Survey of technology for hybrid vehicle auxiliary power units. Interim report, April 1994-June 1995

Technical Report · Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1995

OSTI ID:218055

Widener, S K

The state-of-the-art of heat engines for use as auxiliary power units in hybrid vehicles is surveyed. The study considers reciprocating or rotary heat engines, excluding gas turbines and fuel cells. The relative merits of various engine-generator concepts are compared. The concepts are ranked according to criteria tailored for a series-type hybrid drive. The two top APU concepts were the free-piston engine/linear generator (FPELG) and the Wankel rotary` engine. The FPELG is highly ranked primarily because of thermal efficiency cost, producibility. reliability, and transient response advantages; it is a high risk concept because of unproven technology. The Wankel engine is proven. with high power density, low cost and low noise. Four additional competitive concepts include two-stroke spark-ignition engine. two-stroke gas generator with turboalternator, free-piston engine gas generator with turboalternator, and homogeneous charge compression ignition engine. This study recommends additional work, including cycle simulation development and preliminary design to better quantify thermal efficiency and power density. Auxiliary concepts were also considered, including two which warrant further study: electrically actuated valves, and lean turndown of a normally stoichiometric engine. These concepts should be evaluated by retrofitting to existing engines.

• Research Organization: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (United States)
• OSTI ID: 218055
• Report Number(s): AD-A-300457/9/XAB; CNN: Contract DAAK70-92-C-0059; TRN: 60780090
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: Oct 1995
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
HYBRID ELECTRIC-POWERED VEHICLES
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
SPARK IGNITION ENGINES
EVALUATED DATA
PROGRESS REPORT