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Engine start-stop system is one of the main mechanisms for fuel saving in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). During those transient events, especially during engine starts, the engine torque pulsations can be an NVH issue if there is direct mechanical coupling between the engine and the driveline. In addition, engine starts may also result in the interruption of driving torque. The fast torque response of the electric machines provides a possible solution to mitigate the output torque fluctuation. But the effect is limited by the capability of these two electric machines due to the three missions they must satisfy simultaneously, i.e., starting the engine, compensating the torque pulsations and providing the demanded driving torque. To thoroughly understand this problem and propose possible solutions, in this study, we developed an input-split HEV powertrain model with a grounding clutch.

Braking energy recovery can significantly contribute to fuel economy and emission reduction, particularly for commercial vehicles driving in urban environment. By using the compressed air storage, rather than expensive and vulnerable batteries, this paper proposes a pneumatic hybrid system with an integrated compressor/expander unit (CEU) for commercial vehicles, in order to achieve stop/start function and braking energy recovery. During braking, the compressed air is recovered by CEU working in compressor mode and is charged to the air tanks. When the vehicle starts from stop, the CEU works as an expander to crank the engine with compressed air. The compressed air can also be used to supply the air tank of brake boost system, thus reducing its energy consumption. The mathematical models of energy conversion units, including the two modes of CEU and the air brake system, are established and analyzed.

Internal combustion engine is still expected to be the major power unit to propel vehicles for decades from now on. However, for normal driving conditions, more than half of the consumed fuel energy of engine is wasted, in the form of exhaust heat and coolant heat. In order to recover the waste heat generated in the thermodynamic cycle of internal combustion engine, a novel hybrid pneumatic engine concept is proposed. After combustion process, additional compressed air is injected into the cylinder to absorb the heat released by the fuel, and the expansion process of compressed air is optimized. The model of the hybrid pneumatic engine cycle is established and explored in GT-POWER, and it is then used to analyze the influences of the main design parameters on the cycle dynamic and economic performance. The preliminary simulation results show that engine power and economic performance is mainly related to the compressed air supply, the fuel mass and the engine speed.

To optimally allocate control authorities to co-existing active actuators, an integrated chassis controller with main/servo-loop structure is designed to coordinate direct yaw moment control and active steering. Firstly, a sliding mode controller in the main-loop calculates the desired stabilizing forces. Then in the servo-loop, by directly considering limits of road friction and actuators, a quadratic programming based control allocation approach is adopted to reasonably and optimally distribute these deisired forces to tire actuator actions. Co-simulation of Matlab/Simulink and Carsim clarifies that the proposed controller could significantly improve vehicle handling performances.