Title: Hybrid Solar Vehicles: Perspectives, Problems, Management Strategies
 1Hybrid Solar Vehicles Perspectives, Problems, 
Management Strategies
- HYATT REGENCY 
- NOVEMBER 13-14, 2008 
- ISTANBUL
I.Arsie, G.Rizzo, M.SorrentinoDIMEC, University 
of Salerno, Italy 
 2Outline
- Introduction 
- HSV models and results 
- Optimization of Management Strategies 
- The Prototype 
- Conclusions
3The background 
 4From conferences to cartoons 
 5Possible Solutions?
- Kyoto Protocol A possible solution to fossil 
 fuel depletion and global warming is an increased
 recourse to Renewable Energy (RE).
- Possible application to cars 
- Fuels/Energy from RE (Bio-Fuels, H2) 
- Solar Cars
6Solar Energy 
 7Solar Energy vs. Energy Consumption
The solar energy striking the US in one day is 
almost equivalent to the energy consumption for 
one and a half year 
 8PV Panels
Today's most common PV devices use a 
single-junction with poli-crystalline silicon, 
with efficiency of about 12 Use of 
mono-crystalline silicon results in higher 
efficiency (15 and more) 
Multi-junction cell
Much of today's research in multi-junction cells 
focuses on gallium arsenide as one of the 
component cells. Such cells have reached 
efficiencies of around 40 under concentrated 
sunlight (Fresnel lens). 
 9PV efficiency trends 
 10Solar Panels Production and Prices
The production of photovoltaic panels has 
remarkably increased since 90s in terms of 
installed power.
Their cost, after a continuous decrease and an 
inversion of the trend occurred in 2004, appears 
now quite stable 
 11Outline
- Introduction 
- HSV models and results 
- Optimization of Management Strategies 
- The Prototype 
- Conclusions
12Solar Cars
Various propotypes of solar cars have been 
developed, for racing and demonstrative use 
 13Limits of Solar Cars
- Solar Cars do not represent realistic alternative 
 to normal cars, due to
- Limited power and performance. 
- Limited range. 
- Discontinuous energy source. 
- High cost. 
14Hybrid Electric Vehicles 
F.Porsche, 1900
Buick Skylark, 1974 
Toyota Prius
Ford Escape
Honda Insight
GM Precept
Mercedes S400 Hybrid-Diesel
Peugeot 308 Hybrid-Diesel 
 15HEV and PV a possible marriage? 
 16About the dowry
Conventional/Hybrid car PV panels
Energy 600 KWh ?50 kg gasoline tank lt50 KWh/day 6 m2 _at_ 8.5KWh/m2/day
Power ?100 KW lt 1 KW 
 17Energy Balance in a Solar Car
Net solar energy available to propulsion KWh/day
esunaverage insolation (KWh/m2day) APVeffective 
panel area  APV,H0.5 APV,V ?PVpanel efficiency 
(0.13) ? reduction factor due to 
charge/discharge processes in battery (0.9) ? 
insulation reduction during driving, due to 
shadow (0.9) 
 18Solar Fraction
6 m2_at_12 or 3 m2_at_24
Driving hours per day
Solar energy can represent a significant 
contribution for intermittent use (h1-2) and for 
limited average power.
For average power from 5 to 10 KW and driving 
hours from 1 to 2, solar contribution ranges from 
18 to 60.
Site San Antonio, Texas Yearly Averaged Data 
 19Statistics on Car Drivers
Some recent studies of the UK government stated 
that
- about 71 of UK users reaches their office by car 
- 46 of them have trips shorter than 20 min 
- mostly with only one person on board.
Source Labour Force Survey, http//www.statistic
s.gov.uk/CCI/nscl.asp?ID8027 
 20Power Demand
Extra-urban
Urban
Power demand can be determined integrating the 
longitudinal vehicle model over a mission cycle.
During urban drive, limited average power can be 
required to drive a small car. 
Mass1000 Kg - Length3.75 m 
 21Effects of Position on Energy
Average Yearly Energy (KWh/year)
Almost a factor 2 between maximum and minimum 
latitudes.
For fixed panels, there is not a relevant loss by 
adopting horizontal position with respect to 
optimal tilt, particularly at low latitudes.
Energy absorbed with vertical position is 
significantly lower, mainly at low latitudes.
