Abstract:

Growing concern over the environmental impacts and oil dependence has prompted the investigation of alternate propulsion technologies for motor vehicles. Recently plugin hybrid technology has emerged as one of the promising alternatives to reduce petroleum consumption and vehicular emissions. Two wheelers are an important mode of transport option in urban India and their high fuel consumption and emission contribution needs to be attended to improve the air quality. This work attempts to study the benefits of plugin hybrid technology for two wheelers with a suitable retrofitting to a scooter. Simulation of energy and power requirements with a given driving cycle was carried. In addition the battery mass required and the cost to meet the power by battery alone were also estimated In order to estimate daily average travel distance of two wheelers a survey was conducted in the Coimbatore city. Based on the survey a control strategy has been proposed to suit the heterogeneous city traffic pattern.