Conversion of a Conventional Vehicle into a Battery-Super Capacitor Hybrid Vehicle

Abstract

The use of a super capacitor pack parallel with a battery pack in electric vehicles can have effects on the battery life as well as on the driving range of the vehicle. In this research a conventional IC engine vehicle was converted into a motor driven electric vehicle. The converted vehicle was tested on a drive cycle defined to match urban pattern. To extend the range of the converted vehicle, a novel battery-super capacitor system had been proposed with a novel algorithm to determine when to charge and discharge batteries and super capacitors, according to the driving conditions such as acceleration and deceleration. Software simulations were performed taking the Urban Dynamometer Drive Schedule (UDDS) as the test drive cycle. Simulations results of the proposed system and the conventional battery electric vehicle system were compared to claim the performance of the proposed algorithm. The novel system is capable of reducing the strain on the batteries while extending the range of the vehicle compared to the conventional battery electric vehicle.