Latitude (deg) 
 22Some HSV prototypes
Viking 23 Western Washington University
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
Solar Toyota Prius By Steve Lapp
Ultra-Commuter The University of Queensland 
 23Solar Prius
Prius with an aftermarket 215 W monocristalline 
solar module with peak power tracking and a 95 
efficiency DC-DC Converter
It is estimated that the PV Prius will consume 
somewhere between 17 and 29 less gasoline than 
the stock Prius (range per day 5-8 miles) 
 24Well to Wheel 
 25HSV vs HEV
HEV ? Conventional Car  Electric Motor
HSV ? HEV  PV 
 26HSV vs HEV
- Mission profile (HSV should be optimized for 
 urban driving)
- Different SOC management strategies. 
- Different structure (vehicle dimension, hybrid 
 architecture)
27HSV vs HEV control 
 28Potential advantages of Series HSV
- No mechanical link between generator and wheels 
- Very effective vibration insulation can be 
 achieved
- Less constraints for vehicle layout 
- Possible use of in-wheel motors with advanced 
 traction control techniques
- Engines optimized for steady operation can be 
 used
- ICE designed and optimized for steady conditions 
- D.I. Stratified charge engine (4 or 2 strokes) 
- Micro gas turbine 
- Series architecture acts as a bridge towards the 
 introduction of fuel cell powertrains.
- More suitable for V2G applications 
29Vehicle to Grid (V2G)
- V2G concept to connect parked electric driven 
 vehicles (electric, hybrid, hybrid solar,
 fuel-cell) to the grid by a two-way computer
 controlled hook up.
- The power capacity of the automotive fleet is 
 about 10 times greater than the electrical
 generating plants (in US) and is idle over the
 95.
- Advantages 
- Reduction of costs for peak power production. 
- Toward the distributed generation, with reduction 
 of Transmission and Distribution (TD) costs.
- Facilitate integration of intermittent renewable 
 resources.
- The value of the utility exceeds the costs for 
 the two-way hook up and for the reduced vehicle
 battery life.
30V2G Additional advantages for HSV 
 31Engine control in a series HSV
In a series HSV, the Internal Combustion Engine 
could operate on the optimum efficiency curve and 
whenever possible at its maximum efficiency
ICE Efficiency
ICE Power 
 32SHM  Operating Modes /1
Parking
PV Panels
with sunlight
VMU
ICE
EG
EM
Battery 
 33SHM  Operating Modes /2
Hybrid
PV Panels
with sunlight
VMU
ICE
EG
EM
Battery 
 34SHM  Operating Modes /3
Electric Driving
PV Panels
with sunlight
VMU
ICE
EG
EM
Battery 
 35SHM  Operating Modes /4
Regenerative Braking
PV Panels
with sunlight
VMU
ICE
EG
EM
Battery 
 36SHM  Operating Modes /5
Recharge from grid
PV Panels
with sunlight
VMU
ICE
EG
EM
Battery 
 37SHM  Operating Modes /6
We believe that the most plausible vehicle of 
the future is a plug-in hybrid... (Center for 
Energy and Climate Solutions, 2004)
Power to grid (V2G)
PV Panels
Thermal load
with sunlight
heat
VMU
ICE
EG
EM
Battery 
 38Flow Chart
DESIGN SPECIFICATION Power demand  Insolation  
HSV Structure
CONTROL VARIABLES Control Strategy for EG  MPPT 
for PV
DESIGN VARIABLES PV Panel Area and Position  EG 
and EM Power  Car dimensions  Materials
EXHOGENOUS VARIABLES Fuel Price  Panel 
Efficiency  Unit weight and costs
MODELS Energy Flows for HSV/CC  Car sizing - 
Weight - Cost
OUTPUT Car Stability  Fuel Savings  Weight - 
Payback
Objective Function and Constraints 
 39Payback Optimization
? Objective Function minimum Payback
? Inequality Constraints
- Design variables X 
- Electric Generator Power PEG 
- Electric Motor Power PEM 
- Horizontal panel area APV,H 
- Vertical panel area APV,V 
- Car length l 
- Car width w 
- Car Height h 
- Weight reduction factor of car chassis with 
 respect to base value CWf
Solved by Sequential Quadratic Programming 
(Matlab routine FMINCON) 
 40Constraint Specification
EG Power within lower and upper bounds 
 41Optimal design results
 cf /kg cPV /m2 /W ?P / APV,H m2 PEG kW PB yrs
1 1.77 800/6.15 0.13 0 35.5 6.1
2 1.77 800/6.15 0.13 3 35.5 9.9
3 1.77 200/2.15 0.13 4 37 5.6
4 3.54 200/2.15 0.16 5.6 38.4 2.4
Fuel Price  2.1 /KG Italy, June, 2008
PV Retail Price June 2008 4.70 /W 
 42MPPT Techniques
Uniform working conditions 
- Due to changing sun irradiance, PV source must be 
 matched to the load to draw maximum power.
- Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) techniques 
 are adopted.
- The presence of local maxima occur during 
 mismatched conditions, due to shading effects and
 temperature variations in different parts of the
 panel.
- The characteristic may change rapidly during 
 driving conditions, required advanced MPPT
 control.
Mismatched PV field 
Power vs. voltage characteristic of a PV field  
 43Sources of mismatching
- Different solar irradiation levels due to 
- Clouds 
- Shadows 
- Different orientation of parts of the PV field 
- Dirtiness 
- Tolerances (due to manufacturing and/or ageing) 
- Different types of panels (different models, 
 photo-glass, coloured) in the same string
44MPPT management of PV array
- MPPT strategy are implemented to maximizing PV 
 efficiency throughout the day.
 Max Allowable Power
 Power given to the battery
P
Vi
MPPT
Vi 
 45Outline
- Introduction 
- HSV models and results 
- Optimization of Management Strategies 
- The Prototype 
- Conclusions
46HSV Modeling
- Longitudinal model of the HSV protoype 
? Power at wheels
? EM Power
? Battery recharge power
 experimentally characterized 
 47Experimental characterization EG and EM
- The electric generator was characterized 
 connecting a pure resistive electrical load.
- A 4 order polynomial regression was obtained.
- EM efficiency is modeled by a 3rd order 
 polynomial regression identified vs. manufacturer
 technical data.
48Experimental characterization the Battery pack 
- Battery is modeled applying the Kirchoff law to 
 an equivalent circuit.
- The internal resistance was modeled as a 
 nonlinear function of state of charge.
- Model accuracy was checked against experiments.
49Experimental characterization the PV array 
- The PV array has been characterized by connecting 
 the converter output to a resistive load.
hPV  10  (390 W/m2 irradiation)
- The average PV daily energy was derived from an 
 experimental year-thorough distribution
50ICE thermal transients
Engine temperature dynamics is estimated by a 
first order dynamic model
Steady state temperatures and time constants are 
assigned for ICE on and ICE off events 
 51Thermal effects on power and SFC
Specific Fuel Consumption and power are related 
to the ratio between actual temperature and its 
steady state value, starting from experimental 
data for a SI engine 
 52Modeling of HC emissions
- Due to the ICE intermittent use, HC emissions 
 occurring during warm-up have to be accounted
 for.
Experimental warm-up HC dynamics 
 53Energy management strategy
- In case of ICE intermittent use, energy 
 management for HSV can be addressed via an
 optimization analysis.
- The decision variables X include number of ICE 
 starts, starting time, duration and ICE power
 level.
Minimum and maximum values considered for state 
of charge
- Day through charge sustaining is achieved 
 constraining SOC variations.
54Simulation of HSV prototype scenario analysis
- The prototype was simulated on a driving cycle 
 composed of 4 ECE-like modules.
HSV Specification
ICE power kW 46
Fuel gasoline
PEG kW 43
PEM kW 90
Number of battery modules / 27
PV horizontal surface APV,H m2 1.44
Coefficient of drag (Cd) 0.4
Frontal area m2 2.6
Weight kg 1465 
 55Control optimization results (DBM) 1/3
PEG,N4 gt PEG,N2
- Initially fuel economy increases with engine 
 starts due to the higher degrees of freedom.
- After 4 ICE-on, fuel economy tends to decrease 
 due to the increasing impact of thermal
 transients.
N 
 56Control optimization results (DBM) 2/3
- HC emissions show an increasing trend with number 
 of starts.
- A local minimum occurs at N 4. 
- Such a behavior is due to the different 
 temperature trajectories.
57Control optimization results (DBM) 3/3
- On average EG operating conditions fall in a high 
 efficiency region.
