Development of hybrid electric heavy-duty truck with self-propelled trailer

A new architecture of hybrid drivetrain for tractors and semi-trailers is proposed. The goal is to utilise the maximum capability of the hybrid electric tractor and semi-trailer and to enhance the traction and fuel consumption efficiencies. This drivetrain architecture employs a self-propelled trailer so that the tractive effort is shared between the tractor and the semi-trailer. A comprehensive model of the vehicle, including the drivetrain model, is developed and a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) is used to design the power management system (PMS). Simulation runs of the computer model are performed on two standard driving cycles to evaluate both the traction efficiency and fuel consumption of the proposed hybrid drivetrain architecture. The comprehensive results obtained indicate that the proposed self-propelled trailer drivetrain presents a superior advantage over the non-hybrid drivetrains and also the typical hybrid drivetrain for heavy vehicles.