Compressed Air Energy Storage for Vehicle Start-Stop and Launch Assist

Vehicle hybridization is an increasingly pursued strategy for improving fuel economy and lowering emissions. In an effort to provide a low cost and environmentally friendly system, compressed air energy storage (CAES) was pursued as an alternative to current hybrid systems. A driving simulator was created to predict areas for potential performance gains by use of the CAES system. Engine start-stop (ESS) and launch assist (LA) were considered as two potential methods for energy reintroduction. A pilot study was conducted over a range of vehicle speeds and traffic patterns that are provided for standard government testing purposes. Based on this study, the modeled CAES system was optimized to provide for necessary power flow and storage for the previously identified beneficial scenarios. Results show ESS benefits for schedules with numerous vehicle stops and LA benefits over all schedules considered.