Classification and review of control strategies for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles

In order to reduce fuel consumption and emissions in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), it is equally important to select an appropriate drive train topology and to develop a suitable power flow control strategy. There are many control strategies that have been developed and presented. Most of them are expansions of hybrid electric vehicle control strategies and do not maximize the true potential the PHEV offers as a result of its ability to operate in electric only mode over a significant distance. In this paper, state-of-the-art control strategies are reviewed and classified in detail. PHEV controllers operate mostly on either a rule based or optimization based algorithm with each having its own advantages and disadvantages. An overview of the controllers and an analysis on which strategy is more suitable to maximize PHEV performance in different drive cycle conditions are discussed as well.