A versatile laboratory test bench for developing powertrains of electric vehicles

This paper describes the implementation of a flexible laboratory test bench for developing electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) powertrains in a university environment. The test bench, which is implemented using relatively low-cost off-the-shelf products, is capable of serving a broad variety of purposes ranging from the design and test of propulsion motor drives to the implementation of hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) powertrain control strategies. This paper illustrates the test bench capabilities by (a) simulating the Jeep Commander II, a fuel cell sport utility vehicle (SUV) from Daimler-Chrysler, performing the urban dynamometer driving schedule (UDDS), (b) simulating the Prius, a commercially available gasoline-electric hybrid compact car from Toyota, performing the Japanese "10-15 mode" driving schedule, and (c) determining the efficiency map of a three-phase induction motor (IM). Additionally, the test bench could be also used as a dynamic simulator for renewable energy sources such as wind turbine generators.