A hardware-in-the-loop platform for a series hybrid powertrain featuring two equivalent consumption minimization strategies

Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) platforms enable rapid evaluation of different system configurations and energy management strategies for electrified/hybrid powertrains without building full vehicle prototypes. This paper outlines a HIL platform for a series hybrid powertrain and discusses particular control strategies. The main hardware components of the platform are a gasoline generator, a lead acid battery pack, a bi-directional dc/dc converter, a programmable dc load, strain gauges, and a rotary encoder. Along with these hardware components, a real-time control prototyping system is used to implement energy management strategies and monitor several signals form the HIL platform. The effectiveness and performance of this platform is demonstrated by implementing two versions of the Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (ECMS). The first version uses a constant equivalence factor for weighting the cost of electrical energy storage, while the second version uses an adaptive equivalence factor based on the deviation of battery state of charge (SOC) from a reference SOC.