Analysis of energy management strategies in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles: Application to the GM Chevrolet Volt

In this paper, we analyze and compare the performances, in terms of fuel economy, of two energy management strategies developed for the GM Chevrolet Volt vehicle. First, an optimal control strategy based on Pontryagin´s Minimum Principle (PMP) is developed and implemented on the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) in the mainstream market. This strategy is used as a benchmark for fuel consumption evaluation to assess the Charge Depleting-Charge Sustaining (CDCS) paradigm used today on-board of the vehicle. Moreover, a comparison of the powertrain modes of operation under the optimal and CDCS scenarios is conducted which shows a significant different use of the powertrain in the two cases. The advantages brought by the blended strategy obtained from PMP set the basis for future research work towards the direction of developing adaptive strategies to achieve performance near the optimal when minimum information, such as the traveled distance, is available to the energy management controller.