Both the battery/supercapacitor (SC) and SC/battery are two common semi-active configurations of hybrid energy storage systems (HESSs) in hybrid electric vehicles, which can take advantage of the battery's and supercapacitor's respective characteristics, including the energy ability, power ability and the long lifetime. To explore in depth the characteristics and applicability of the two kinds of HESS, an analysis and comparison study is proposed in this paper. Based on the data collected from public transit hybrid electric bus (PTHEB) with battery-only on-board energy storage, the range and distribution probability of electric power/energy demand is comprehensively statistically analyzed with the decomposing and normalizing methods. Accordingly, the performance of each topology under different parameter matching conditions but same mass, volume and cost values with battery-only energy storage, are presented and compared quantitatively. The results show that both HESS configurations can meet the electric power demand of the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) through reasonable design. In particular, the SC/battery can make better use of the SC features resulting in high efficiency and long life cycles compared with the battery/SC. Equally, it proves that the SC/battery topology is a better choice for the HEV. Finally, an experimental validation of a real HEV is carried out, which indicated that a 7% fuel economy improvement can be achieved by a SC/battery system compared with battery-only topology.

This paper presents an optimized energy management strategy for Li-ion power batteries used on electric vehicles (EVs) at low temperatures. In low-temperature environments, EVs suffer a sharp driving range loss resulting from the energy and power capability reduction of the battery. Simultaneously, because of Li plating, battery degradation becomes an increasing concern as the temperature drops. All these factors could greatly increase the total vehicle operation cost. Prior to battery charging and vehicle operating, preheating the battery to a battery-friendly temperature is an approach to promote energy utilization and reduce total cost. Based on the proposed LiFePO 4 battery model, the total vehicle operation cost under certain driving cycles is quantified in the present paper. Then, given a certain ambient temperature, a target preheating temperature is optimized under the principle of minimizing total cost. As for the preheating method, a liquid heating system is also implemented on an electric bus. Simulation results show that the preheating process becomes increasingly necessary with decreasing ambient temperature, however, the preheating demand declines as driving range grows. Vehicle tests verify that the preheating management strategy proposed in this paper is able to save on total vehicle operation costs.

Abstract:Charging performance affects the commercial application of electric vehicles (EVs) significantly. This paper presents an optimal charging strategy for Li-ion batteries based on the voltage-based multistage constant current (VMCC) charging strategy. In order to satisfy the different charging demands of the EV users for charging time, charged capacity and energy loss, the multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm is employed and the influences of charging stage number, charging cut-off voltage and weight factors of different charging goals are analyzed. Comparison experiments of the proposed charging strategy and the traditional normal and fast charging strategies are carried out. The experimental results demonstrate that the traditional normal and fast charging strategies can only satisfy a small range of EV users' charging demand well while the proposed charging strategy can satisfy the whole range of the charging demand well. The relative increase in charging performance of the proposed charging strategy can reach more than 80% when compared to the normal and fast charging dependently.

Range anxiety and battery cycle life are two major factors which restrict the development of electric vehicles. Battery degradation can be reduced by adding supercapacitors to create a Hybrid Energy Storage System. This paper proposes a systematic approach to configure the hybrid energy storage system and quantifies the battery degradation for electric vehicles when using supercapacitors. A continuous power-energy function is proposed to establish supercapacitor size based on national household travel survey statistics. By analyzing continuous driving action in standard driving cycles and special driving phases (start up and acceleration), the supercapacitor size is calculated to provide a compromise between the capacitor size and battery degradation. Estimating the battery degradation after 10 years, the battery capacity loss value decreases 17.55% and 21.6%, respectively, under the urban dynamometer driving schedule and the US06. Furthermore, the battery lifespan of the continuous power-energy configured system is prolonged 28.62% and 31.39%, respectively, compared with the battery alone system.

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To investigate whether the systematic administration of icariin (ICA) promotes tendon-bone healing after rotator cuff reconstruction in vivo, a total of 64 male Sprague Dawley rats were used in a rotator cuff injury model and underwent rotator cuff reconstruction (bone tunnel suture fixation). Rats from the ICA group (n = 32) were gavage-fed daily with ICA at 0.125 mg/g, while rats in the control group (n = 32) received saline only. Micro-computed tomography, biomechanical tests, serum ELISA (calcium; Ca, alkaline phosphatase; AP, osteocalcin; OCN) and histological examinations (Safranin O and Fast Green staining, type I, II and III collagen (Col1, Col2, and Col3), CD31, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)) were analyzed two and four weeks after surgery. In the ICA group, the serum levels of AP and OCN were higher than in the control group. More Col1-, Col2-, CD31-, and VEGF-positive cells, together with a greater degree of osteogenesis, were detected in the ICA group compared with the control group. During mechanical testing, the ICA group showed a significantly higher ultimate failure load than the control group at both two and four weeks. Our results indicate that the systematic administration of ICA could promote angiogenesis and tendon-bone healing after rotator cuff reconstruction, with superior mechanical strength compared with the controls. Treatment for rotator cuff injury using systematically-administered ICA could be a promising strategy.

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