Predictive energy management of a power-split hybrid electric vehicle

In this paper, a Model Predictive Control (MPC) strategy is developed for the first time to solve the optimal energy management problem of power-split hybrid electric vehicles. A power-split hybrid combines the advantages of series and parallel hybrids by utilizing two electric machines and a combustion engine. Because of its many modes of operation, modeling a power-split configuration is complex and devising a near-optimal power management strategy is quite challenging. To systematically improve the fuel economy of a power-split hybrid, we formulate the power management problem as a nonlinear optimization problem. The nonlinear powertrain model and the constraints are linearized at each sample time and a receding horizon linear MPC strategy is employed to determine the power split ratio based on the updated model. Simulation results over multiple driving cycles indicate better fuel economy over conventional strategies can be achieved. In addition the proposed algorithm is causal and has the potential for real-time implementation.