Role of Trip Information Preview in Fuel Economy of Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles

This paper investigates the role of partial or complete knowledge of future driving conditions in fuel economy of Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs). We show that with the knowledge of distance to the next charging station only, substantial reduction in fuel use, up to 18%, is possible by planning a blended utilization of electric motor and the engine throughout the entire trip. To achieve this we formulate a modified Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (ECMS) which takes into account the traveling distance. We show further fuel economy gain, in the order of 1–5%, is possible if the future terrain and velocity are known; we quantify this additional increase in fuel economy for a number of velocity cycles and a hilly terrain profile via deterministic dynamic programming.