Design of a predictive control strategy for an automotive electrically-assisted waste heat recovery system with preview

This report regards the development of a predictive control strategy for an automotive electrically-assisted Waste Heat Recovery System (eWHR) with preview information. In this system, the energy recovery is decoupled from the energy supply to the engine. For such dynamical systems with energy buffers, knowledge of part of the vehicle’s future route is expected to be beneficial. In this context, available preview information is considered the expected heat input to the eWHR system. A receding horizon method is implemented with the objective of maximizing the power output of the system regardless of the heat input. The focus is on eWHR system level with the interaction with the engine not yet included. The proposed method is tested on a European Driving cycle and the results show that preview information can be beneficial in increasing the power output of the system and contributing to lower fuel consumption.