Performance Benefits of a Portable Hybrid Micro-Gas Turbine Power System for Automotive Applications

Abstract

The lower fuel burn and pollutant emissions of hybrid electric vehicles give a strong motivation and encourage further investigations in this field. The know-how on hybrid vehicle technology is maturing, and the reliability of such power schemes is being tested in the mass production. The current research effort is to investigate novel configurations, which could achieve further performance benefits. This paper presents an assessment of a novel hybrid configuration comprising a micro-gas turbine, a battery bank, and a traction motor, focusing on its potential contribution to the reduction in fuel burn and emissions. The power required for the propulsion of the vehicle is provided by the electric motor. The electric power is stored by the batteries, which are charged by a periodic function of the micro-gas turbine. The micro-gas turbine starts up when the battery depth of discharge exceeds 80%, and its function continues until the batteries are full. The performance of the vehicle is investigated using an integrated software platform. The calculated acceleration performance and fuel economy are compared with those of conventional vehicles of the same power. The sensitivity of the results to the variation in the vehicle parameters such as mass, kinetic energy recovery, and battery type is calculated to identify the conditions under which the application of this hybrid technology offers potential benefits. The results indicate that if no mass penalties are incurred by the installation of additional components, the fuel savings can exceed 23%. However, an increase in the vehicle’s weight can shrink this benefit especially in the case of light vehicles. Lightweight batteries and kinetic energy recovery systems are deemed essential, enabling technologies for a realistic application of this hybrid system.

Exergo-technological explicit methodology for gas-turbine system optimization of series hybrid electric vehicles

“…It is also worth mentioning that the total mass of the GT system, the generator and the electric motor is considered equal to the mass of the engine and its accessories. In fact, it was presented by Christodoulou et al 18 and Lampe´rth et al 23 that the power density of a 75 kW GT system combined with a generator and a 90 kW electric motor is in the range of 375 W/kg, slightly better than the value of 350 W/kg for the ICE considered in this study.…”

“…17 In both applications, a combination of several measures was required such as the need to increase the turbine inlet temperature and to add intercooler, regenerator and reheat systems in order to achieve the needed optimization. 9,16,17 However, there have been only a few recent papers on GT systems suitable for automotive applications [18][19][20] because of the lack of competitiveness of GT compared with ICE in conventional powertrains. Other papers were published around 20 years ago.…”

Application of Micro Gas Turbine in Range-Extended Electric Vehicles

“…Range-Extended Electric Vehicle (REEV) is a solution to the limited range and exorbitant cost of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). They operate essentially as a BEV until their batteries become depleted; at this point they utilize an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) that draws energy from liquid or gaseous fuel and provides electricity, allowing the vehicle to continue operating [3][4][5][6][7][8]. The APU generally only provides the average power demanded by the vehicle, so it can be downsized compared to the power unit of a conventional vehicle.…”

Study of KJ-66 micro gas turbine compressor: Steady and unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes approach

“…Besides the extensive study regarding conventional gas turbines, [1][2][3][4][5] ongoing endeavors are made to understand the MGT performance. [6][7][8][9][10][11] MGT differs itself from conventional gas turbine due to its low operating Reynolds number and hence a relatively higher skin friction and heat transfer rate. 12,13 Existing research mainly focuses on the design of the engine, 14,15 combustor development, [16][17][18] combustion and emission, 9 combustion instability, 19,20 heat transfer, 21 control strategy, 22 etc.…”