Catalytic converter modeling for optimal gasoline-HEV energy management

A simple multi-0D model of a 3-Way Catalytic Converter (3WCC) is built from physical equations, integrating the temperature dynamics and a pollutant emission conversion map. The validated model involves complexity and performances suitable to be integrated in a high fidelity powertrain model of a gasoline-Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV). Next, a pollutant constrained optimal energy management is derived from the Pontryagin Minimum Principle. The approach allows the joint minimization of pollution and fuel consumption with only one parameter to tune, by considering all the standardized pollutant emissions. The proposed strategy significantly reduces pollutant emissions with only a slight fuel consumption increase. Using a complex HEV model shows the feasibility of the pollution constraint integration in on-line energy management.