Performance measurement of an electric hybrid BRT vehicle

The project was conducted for the Israeli Ministry of Transportation, along with Yefe Nof, Jerusalem Master Plan and NTA.

This project involved experiments that were conducted over a 6-month period on an unusually long vehicle, characterized by a serial electrical hybrid system with an internal combustion gas-fueled engine, as well as a guidance system.

The experiments included the following aspects:

• Writing a comprehensive experiment plan, based on engineering and transportation features.
• Obtaining regulation approvals and professional opinions regarding irregular issues, discussions with MOT Vehicle Dept. and obtaining approval to bring the vehicle into the country in order to conduct the experiments.
•  Training the experiment’s participating engineering teams and drivers.
• Measuring vehicle performance during transportation tests, including crossing intersections, entering/departing bus stops and other aspects related to disabled passengers.
• Measuring vehicle and engine system dynamic performance, including the hybrid electrical system. Measurements included the following aspects:
  • Longitudinal speed along the vehicle ride, depending on consecutive time and space.
  • Vehicle placement within a global system, in terms of measurement.
  • Longitudinal accelerations and braking decelerations, depending on consecutive time and space. 
  • Vibration measurement along the ride and in rough driving areas, as well as a results analysis in relation to time, space and frequency.
  • Temperature distribution and thermal comfort in the passenger cabin.
  • Measuring electrical energy and analysis of results in relation to regenerative energy.
  • Noise measurement.
  • Tracking and defining problems and maintenance related issues, and calculating reliability and availability during the experiment period.
  • Examining technical literature from the following aspects:

Service manual, operation manual, maintenance manual, tracking and fixing problems, and diagnostics.

Selected results from the experiments are presented below: