Ultracapacitors for “Power Boost” in Heavy Vehicles

Principal Investigators
Ardalan Vahidi, John Wagner (Clemson U.)

Industry
Ilya Kolmanovsky (Ford Motor Co.)

Student
Dean Rotenberg (Clemson U.)

The research goal is to determine, through numerical simulation and laboratory experiments, the potential of ultracapacitors to serve as a stand-alone auxiliary power source. One immediate military application is to boost the power of heavy vehicles that contain smaller displacement engines and/or to accommodate the electrical demands of reconfigurable electronic payloads such as radios, computers, and navigation tools.

The investigation of alternative propulsion sources for ground vehicles has been a theme within the ARC community for several years with research projects conducted in Thrust Areas #1 and #4. This project extends some of this research on hybrid vehicles through the examination of additive power sources (e.g., ultracapacitors) that can be integrated into the vehicle for expanded propulsion. In addition, the power demanded by the added electronic payloads in military vehicles requires the consideration of auxiliary power sources that can offer short term energy. The results of this project will identify how ultracapacitors can operate either in military vehicles.