Universal hybrid system
As we all know, the automobile development in the United States is much earlier than that in China, and a series of major events, such as the oil crisis and financial crisis, have contributed greatly. Therefore, the development of American hybrid power system led by General Motors has gone through a long time far beyond our impression.
As early as The 1960s, the United States has put automobile pollution control on the agenda, among which California, the most systematic and influential, has set up a powerful executive body-the California Air Resources Board (The? California? Air? Resources? Board, CARB), in order to take effective measures to reduce air pollution, protect public welfare and protect ecological resources.
Under this background, in 1969, GM released the first hybrid vehicle GM5 12, which has three models: pure electric vehicle below 10mph, hybrid vehicle between 10 mph and 13 mph. However, although GM5 12 is the first hybrid vehicle developed with mature technology and its appearance is lovely, it is a pity that it cannot be legally used on the road and has no greater use value.
Since then, the United States has experienced two oil price fluctuations: 1974 and 1980, and the oil shortage in Maryland 1979 in the United States has become the second oil crisis we are familiar with. To this end, the US government began to implement the enterprise average fuel economy standard (CAFE), which made car companies very embarrassed. Fortunately, in the 1980~ 1990' s, the second oil crisis gradually eased, which not only relieved the pressure of CAFE to control gasoline consumption, but also made most Americans who had recovered from a serious illness more attracted to self-priming cars.
However, regardless of the supply and price of oil, the pace of environmental protection can never stop. 1On September 29th, 993, the Clinton administration issued the famous PNGV (Partnership? For what? New? A generation? Yes? Vehicles), its main content is to put forward the technical direction of new energy development: hybrid power, electric vehicles, lightweight materials, high-performance engines (direct injection), fuel cells and so on. As the leader of American domestic cars, General Motors has naturally become the most important part of the plan, and has developed various new energy technologies and products covering alternative fuels, hybrid power, electric vehicles, fuel cells and so on. This led to the transgenic hybrid technology we see today.
1996, the first mass-produced electric vehicle EV- 1 developed by general motors came out. This exquisite 2-seat 2-door coupe is made of fiberglass, with a minimum cruising range of only 89 kilometers. Most of the services provided are rental services, which determines that this exquisite electric car will not be the type that most people like, but EV- 1 is still loved by many environmental groups and electric cars.
In a blink of an eye, at the beginning of 2 1 century, GM invested a lot of money to develop a "dual-mode" complete hybrid system (AHS2), and took the lead in deploying a new? Leaflets began to be tried on buses. In 2004, GM and Daimler officially announced their cooperation in this field, and launched the famous "Global Hybrid Cooperation Plan" (Global? Half-breed? Cooperation), then, BMW and other companies have joined in and started the "burning money" research and development of hybrid systems.
This technology can combine high-speed and low-speed "power split" modes through two sets of planetary gears, or add a set of planetary gears and set more fixed gears to obtain better ride comfort, and take into account the load of engine and motor, thus further improving fuel economy. Therefore, this system also has good flexibility and expansibility. This also allowed GM to formally apply for the 30th technology patent in the company's history in 2006, becoming the general power? Split (power split) hybrid technology is the key factor that distinguishes it from any other enterprise, and it was more successful in obtaining automobiles in 2007. The magazine's best automotive technology award of the year.
But at this time, the cost of hybrid system is still very expensive, which makes GM officials aim at the third generation of Escalade products, and the subsequent Escalade dual-mode hybrid SUV models are derivatives of this technology. At this time, on the hybrid escalade, two 83KW drive motors are installed in the EVT system, three planetary gear sets are synchronized and coordinated, and four groups of clutches are combined to control the motors and planetary gear sets, so the high cost can be imagined. Fortunately, 20% of all Escalade orders are contributed by hybrid models, and the results can be considered quite good. Moreover, these hybrid escalade models have also been sold in China. Maybe one day we will meet such a half-blood "monster" in the street.
