Comparison of Ultra capacitors and Batteries Technologies to Optimize Hybrid Electric Vehicle Efficiency

The acceptance of Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicle is related to their eco-efficiency, i.e. their ability to both reduce environmental impact while also providing a sufficient user satisfaction. The objective of this study is to provide a rationale design tool based on a multidisciplinary optimization approach to support the design of hybrid electric powertrain to simultaneously maximize user satisfaction complex criteria and minimize the Eco-score. In order to carry out the optimization problem efficiently the approach makes use of metamodeling techniques in order to
save computation time in the optimization process that is driven by a Genetic Algorithm. The approach is applied to highlight the effect of different energy storage systems (batteries v.s. ultra capacitors) upon the optimized HEV design taking care of both Eco-score and User satisfaction.
In the selected application that is a heavy urban bus with a
mild hydrid electric powertrain, the ultra capacitors are
slightly superior to NiMH batteries when emphasizing the
Ecoscore criterion.