From innovate.ieee.org
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) depend on an onboard energy management system (EMS) to strike the right balance between the internal combustion engine and electric motor that leads to lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. A new algorithm developed by a team at the Technical University of Dresden could calculate optimal energy use up to one hundred thousand times faster than systems in use today. Researchers say this method could increase fuel efficiency by as much as 50 percent.
EMS must be able to shift power between the internal combustion engine and electric motor with acute accuracy. This shift is determined by algorithms that take into account multiple vehicle states and environments, such as pedal positions and times when the car is idling.
“Today’s cars come with an adaptive cruise control system to maintain a speed set by the driver or follow a vehicle ahead if it drives slower than the set speed,” said study author Stephan Uebel. “Our study addresses an extension of these systems where the velocity is varied while keeping the same travel time in order to save fuel for hybrid electric vehicles.”