Let's turn our eyes back to 2006, when the rapid development of lithium-ion battery technology attracted the attention of Robert Lutz, then vice president of global product development of General Motors. Lutz) confidence in all-electric vehicle manufacturing. At that time, GM also introduced the concept of E-Flex system, which was later called Voltec drive system. Among them, "E" stands for electric drive and "Flex" stands for different power sources, which can obtain electric energy from gasoline, ethanol, biodiesel or hydrogen. According to the different needs of customers in different regions, the propulsion system can be customized to meet the special requirements and infrastructure of specific markets. These fuels are finally converted into electric energy to drive cars, which is simply the concept of today's extended-range electric vehicles.
At the same time, GM has carried out more in-depth research and development of "dual-mode system" and "planetary dual-drive motor system", and applied for patents related to dual-star dual-motor and three-planet dual-motor with higher efficiency and better power performance, and also realized a universal new energy electric drive system platform with optimized power split, which can meet various forms of new energy vehicles such as HEV, PHEV and EREV.
In 2007, the Chevrolet Volt concept car equipped with the electric drive system of the general E-Flex technology concept was officially exhibited at the Detroit Auto Show. Because this car is the first model designed by a large American manufacturer from the real meaning of "Three Electricity", it is specially designed for high-voltage components such as batteries, motors and electronic controls, so it has been praised by the industry as "truly changing the DNA of the car and being a pioneer in promoting the automobile industry into the electrical age" since its birth, and it has also been sought after by the vast number of environmental protection enthusiasts. Its Voltec electric drive system is regarded as the pride of American new energy vehicle technology.
The good times didn't last long. The well-known financial crisis in 2008 is approaching quietly. Without the rapid intervention of the U.S. government, GM and Chrysler will definitely go bankrupt directly without any suspense. However, under the Obama administration's stimulus plan, all walks of life are recovering strongly, and GM has recovered its overall competitiveness in a short time, which has driven the overall recovery of the American automobile industry. The Obama administration has also vigorously promoted the implementation of various automobile environmental protection policies, the most important of which is to promote clean energy vehicles and implement tax relief and tax refund for owners who buy new energy vehicles and low fuel consumption vehicles.
Time came to 20 15 1 month, and the second generation Chevrolet Volt finally appeared in Detroit, north american auto show. The new car adopts 1.5 liter four-cylinder engine+two drive motors, the latest second generation? Voltec electric drive technology is also applied to this model for the first time. This brand-new drive system deeply integrates the hardware system, which is not only 45 kilograms lighter than the old one, but also nearly one-third smaller. Combined with the upgrade of battery and electronic control system, the efficiency of the whole vehicle is significantly improved by 65,438+02%, and the cruising range can be increased to 676km and 96 km in pure electric mode. The acceleration time of km/h is only 8.4 seconds, which is not excellent.
20 16 February, General Motors announced that it would transfer its powertrain division (GM? The name of the powertrain that has been used for 24 years has been changed to GM? Global? Push? System), GM's electrification drive technology has also completed a leap from quantitative change to qualitative change.
Based on the second generation of GM? The new hybrid drive system developed by Voltec electric drive system can cover all kinds of vehicles such as HEV/PHEV/EREV, from high-tech 3-cylinder gasoline engine to fuel cell, from V8 diesel engine to battery electric system, and 6-speed, 7-speed, 8-speed, 9-speed and even 10-speed continuously variable transmission, which makes the electric drive system comprehensive in environmental protection, fuel saving, power performance and driving comfort of new energy vehicles. In essence, this is the first time that GM put forward the concept of dual-mode hybrid and E-Flex, which is in the same strain and a new interpretation.
The domestic Cadillac CT6 we saw? PEHV plug-in hybrid vehicle, Buick extended-range electric vehicle Velite? It was SAIC that brought these advanced technologies and parts to China by sea. Although CT6? Plug-in models have been discontinued now, but the key components of the vehicle developed by Voltec electric drive system, such as engine and gearbox, will still glow in our car life.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.