Technical Paper
Design and Implementation of a Series Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle for the EcoCAR 2 Competition
2014-10-13
2014-01-2909
As one of the fifteen universities in North America taking part in the EcoCAR 2: Plugging into the Future competition, The Pennsylvania State University Advanced Vehicle Team (PSUAVT) designed and implemented a series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) that reduces fuel consumption and emissions while maintaining high consumer acceptability and safety standards. This architecture allows the vehicle to operate as a pure electric vehicle until the Energy Storage System (ESS) State of Charge (SOC) is depleted. The Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) then supplements the battery to extend range beyond that of a purely electric vehicle. General Motors (GM) donated a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu for PSUAVT to use as the platform to implement the PSUAVT-selected series PHEV design. A 90 kW electric traction motor, a 16.2 kW-hr high capacity lithium-ion battery pack, and Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) are now integrated into the vehicle.
