A Study on Fuel Consumption Reduction Using 48-V Mild Hybrid Technology

Due to the air pollution crisis and increase in greenhouse gases, emission standards are getting tougher gradually. In the other hand reducing the consumption of nonrenewable resources is one of the main goals of the automotive industries in the world. Using electric propulsion along with internal combustion engine is one of the answers. Different designs of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) have been represented in recent years. Considering the limitations and cost of these vehicles, mild hybrid technology is one of the main choices of manufacturers. These vehicles can be a cost effective choice due to low variation in propulsion system and components, along with its reliability. This paper discusses the reduction of fuel consumption caused by implementing a 48V mild hybrid system in a conventional vehicle. A complete internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicle model, is simulated through the GT-SUITE software and fuel consumption during the NEDC & WLTC driving cycles is studied. Based on results, mild hybrid system provides respectively 5% & 9% better fuel economy in WLTC & NEDC driving cycles.