The design and implementation of a dual hybrid electric vehicle control system

This research describes the development of a control system for a hybrid electric vehicle that uses the relatively novel configuration called the dual hybrid. The system is implemented in the UTK 1999 FutureCar Challenge entry, a Dodge Intrepid converted to dual hybrid operation with a student designed and constructed planetary based transmission. The control system includes models for the custom epicyclic transmission and battery pack state-of-charge. Control system implementation is done with the QNX real time operating system on a PC based microcomputer. Extensive discussion of the details of the software development is done with an emphasis on the reusability of the code The control software includes modes for electric-only, hybrid electric, park, neutral, and reverse operation. While extensive testing has yet to be done, preliminary tests indicate that the control system provides a working code base that can be easily updated, modified, and reused.