleration. The battery in such a power tfain is relatively small when compared with the fuel cell. Biichi et al. (2002) describe a vehicle built along these lines, with a supercapacitor electrical energy store instead of a battery. 

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