Effect of Topography on Fuel Use and NO_x Emissions of Hybrid and Conventional Vehicles

摘要

In order to evaluate how topography affects the two technologies (hybrid and conventional) under different driving conditions the authors compared two vehicles under different operating conditions. The vehicles selected are one full hybrid and one conventional vehicle equipped with a diesel engine, with similar power/weight ratios. The drive cycles used for comparison are based on real world driving collected with a PEMS in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area for hilly conditions and around Raleigh, NC, for relatively flat conditions. The VSP (Vehicle Specific Power) methodology was used to isolate the effect of topography and estimate the effect on fuel consumption and NO_x emissions. Results show that hilly conditions cause higher fuel consumption and more NO_x emissions for both vehicles, and that this effect is greater for the hybrid vehicle considered. These results have to be complemented with other vehicles and drive cycles in order to conclude if this is specific to the pair of vehicles and drive cycles analyzed or general to hybrid and conventional vehicles.