P1.2 -- Hybrid Electric Vehicle and Lithium Polymer NEV Testing

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity tests hybrid electric, pure electric, and other advanced technology vehicles. As part of this testing, 28 hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) are being tested in fleet, dynamometer, and closed track environments. This paper discusses some of the HEV test results, with an emphasis on the battery performance of the HEVs. It also discusses the testing results for a small electric vehicle with a lithium polymer traction battery

Homogenization of the one-dimensional wave equation

We present a method for two-scale model derivation of the periodic homogenization of the one-dimensional wave equation in a bounded domain. It allows for analyzing the oscillations occurring on both microscopic and macroscopic scales. The novelty reported here is on the asymptotic behavior of high frequency waves and especially on the boundary conditions of the homogenized equation. Numerical simulations are reported

Hybrid Electric Vehicle Fleet and Baseline Performance Testing

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA) conducts baseline performance and fleet testing of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). To date, the AVTA has completed baseline performance testing on seven HEV models and accumulated 1.4 million fleet testing miles on 26 HEVs. The HEV models tested or in testing include: Toyota Gen I and Gen II Prius, and Highlander; Honda Insight, Civic and Accord; Chevrolet Silverado; Ford Escape; and Lexus RX 400h. The baseline performance testing includes dynamometer and closed track testing to document the HEV’s fuel economy (SAE J1634) and performance in a controlled environment. During fleet testing, two of each HEV model are driven to 160,000 miles per vehicle within 36 months, during which maintenance and repair events, and fuel use is recorded and used to compile life-cycle costs. At the conclusion of the 160,000 miles of fleet testing, the SAE J1634 tests are rerun and each HEV battery pack is tested. These AVTA testing activities are conducted by the Idaho National Laboratory, Electric Transportation Applications, and Exponent Failure Analysis Associates. This paper discusses the testing methods and results

Hydrogen ICE Vehicle Testing Activities

The Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity teamed with Electric Transportation Applications and Arizona Public Service to develop and monitor the operations of the APS Alternative Fuel (Hydrogen) Pilot Plant. The Pilot Plant provides 100% hydrogen, and hydrogen and compressed natural gas (H/CNG)-blended fuels for the evaluation of hydrogen and H/CNG internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in controlled and fleet testing environments. Since June 2002, twenty hydrogen and H/CNG vehicles have accumulated 300,000 test miles and 5,700 fueling events. The AVTA is part of the Department of Energy’s FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program. These testing activities are managed by the Idaho National Laboratory. This paper discusses the Pilot Plant design and monitoring, and hydrogen ICE vehicle testing methods and results

Katech (Lithium Polymer) 4-Passenger NEV - Range and Battery Testing Report

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA) received a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) from the Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH) for vehicle and battery characterization testing. The KATECH NEV (called the Invita) was equipped with a lithium polymer battery pack from Kokam Engineering. The Invita was to be baseline performance tested by AVTA’s testing partner, Electric Transportation Applications (ETA), at ETA’s contract testing facilities and test track in Phoenix, Arizona, to AVTA’s NEVAmerica testing specifications and procedures. Before and during initial constant speed range testing, the Invita battery pack experienced cell failures, and the onboard charger failed. A Kokamsupplied off-board charger was used in place of the onboard charger to successfully perform a constant speed range test on the Invita. The Invita traveled a total of 47.9 miles in 1 hour 47 minutes, consuming 91.3 amp-hours and 6.19 kilowatt-hours. The Kokam Engineering lithium polymer battery was also scheduled for battery pack characterization testing, including the C/3 energy capacity, dynamic stress, and peak power tests. Testing was stopped during the initial C/3 energy capacity test, however, because the battery pack failed to withstand cycling without cell failures. After the third discharge/charge sequence was completed, it was discovered that Cell 6 had failed, with a voltage reading of 0.5 volts. Cell 6 was replaced, and the testing sequence was restarted. After the second discharge/charge sequence was complete, it was discovered that Cell 1 had failed, with its voltage reading 0.2 volts. At this point it was decided to stop all battery pack testing. During the discharge cycles, the battery pack supplied 102.21, 94.34, and 96.05 amp-hours consecutively before Cell 6 failed. After replacing Cell 6, the battery pack supplied 98.34 and 98.11 amp-hours before Cell 1 failed. The Idaho National Laboratory managed these testing activities for the AVTA, as part of DOE’s FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program

U.S. Department of Energy FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity Federal Fleet Use of Electric Vehicles

