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Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) technologies have the potential for considerable petroleum consumption reductions, possibly at the expense of increased tailpipe emissions due to multiple “cold” start events and improper use of the engine for PHEV specific operation. PHEVs operate predominantly as electric vehicles (EVs) with intermittent assist from the engine during high power demands. As a consequence, the engine can be subjected to multiple cold start events. These cold start events may have a significant impact on the tailpipe emissions due to degraded catalyst performance and starting the engine under less than ideal conditions. On current hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), the first cold start of the engine dictates whether or not the vehicle will pass federal emissions tests. PHEV operation compounds this problem due to infrequent, multiple engine cold starts.

Fuel cell-powered electric vehicles (FCPEV) require an energy storage device to start up the fuel cells and to store the energy captured during regenerative braking. Low-voltage (12 V) batteries are preferred as the storage device to maintain compatibility with the majority of today's automobile loads. A dc/dc converter is therefore needed to interface the low-voltage batteries with the fuel cell-powered higher-voltage dc bus system (255 V ∼ 425 V), transferring energy in either direction as required. This paper presents a soft-switched, isolated bi-directional dc/dc converter developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for FCPEV applications. The converter employs dual half-bridges interconnected with an isolation transformer to minimize the number of switching devices and their associated gate drive requirements. Snubber capacitors including the parasitic capacitance of the switching devices and the transformer leakage inductance are utilized to achieve zero-voltage switching (ZVS).

This paper utilizes GPS tracked multiday travel activities to estimate the temporal distribution of electricity loads and assess battery electric vehicle (BEV) grid impacts at a significant market penetration level. The BEV load and non-PEV load vary by time of the day and day of the week. We consider two charging preferences: home priority assumes BEV drivers prefer charging at home and would not charge at public charging stations unless the state of charge (SOC) of the battery is not sufficient to cover the way back to home; and charging priority does not require drivers to defer charging to home and assumes drivers will utilize the first available charging opportunity. Both home and charging priority scenarios show an evening peak demand. Charging priority scenario also shows a morning peak on weekdays, possibly due to workplace charging.

One challenge in meeting emission regulations with catalytic aftertreatment systems is maintaining the proper catalyst temperatures that enable the catalytic devices to perform the emissions reduction. In this study, in-cylinder techniques are used to actively control the temperature of a catalyzed diesel particulate filter (DPF) in order to raise the DPF temperature to induce particulate oxidation. The performance of four strategies is compared for two different starting DPF temperatures (150°C and 300°C) on a 4-cylinder 1.7-liter diesel engine. The four strategies include: (1) addition of extra fuel injection early in the combustion cycle for all four cylinders, (2) addition of extra fuel injection late in the combustion cycle for all four cylinders, (3) operating one-cylinder with extra fuel injection early in the combustion cycle, and (4) operating one-cylinder with extra fuel injection late in the combustion cycle.

The present study was motivated by a need to expand information for consumers offered through the FuelEconomy.Gov website. To that end, a power-based modeling approach has been used to examine the effect of steady-speed driving on estimated range for model year 2020 – 2023 battery electric vehicles (BEVs). This approach allowed rapid study of a broader range of BEV models than could be accomplished through vehicle tests. Publicly accessible certification test results and other data were used to perform a regression between cycle-average tractive power requirements and the resulting electrical power. This regression enabled estimation of electric power and energy use over a range of steady highway speeds. These analyses in turn allowed projection of vehicle range at differing speeds. The projections agree within 6% with available 65 MPH manufacturer test data.

Without the waste heat available from the engine of a conventional automobile, electric vehicles (EVs) must provide heat to the cabin for climate control using energy stored in the vehicle. In current EV designs, this energy is typically provided by the traction battery. In very cold climatic conditions, the power required to heat the EV cabin can be of a similar magnitude to that required for propulsion of the vehicle. As a result, the driving range of an EV can be reduced very significantly during winter months, which limits consumer acceptance of EVs and results in increased battery costs to achieve a minimum range while ensuring comfort to the EV driver. To minimize the range penalty associated with EV cabin heating, a novel climate control system that includes thermal energy storage has been designed for use in EVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The system uses the stored latent heat of an advanced phase change material (PCM) to provide cabin heating.

