Systematic Modeling and Analysis of On-Board Vehicle Integrated Novel Hybrid Renewable Energy System with Storage for Electric Vehicles

Abstract

The automobile industry and technology are putting a great significance in improving vehicles to become more fuel economical, but with incremental costs relative to conventional vehicle technologies; these new vehicles are electric vehicles (EV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). However, their significant capabilities to reduce petroleum consumption and achieve efficiency over their life cycles offer economic benefits for customers, industry, carmakers, and policymakers. In this paper, an HEV concept based on renewable energy resources (RERs) is proposed. The proposed HEV design utilizes solar PV energy, wind energy, fuel cell, and a supercapacitor (PV + WE + FC + SC) which generates electrical energy via a proton exchange membrane (PEM) and an SC to cater for strong torque requirements. The vehicle incorporates a battery pack in conjunction with an SC for the power demands and an FC as the backup energy supply. An alternator connected to turbine blades runs by wind energy while the car is moving forward, which produces electricity through the alternator to charge the battery. The design aims to ensure zero carbon emission and improved energy efficiency, is lightweight, and incorporates in-wheel motors to eliminate the mechanical transmissions. Modeling and simulation were carried out for each subsystem using MATLAB® and Simulink® packages. ANSYS Fluent simulation was used to analyze wind energy. The standard analysis, e.g., pressure, velocity, and vector contour, were also considered while designing the final model. To regulate the power supply and demand, the selection of energy sources was controlled by a rule-based supervisory controller following a logical sequence that prioritizes energy sources with the SC as a source in-vehicle stop-and-go situations while the battery acts as the primary source, FC as a backup supply, and wind and solar power to recharge the battery. Solar charging is switched on automatically once the vehicle is parked, and the controller controls the energy flow from the alternator during that period.