Per Executive Order 13031, “Federal Alternative Fueled Vehicle Leadership,” the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity provided $998,300 in incremental funding to support the deployment of 220 electric vehicles in 36 Federal fleets. The 145 electric Ford Ranger pickups and 75 electric Chrysler EPIC (Electric Powered Interurban Commuter) minivans were operated in 14 states and the District of Columbia. The 220 vehicles were driven an estimated average of 700,000 miles annually. The annual estimated use of the 220 electric vehicles contributed to 39,000 fewer gallons of petroleum being used by Federal fleets and the reduction in emissions of 1,450 pounds of smog-forming pollution. Numerous attempts were made to obtain information from all 36 fleets. Information responses were received from 25 fleets (69% response rate), as some Federal fleet personnel that were originally involved with the Incremental Funding Project were transferred, retired, or simply could not be found. In addition, many of the Department of Defense fleets indicated that they were supporting operations in Iraq and unable to provide information for the foreseeable future. It should be noted that the opinions of the 25 fleets is based on operating 179 of the 220 electric vehicles (81% response rate). The data from the 25 fleets is summarized in this report. Twenty-two of the 25 fleets reported numerous problems with the vehicles, including mechanical, traction battery, and charging problems. Some of these problems, however, may have resulted from attempting to operate the vehicles beyond their capabilities. The majority of fleets reported that most of the vehicles were driven by numerous drivers each week, with most vehicles used for numerous trips per day. The vehicles were driven on average from 4 to 50 miles per day on a single charge. However, the majority of the fleets reported needing gasoline vehicles for missions beyond the capabilities of the electric vehicles, usually because of range limitations. Twelve fleets reported experiencing at least one charge depletion while driving, whereas nine fleets reported not having this problem. Twenty-four of the 25 fleets responded that the electric vehicles were easy to use and 22 fleets indicated that the payload was adequate. Thirteen fleets reported charging problems; eleven fleets reported no charging problems. Nine fleets reported the vehicles broke down while driving; 14 fleets reported no onroad breakdowns. Some of the breakdowns while driving, however, appear to include normal flat tires and idiot lights coming on. In spite of operation and charging problems, 59% of the fleets responded that they were satisfied, very satisfied, or extremely satisfied with the performance of the electric vehicles. As of September 2003, 74 of the electric vehicles were still being used and 107 had been returned to the manufacturers because the leases had concluded

Hydropower Resource Assessment Modeling Results

The U.S. Department of Energy�s Hydropower Program developed the Hydropower Evaluation Software to model the undeveloped hydropower resources in the United States based on environmental, legal, and institutional constraints. This Hydropower Resource Assessment effort has identified 5,677 sites that have an undeveloped total capacity of about 30,000 megawatts. The Hydropower Evaluation Software uses the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission�s Hydroelectric Power Resource Assessment database to identify sites with undeveloped hydropower capacity and the estimated megawatts of undeveloped capacity at each site. The software integrates this information with environmental values from the National Park Service�s National Rivers Inventory database. Other constraints to development that are modeled include Federal and state legislative protection for river segments that have been identified as being wild and scenic river segments. River segments containing threatened and/or endangered wildlife and fish are also modeled for their influence on hydropower development. The amount that each attribute affects the likelihood of development is dependent on the prior development of a site

A second order minimality condition for the Mumford-Shah functional

A new necessary minimality condition for the Mumford-Shah functional is derived by means of second order variations. It is expressed in terms of a sign condition for a nonlocal quadratic form on $H^1_0(\Gamma)$, $\Gamma$ being a submanifold of the regular part of the discontinuity set of the critical point. Two equivalent formulations are provided: one in terms of the first eigenvalue of a suitable compact operator, the other involving a sort of nonlocal capacity of $\Gamma$. A sufficient condition for minimality is also deduced. Finally, an explicit example is discussed, where a complete characterization of the domains where the second variation is nonnegative can be given.Comment: 30 page

U.S. hydropower resource assessment for Florida

The US Department of Energy is developing an estimate of the undeveloped hydropower potential in the US. The Hydropower Evaluation Software (HES) is a computer model that was developed by the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory for this purpose. HES measures the undeveloped hydropower resources available in the US, using uniform criteria for measurement. The software was developed and tested using hydropower information and data provided by the Southwestern Power Administration. It is a menu-driven program that allows the personal computer user to assign environmental attributes to potential hydropower sites, calculate development suitability factors for each site based on the environmental attributes present, and generate reports based on these suitability factors. This report describes the resource assessment results for the State of Florida