System Integration in a Through-the-Road, In-Wheel Motor Hybrid Electric Vehicle Using FPGA-Based CompactRIO and LabVIEW

Abstract

A through-the-road (TTR) hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a sub-type of the parallel hybrid, in which the internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric motor provide propulsion power to different axles. TTR architecture allows for hybrid conversion of an existing vehicle using in- wheel motors (IWM), as alternative to on-board motor. Operation requires different types of signals to be acquired and processed: hardwire low- voltage analog signals, digital pulse-train and CAN-bus signals. This work discusses system integration in a TTR hybrid: motor controller, engine control unit (ECU) and energy management system (EMS), using FPGA- based CompactRIO controller. The EMS needs to generate an enhanced throttle signal to the ECU - bypassing the original signal from the throttle position sensor - to gain control of the internal combustion engine for proper hybrid operation.