Author(s)

Aaron R. Mull, Andrew C. Nix, Mario G. Perhinschi, W. Scott Wayne, Jared A. Diethorn, Dawson E. Dunnuck

West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA.

The goal of this work is to develop a hybrid electric vehicle model that is suitable for use in a dynamic programming algorithm that provides the benchmark for optimal control of the hybrid powertrain. The benchmark analysis employs dynamic programming by backward induction to determine the globally optimal solution by solving the energy management problem starting at the final timestep and proceeding backwards in time. This method requires the development of a backwards facing model that propagates the wheel speed of the vehicle for the given drive cycle through the driveline components to determine the operating points of the powertrain. Although dynamic programming only searches the solution space within the feasible regions of operation, the benchmarking model must be solved for every admissible state at every timestep leading to strict requirements for runtime and memory. The backward facing model employs the quasi-static assumption of powertrain operation to reduce the fidelity of the model to accommodate these requirements. Verification and validation testing of the dynamic programming algorithm is conducted to ensure successful operation of the algorithm and to assess the validity of the determined control policy against a high-fidelity forward-facing vehicle model with a percent difference of fuel consumption of 1.2%. The benchmark analysis is conducted over multiple drive cycles to determine the optimal control policy that provides a benchmark for real-time algorithm development and determines control trends that can be used to improve existing algorithms. The optimal combined charge sustaining fuel economy of the vehicle is determined by the dynamic programming algorithm to be 32.99 MPG, a 52.6% increase over the stock 3.6 L 2019 Chevrolet Blazer.

Hybrid Electric Vehicle, Dynamic Programming, Powertrain Modeling, Backwards Induction

Mull, A. , Nix, A. , Perhinschi, M. , Wayne, W. , Diethorn, J. and Dunnuck, D. (2022) Powertrain Fuel Consumption Modeling and Benchmark Analysis of a Parallel P4 Hybrid Electric Vehicle Using Dynamic Programming. Journal of Transportation Technologies, 12, 804-832. doi: 10.4236/jtts.2022.124045.