HYBRID VEHICLE

A hybrid vehicle is one that uses more than one means of propulsion, which means combining an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE – petrol or diesel) with an electric motor. Its main advantages are that it should consume less fuel and emit less CO2 than a comparable conventional petrol or diesel-engined vehicle. The electric engine powers the car at lower speeds and gas engine powers it at higher speeds. While most people associate hybrid vehicles with the kind that use electricity as their primary alternate fuel, there are more options available now. There are cars that use hybrid technologies with propane and natural gas as well. A hybrid car is best defined as a vehicle that has an engine that can switch between a fossil fuel and an alternate fuel source. There are many advantages for a hybrid car. The one is how it helps to control the budget as gas prices continue to get higher. The other benefit that is not seen directly is how owning and driving a hybrid car impacts the environment. It reduces the dependence on fossil fuels and lowers the carbon imprint on the environment. There are different types of hybrid cars and each works in a different way (Parallel hybrid cars, Mild parallel hybrid cars, Power-split or series-parallel hybrid cars, series or serial-hybrid cars and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles – PHEV). PHEV use batteries to power an electric motor, plug into the electric grid to charge, and use a petroleum-based or alternative fuel to power the internal combustion engine. Some types of PHEVs are also called Extended-Range Electric Vehicles EREVs. Most hybrid electric vehicles use several advanced technologies: Regenerative braking, Electric motor drive/Assist. and Automatic Start/Stop. For this category, De Lorenzo has designed simulators and demonstrators. There are two simulators; one allows the study with experimentation relative to the devices developed for hybrid power (petrol/electrical energy) of the modern vehicles and another one for the operating characteristics of an automobile with a hybrid system or totally electric. Both simulators, supplied with a CAI software and fault simulator for troubleshooting, can be also managed in standalone without the help of PC. There are also available two demonstrators; one based on Toyota Prius’s gasoline-electric hybrid power engine with intelligent fault setting system and another one, based always on the same type, to study series-parallel hybrid power system with a working management control to dynamically demonstrate several working conditions such as starting, driving at low speed, normal speed, full speed, reduced speed and stopping. If the final user requires also to study series or parallel hybrid power separately, De Lorenzo can also provide such systems as demonstrators. They are recommended for professional institutes, vocational schools and technical colleges.