PHEV Modeling:
Component Requirement Definition for PHEVs

One of the main objectives of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle R&D Plan (2.2Mb pdf) is to "determine component development requirements" through simulation analysis.

PSAT has been used to design and evaluate a series of PHEVs to define the requirements of different components, focusing on the energy storage system's power and energy. Several vehicle classes (including midsize car, crossover SUV and midsize SUV) and All Electric Range (AER from 10 to 40 miles) were considered.

The preliminary simulations were performed at Argonne using a pre-transmission parallel hybrid configuration with an energy storage system sized to run the Urban Dynanometer Driving Schedule (UDDS) in electric mode. Additional powertrain configurations and sizing algorithm are currently being considered. Trade-off studies are being performed as ways to achieve some level of performance while easing requirements on one area or another. As shown in the figure below, the FreedomCAR Energy Storage Technical Team selected a short term and a long term All Electric Range (AER) goals based on several vehicle simulations.

The initial simulation results were used to develop a Request for Proposal Information (RFPI) issued by the DOE and the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC). The table below summarizes the USABC goals for advanced batteries for PHEVs.

May 2008