The buildup of deposits in EGR coolers causes significant degradation in heat transfer performance, often on the order of 20-30%. Deposits also increase pressure drop across coolers and thus may degrade engine efficiency under some operating conditions. It is unlikely that EGR cooler deposits can be prevented from forming when soot and HC are present. The presence of cooled surfaces will cause thermophoretic soot deposition and condensation of HC and acids. While this can be affected by engine calibration, it probably cannot be eliminated as long as cooled EGR is required for emission control. It is generally felt that “dry fluffy” soot is less likely to cause major fouling than “heavy wet” soot. An oxidation catalyst in the EGR line can remove HC and has been shown to reduce fouling in some applications. The combination of an oxidation catalyst and a wall-flow filter largely eliminates fouling. Various EGR cooler designs affect details of deposit formation.

This study attempts to establish a quantitative linkage between deployment of dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT) and the market adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV). This linkage can be useful for analyzing the societal benefits of DWPT and justifying investments in its research, development, demonstration and deployment. Spatial relationships between charging opportunity and DWPT availability are estimated for four metropolitan areas. The consumer value of DWPT is formulated as a function of key DWPT deployment parameters and then integrated into an existing validated consumer choice model, where sales of PEVs are endogenous. Results indicate significant impacts on PEV sales of DWPT deployment, even only at 0.5% of road length by 2050. Significant impact heterogeneity is observed.

With nearly 220,000 vehicles, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has the largest non-military vehicle fleet in the world. This fleet requires over a billion dollars of fuel annually, and this figure does not include contracted vehicles. As a part of the business strategy, the USPS has embraced and invested in alternative fueled vehicles since 1899, when the first recorded use of an electric vehicle for USPS service was performed as a technology evaluation in Cleveland, OH. As part of a technology evaluation of advanced vehicle systems, the USPS has partnered with the DOE?s Vehicle Technology Program (VTP) to benchmark and quantify the capabilities of five vehicles in meeting specific Urban Route Delivery requirements, both with dynamometer and in-service testing. The all electric vehicle conversions have been developed by established electric vehicle systems manufacturers representing various perspectives on meeting the vehicle specific operation objectives.

Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) coolers experience degradation of performance as a result of the buildup of material in the gas-side flow paths of the cooler. This material forms a deposit layer that is less thermally conductive than the stainless steel of the tube enclosing the gas, resulting in lower heat exchanger effectiveness. Biodiesel fuel has a fuel chemistry that is much more susceptible to polymerization than that of typical diesel fuels and may exacerbate deposit formation in EGR coolers. A study was undertaken to examine the fundamentals of EGR cooler deposit formation by using surrogate tubes to represent the EGR cooler. These tubes were exposed to engine exhaust in a controlled manner to assess their effectiveness, deposit mass, and deposit hydrocarbon content. The tubes were exposed to exhaust for varying lengths of time and for varying coolant temperatures. The results show that measurable differences in the response variables occur within a few hours.

Electric drives, whether in battery electric vehicles (BEVs) or various other applications, are an important part of modern transportation. Traditionally, physics-based models based on steady-state mapping of electric drives have been used to evaluate their behavior under transient conditions. Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing seeks to provide a more accurate representation of a component’s behavior under transient load conditions that are more representative of real world conditions it will operate under, without requiring a full vehicle installation. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) developed such a HIL test platform capable of subjecting electric drives to both conventional steady-state test procedures as well as transient experiments such as vehicle drive cycles.

In-cylinder surface temperature is of heightened importance for Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion since the combustion mechanism is thermo-kinetically driven. Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) selectively manipulate the in-cylinder surface temperature, providing an avenue for improving thermal and combustion efficiency. A surface temperature swing during combustion/expansion reduces heat transfer losses, leading to more complete combustion and reduced emissions. At the same time, achieving a highly dynamic response sidesteps preheating of charge during intake and eliminates the volumetric efficiency penalty. The magnitude and temporal profile of the dynamic surface temperature swing is affected by the TBC material properties, thickness, morphology, engine speed, and heat flux from the combustion process. This study follows prior work of authors with Yttria Stabilized Zirconia, which systematically engineered coatings for HCCI combustion.

The goal of this program is to utilize the recently developed high conductivity carbon foam for thermal management in electronics (heat exchangers and heat sinks). The technique used to fabricate the foam produces mesophase pitch-based graphitic foam with extremely high thermal conductivity and an open-celled structure. The thermal properties of the foam have been increased by 79% from 106 to 187 W/m·K at a density of 0.56 g/cm3 through process optimization. It has been demonstrated that when the high-thermal-conductivity graphitic foam is utilized as the core material for the heat exchanger, the effective heat transfer can be increased by at least an order of magnitude compared to traditional designs. A once-through-foam core/aluminum-plated heat exchanger has been fabricated for testing in electronic modules for power inverters.

