Delphi Achieves 10 to 15 Percent Fuel Savings on Light Trucks With Electrified Powertrain Technology

CHICAGO, Nov. 14 -- Concern about gas prices and tougher emissions regulations have increased the focus of vehicle manufacturers to managing fuel consumption as a way to differentiate their products. One possible solution posed by Delphi in a technical paper delivered Nov. 14, 2001 at the SAE Truck & Bus Show in Chicago, is Delphi's 42-Volt Energen-10 integrated starter-generator (ISG).

The paper details the fuel economy gain provided by a 42-Volt Energen-10 ISG for engine stop-start functionality, as implemented by Delphi in a sport utility vehicle. The study reports prototype vehicle results, consistent with vehicle simulation models that show fuel savings to be as much as 4 to 6 over the Federal Test Procedure-75 (FTP-75) driving schedule from stop-start functionality alone.

``The impact the 42-Volt ISG system has when activating all functions beyond that of the stop-start function is tremendous,'' said R. Scott Bailey, director of engineering, Delphi Energy & Chassis Systems. ``Fuel economy improvements of 10 to 15 percent on the FTP-75 driving cycle are achievable and have been established both in simulation and in prototype vehicle testing.''

Reduction in fuel consumption is achieved through the ISG's use of functions such as engine-off during cost-down and idle, early torque converter lockup with torque smoothing, deceleration fuel cutoff, regenerative braking and electrical launch assist. It also boosts the onboard power generation and energy storage, allowing for increased vehicle electrical loads.

``These same functions can yield 2 to 3 times the fuel economy improvement in commercial heavy- and medium-duty pick-up and delivery vehicles due to the stop and go nature of their drive-cycle,'' added Gary A. Cameron, chief engineer, Energenix Center, Delphi Energy & Chassis Systems.

The Energen-10 ISG provides wear-free operation since the system does not utilize brushes or slip-rings. The system also monitors and notifies the driver of any issues with battery life. This feature will limit exposure to downtime on pick-up and delivery routes.

``Delphi has simulation capabilities that can be utilized on complex products like the Energen-10 ISG system,'' said Cameron. ``Using this valuable approach, our engineers can determine an optimized product solution for the customer.''

For more information about Delphi, visit Delphi's Virtual Press Room at www.delphiauto.com/vpr .