Project Scope:

A new hybrid electric internal combustion engine drive train which have been named Electrically Peaking Hybrid (ELPH) is being developed by a multidisciplinary team,led by Dr. Mark Ehsani in the Texas Applied Power Electronics Center of the department of electrical engineering at Texas A&M. This ELPH project includes development of designs, system components, laboratory test beds, computer models, and a crude prototype vehicle to demonstrate the ELPH concept.

ELPH is a new technology for making fuel efficient cars that produce very low exhaust emissions. ELPH technology can make a typical size car operate with up to three times better fuel economy without sacrificing any performance. Furthermore, the small size internal combustion engine, used in the ELPH car, can be economically and safely run on compressed gaseous fuels. This, along with other innovation, reduces the exhaust emissions to lower than 1/12th. During the earlier work involving the development of designs, computer models, and laboratory test beds, we discovered that it is possible to build hybrid cars that can actually improve air quality by emitting less pollutants than they take in with the air for their combustion; hence our reference to ELPH as a “clean car”.

My research focus is on the development of a system modeling and simulation tool for the ELPH Project. The simulation tool is a user friendly hybrid electric vehicle simulation package which involves the design, development, and integration of detailed component models and control schemes. We designed a set of standards and specifications for each developer to follow in coding, documenting, and testing their component models. Also integration standards were devised to allow easy integration of components into a system model. The simulation package is written in the MATLAB/SIMULINK simulation language.

This tool is capable of simulating drive trains having all electric, series hybrid, and parallel hybrid configurations. This tool is used by the members of the ELPH team to demonstrate the ELPH concept, to study the various aspects of our new ELPH technology, and assist with the determination of base sizes and arrangements to build an initial prototype. In addition this tool is available to industrial and university researchers studying electric or hybrid electric vehicle technologies.

Researchers:

Principal Investigator:                                                  Dr. Karen L. Butler-Purry

Co-Principal Investigator:                                           Dr. Mark Ehsani

Sponsors:                                                                                                                                                                

Energy Resources Program Award

Texas A&M University

Office of the Vice President for Research and Associate Provost for Graduate Studies

Project Duration:

1996-1998

Research Assistants:

Preyas Kamath                                                                   Zia Rahman

Pushkar Apte