The Heavy Vehicle Propulsion Materials Program provides enabling materials technology for the U.S. DOE Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies (OHVT). The technical agenda for the program is based on an industry assessment and the technology roadmap for the OHVT. A five-year program plan was published in 2000. Major efforts in the program are materials for diesel engine fuel systems, exhaust aftertreatment, and air handling. Additional efforts include diesel engine valve-train materials, structural components, and thermal management. Advanced materials, including high-temperature metal alloys, intermetallics, cermets, ceramics, amorphous materials, metal- and ceramic-matrix composites, and coatings, are investigated for critical engine applications. Selected technical issues and planned and ongoing projects as well as brief summaries of several technical highlights are given.

Compact heat exchangers are commonly used in diesel engines to reduce the temperature of recirculated exhaust gases, resulting in decreased NOx emissions. These exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) coolers experience fouling through deposition of particulate matter (PM) and hydrocarbons (HCs) that reduces the effectiveness of the cooler. Surrogate tubes have been used to investigate the impacts of gas flow rate and coolant temperature on the deposition of PM and HCs. The results indicate that mass deposition is lowest at high flow rates and high coolant temperatures. An oxidation catalyst was investigated and proved to effectively reduce deposition of HCs, but did not reduce overall mass deposition to near-zero levels. Speciation of the deposit HCs showed that a range of HCs from C15 - C25 were deposited and retained in the surrogate tubes.

Current political and environmental concerns are driving renewed efforts to develop techniques for improving the efficiency of internal combustion engines. A detailed thermodynamic analysis of an engine and its components from a 1st and 2nd Law perspective is necessary to characterize system losses and to identify efficiency opportunities. We have developed a method for performing this analysis using simulation results from commercially available engine-modeling software packages such as WAVE® from Ricardo, Inc., and GT-Power™ from Gamma Technologies, Inc. Results from the simulation are post-processed to compute thermodynamic properties such as internal energy, enthalpy, entropy, and availability (or exergy) which are required to perform energy and availability balances for the system. This analysis is performed for all major engine components (turbocharger, intercooler, EGR cooler, etc.) and for the engine as a whole as a function of crank angle over an entire engine cycle.

Alternative propulsion technologies are becoming increasingly important with the rise of stricter regulations for vehicle efficiency, emission regulations, and concerns over the sustainability of crude oil supplies. The fuel cell is a critical component of alternative propulsion systems, and as such has many aspects to consider in its design. Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) powered by proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEFC) and fueled by hydrogen, offer the promise of zero emissions with excellent driving range of 300-400 miles, and fast refueling times; two major advantages over battery electric vehicles (BEVs). FCEVs face several remaining major challenges in order to achieve widespread and rapid commercialization. Many of the challenges, especially those from an FCEV system and subsystem cost and performance perspective are addressed in this book.

It is widely recognized in the automotive industry that, in very cold climatic conditions, the driving range of an Electric Vehicle (EV) can be reduced by 50% or more. In an effort to minimize the EV range penalty, a novel thermal energy storage system has been designed to provide cabin heating in EVs and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) by using an advanced phase change material (PCM). This system is known as the Electrical PCM-based Thermal Heating System (ePATHS) [1, 2]. When the EV is connected to the electric grid to charge its traction battery, the ePATHS system is also “charged” with thermal energy. The stored heat is subsequently deployed for cabin comfort heating during driving, for example during commuting to and from work. The ePATHS system, especially the PCM heat exchanger component, has gone through substantial redesign in order to meet functionality and commercialization requirements.

Modern diesel engines used in light-duty transportation applications have peak brake thermal efficiencies in the range of 40-42% for high-load operation with substantially lower efficiencies at realistic road-load conditions. Thermodynamic energy and exergy analysis reveals that the largest losses from these engines are due to combustion irreversibility and heat loss to the coolant, through the exhaust, and by direct convection and radiation to the environment. Substantial improvement in overall engine efficiency requires reducing or recovering these losses. Unfortunately, much of the heat transfer either occurs at relatively low temperatures resulting in large entropy generation (such as in the air-charge cooler), is transferred to low-exergy flow streams (such as the oil and engine coolant), or is radiated or convected directly to the environment.

China's plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market with stocks at 7.8 million is the world's largest in 2021, and it accounts for half of the global PEV growth in 2021. The PEV market in China has dramatically evolved since the pandemic in 2020: over 20% of all new PEV sales are from China by mid-2022. Recent features of PEV market dynamics, consumer acceptance, policies, and infrastructure have important implications for both the global energy market and manufacturing stakeholders. From the perspective of demand pull-supply push, this study analyzes China's PEV industry with a market dynamics framework by reviewing sales, product and brand, infrastructure, and government policies from the last few years and outlooking the development of the new government’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).