phev researcher: Zoran Filipi
A Dose of Reality in PHEV Simulations
 Zoran Filipi |
To build the best batteries for rechargeable cars, engineers need insights into how real people drive in the real world. That’s where Zoran Filipi comes in.
A research professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, he will use data from University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) studies of real world driving to improve simulations of how people would use their plug-in hybrid electric cars.
The UMTRI data involves more than 400 trips taken by 20 people who agreed to drive vehicles with monitoring devices on them for two weeks. The monitor kept tabs on more than 200 activities of the car and the driver.
There’s data on acceleration and braking habits, on distances traveled and even on the drivers’ facial expressions. The cars in this study were gasoline-powered, but the information is still valuable to Filipi. “There’s a wealth of data about vehicle energy and my task is to bring this information into plug-in hybrid electric vehicle analysis, so we can simulate battery charge and battery health during normal use of the PHEV,” Filipi said.
A better understanding of real-world battery charge and health will, in turn, help researchers model how, when and where plug-in cars would interact with the electricity grid.
Zoran Filipi
Research professor, Mechanical Engineering
Assistant director, Automotive Research Institute
Phone: (734) 936-0427
Email: filipi@umich.edu
Website: www-personal.umich.edu/~filipi/index.html
Energy Research: www.energy.umich.edu/res/fac_09/fac_FilipiZ09.html