Evaluation of plug-in hybrid vehicles in real-world conditions by simulation

Abstract

Assessing the real-world energy performance and emissions of Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs) is complex: it depends on their usage (trip distance, recharging behavior), and results in different combined uses of their thermal and electric propulsion.In this study, vehicle simulators were calibrated using experimental data (in-lab and on-road), allowing a comprehensive range of uses spanning vehicle configurations, battery capacity, outside temperature and driving profiles. These results were synthetized through a method weighting each simulated use-case according to their probability, based on statistics of daily distance travelled and temperature. The assessment was made for a wide range of battery capacity and recharging frequency, and provided the real-world share of electric drive, CO2 emissions, fuel and electricity consumptions of PHEVs according to these two key parameters. Finally, in a very likely battery-constrained environment, PHEVs should be fostered to minimize GHG emissions providing that they are recharged at least every-five driving days.