General Motors’ Two-Mode Hybrid powertrain optimizes fuel efficiency for a range of driving conditions, including stop-and-go city driving, rapid acceleration, and steady-state highway driving. Widely recognized as a major advance in hybrid technology, the Two-Mode Hybrid combines a conventional engine with two 60 kW electric motors integrated into an automatic transmission with three planetary gear sets.
GM engineers used Model-Based Design to develop the Two-Mode Hybrid powertrain control system, which is now in production in GMC Sierra Hybrid, GMC Yukon Hybrid, Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, Chevy Silverado Hybrid, and Cadillac Escalade Hybrid vehicles and will be adapted for use in the Chevy Volt, GM’s extended-range electric vehicle.
“By enabling us to work at a higher level of abstraction, verify our designs through early system simulation, and automatically generate production code from our models, Model-Based Design gave us the flexibility to try new approaches and control strategies virtually, rapidly make changes, and eliminate translation errors common in hand-coding,” says Greg Hubbard, senior manager, Hybrid and Electric Drive Controls, GM.