| Volatile petroleum costs accompanied by mounting pollution concerns have prompted much research into improved automobile technologies. From this research, electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, and hybrid vehicles have emerged as feasible solutions to reduce fuel consumption and pollution. Largely overlooked by this research are the potential benefits of a power split hydraulic hybrid vehicle. A design for a power split hydraulic hybrid vehicle is provided. A full mathematical model of each component of the drivetrain is also presented. Applying the mathematical model, the performance of the hybrid vehicle is simulated over the EPA Federal Highway Driving Schedule and the EPA New York Driving Schedule. The performance of a conventional vehicle is also simulated over these driving schedules and its results are compared to the hybrid vehicle. From the analysis, the hybrid vehicle yielded a 14.6% improvement in fuel economy over the highway cycle and a 37.4% improvement on the New York cycle. These improvements were due to the ability of the power split hydraulic drivetrain to allow the engine to operate at its most fuel efficient range. |
