Analysis of the Total Unit Energy Consumption of a Car with a Hybrid Drive System in Real Operating Conditions

Jarosław Mamala, Michał Śmieja and Krzysztof Prażnowski
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Jarosław Mamala: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Opole University of Technology, 45-758 Opole, Poland
Michał Śmieja: Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-710 Olsztyn, Poland
Krzysztof Prażnowski: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Opole University of Technology, 45-758 Opole, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 13, 1-16

Abstract: The market demand for vehicles with reduced energy consumption, as well as increasingly stringent standards limiting CO 2 emissions, are the focus of a large number of research works undertaken in the analysis of the energy consumption of cars in real operating conditions. Taking into account the growing share of hybrid drive units on the automotive market, the aim of the article is to analyse the total unit energy consumption of a car operating in real road conditions, equipped with an advanced hybrid drive system of the PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) type. In this paper, special attention has been paid to the total unit energy consumption of a car resulting from the cooperation of the two independent power units, internal combustion and electric. The results obtained for the individual drive units were presented in the form of a new unit index of the car, which allows us to compare the consumption of energy obtained from fuel with the use of electricity supported from the car’s batteries, during journeys in real road conditions. The presented research results indicate a several-fold increase in the total unit energy consumption of a car powered by an internal combustion engine compared to an electric car. The values of the total unit energy consumption of the car in real road conditions for the internal combustion drive are within the range 1.25–2.95 (J/(kg·m)) in relation to the electric drive 0.27–1.1 (J/(kg·m)) in terms of instantaneous values. In terms of average values, the appropriate values for only the combustion engine are 1.54 (J/(kg·m)) and for the electric drive only are 0.45 (J/(kg·m)) which results in the internal combustion engine values being 3.4 times higher than the electric values. It is the combustion of fuel that causes the greatest increase in energy supplied from the drive unit to the car’s propulsion system in the TTW (tank to wheels) system. At the same time this component is responsible for energy losses and CO 2 emissions to the environment. The results were analysed to identify the differences between the actual life cycle energy consumption of the hybrid powertrain and the WLTP (Worldwide Harmonized Light-Duty Test Procedure) homologation cycle.

Keywords: energy consumption of the car; unit energy consumption; car movement dynamic; hybrid powertrain; hybrid drive; hybrid plug-in (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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