Hybrid Electric Vehicle: Designing a Control of Solar/Wind/Battery/Capacitor/Fuel Cell Hybrid System

This paper presents the design, simulation and control of a Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) based on renewable energy sources. The proposed HEV design utilizes solar energy, wind energy, Fuel Cell (FC) which generates energy from Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) and a Super Capacitor (SC) to meet the strong torque requirements. The vehicle incorporates a battery pack in conjunction with a SC for the power demands and FC as the backup energy supply. An alternator connected to turbine blades will rotate using wind energy when the car is moving forward and will produce electricity to charge the battery. The aerodynamics force and all the respective resistive forces due to the wind turbine have been considered in the simulation. The design aims to ensure zero carbon emission, energy efficiency and light weight that will incorporate the use of in-wheel motors to eliminate the mechanical transmissions. To meet the vehicles power demands, the selection of energy sources are controlled by a rule based supervisory controller which follows a logical sequences that prioritize energy sources with the SC as a source in vehicle stop-and-go situations while battery will act as the primary source, FC as a backup supply and wind and solar power to recharge the battery. The controller also controls the energy flow from the alternator and monitors regenerative braking while switching to solar charging when the vehicle is parked.