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Within the last decade, due to increasing fuel prices, unstable political situation in major oil producing nations and global warming, there is an increased demand for fuel efficient and environment friendly vehicles. In this context, research is being concentrated in the field of advanced, greener powertrain configurations ranging from hybrids to EVs to fuel cells to HCCI engines. The efficacy for any of the above stated powertrain technology, lies in the optimum component specification. Component specification, operational reliability, & life prediction are highly dependent on the traffic condition, driving nature and vary from country to country. For developing countries, like India, where the traffic & drive pattern are dense & slow moving, there is a dire need for generating load cycle based on Real World Usage Profile (RWUP). The paper will propose a systematic approach to create load cycles in order to derive component specifications for the powertrain based on RWUP.

Hybrid powertrains generally involve adding an electric propulsion system to an existing internal combustion engine powertrain. Due to their reduced emissions, no reliance on public infrastructure and acceptable cost of ownership, hybrids are seen as a feasible intermediate step to deliver clean and affordable transportation for the masses. Such systems are immensely complex due to the number of interplaying systems and advanced control strategies used to deliver optimum performance under widely varying loads. Resonant torsional impacts arise out of the interactions due to rotational speed variations providing impulses at specific frequencies to the spinning inertias connected by members of finite stiffness. The effects, depending on the magnitude and duration of the impacts range from unacceptably harsh vibrations to catastrophic component failure.