- SOC excursions are satisfactorily bounded 
- Final SOC leaves room for PV charging during 
 parking phases
58Energy management optimization by means of 
genetic algorithm (GA) search
- As both integer and real variables are involved, 
 the GA search method was selected for such an
 analysis.
- HC emissions and fuel consumption for cranking 
 energy have been also included in the objective
 function.
Binary representation of the optimization problem
GA parameters
Decision variable Definition range Precision Number of bits
NEG 1 8 1 3
tEG (min) 0 78/ NEG 0.073/ NEG 10
DtEG (min) 0 78/ NEG 0.073/ NEG 10
PEG (kW) 0 43 0.040 10
Population size 70
Number of generations 100
Crossover probability 0.8
Mutation probability 0.033 
 59Control optimization results (GA) 1/2 
 60Control optimization results (GA) 2/2
To be recovered in the parking phase 
 61Comparison between GA and DBM results
Optimization outputs DBM GA 1
NEG 4 3
Fuel consumption kg and  saving () 2.41 (14.8) 2.48 (12.4)
HC emissions 1 (g) 1.13 0.85
Average engine temperature C 65 68
Max SOC / 0.79 0.88
Min SOC / 0.65 0.58
HC emissions 2 (g/km) 0.025 0.018
A further optimization analysis was run 
considering an increase in PV horizontal area 
from 1.44 m2 to 3 m2. Such configuration upgrade 
results in a fuel consumption reduction from 2.48 
kg to 2.28 kg (19.4 saving).
() conventional vehicle fuel consumption  2.83 
Kg 
 62Outline
- Introduction 
- HSV models and results 
- Optimization of Management Strategies 
- The Prototype 
- Conclusions
63HSV Prototype
Vehicle Piaggio Porter 
Length 3.370 m
Width 1.395 m
Height 1.870 m
Drive ratio 14.875
Electric Motor BRUSA MV 200  84 V 
Continuous Power 9 KW
Peak Power 15 KW 
Batteries 16 6V Modules Pb-Gel
Mass 520 Kg
Capacity 180 Ah
Photovoltaic Panels Polycrystalline
Surface 1.44 m2
Weight 60 kg
Efficiency 0.13
Electric Generator Diesel Yanmar S 6000
Power COP/LTP 5.67/6.92 kVA 
Specific fuel cons. 272 g/kWh
Weight 120 kg
Overall weight (with driver) 
Weight 1950 kg
A prototype of hybrid solar vehicle with series 
structure has been developed at the University of 
Salerno, within the EU Leonardo Program Energy 
Conversion Systems and Their Environmental 
Impact (www.dimec.unisa.it/leonardo) 
 64A research and educational project
Leonardo Program (I05/B/P/PP-154181) Energy 
Conversion Systems and Their Environmental Impact
http//www.dimec.unisa.it/leonardo
Sponsored by ACS, Salerno (I), Lombardini (I), 
Saggese (I). 
 65The web site www.dimec.unisa.it/Leonardo
A multi-lingual web site has been developed. The 
site has more than 1000 visits per week and is at 
the top positions on Google. 
 66Participation to the FIA Alternative Energies Cup 
race ECO-TARGA FLORIO (Palermo, Italy) 
 67Outline
- Introduction 
- HSV models and results 
- Optimization of Management Strategies 
- The Prototype 
- Conclusions
68Conclusions
- Hybrid Solar Vehicles can represent a valuable 
 solution for energy saving and environmental
 issues, but accurate re-design and optimization
 of both vehicle and powertrain with respect to
 HEV are required.
- Economic feasibility could be achieved in a near 
 future, with realistic assumptions for component
 costs, fuel price and PV panel efficiency.
- Significant fuel savings can be obtained by 
 proper ICE management strategies. Thermal
 transient effects on fuel consumption and HC
 emissions must be considered in case of
 intermittent use.
- The use of optimization techniques (GA, DBM) has 
 allowed to select the best management strategies,
 to be used as benchmark for real-time
 implementable control.
- Interdisciplinary research is needed, but also a 
 systematic dissemination of results and
 potentialities, in order to remove the obstacles
 to the diffusion of such vehicles.
69On-going activities
- Development and implementation of real-time 
 control strategies and comparison with benchmark
 solutions.
- On road tests on the prototype to validate both 
 simulation results and control strategies.
- Installation of an automated sun-tracking roof to 
 further enhance solar energy contribution.
70HSV  An artistic point of view
Thank you for your kind attention