Toward 2030 CO2 targets – high efficiency engine with gasoline compression ignition technology on a hybrid electric vehicle simulation

Abstract

The pressure to reduce CO2 and pollutants of internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles is higher than ever. The existing gasoline and diesel engine vehicles face a critical challenge to adjust to these stringent demands. By combining a gasoline like clean fuel with a high efficiency thermodynamic cycle (compression ignition), it is possible to create a powertrain that is clean, both globally and locally, and so breaking the historical trade-off between decreasing CO2 versus pollutants. However, very low vehicle out CO2 cannot be achieved if ICEs are not combined with a hybrid electric powertrain. In this paper, the potential of the gasoline like fuel in compression ignition (GCI) vehicle in combination with hybridization is assessed. Three different hybrid topologies have been theoretically assessed in a first step. Afterwards, the most promising has been deeply analyzed by means of longitudinal vehicle simulation. Here, the corresponding hybrid control strategy is optimized. The battery size has been adjusted as well targeting the optimum capacity when using a HEV instead of a PHEV. The combination of highly efficient GCI engine in combination with such an optimized hybrid topology represents an extreme value regarding CO2 reduction for passenger cars. Such vehicles could contribute largely to the emission targets set for 2030 by the European Commission. In summary, this paper presents engineering solution to comply with future greenhouse gas regulations through advanced engine technology and HEV technology.