Quantitative evaluation for reliability of hybrid electric vehicle powertrain

The reliability prediction of hybrid vehicles is of paramount importance for planning, design, control and operation management of vehicles, since it can provide an objective criterion for comparative evaluation of various structures and topologies and can be used as an effective tool to improve the design and control of vehicles. This paper presents a load-dependent simulation model based on MATLAB for quantitatively assessing the reliability of hybrid electric vehicles. The model takes into consideration the variation of driving scenarios, dormant mode, electrical stresses, thermal stress and thermal cycling. Therefore the more reliable and accurate reliability prediction can be obtained. The model is demonstrated in detail and the result of reliability assessment based on a series hybrid electric vehicle is presented and analyzed.