Development of novel muffler configurations for range extended hybrid electric vehicles

Abstract

The demand for range-extended hybrid electric vehicles is increasing year by year over battery based vehicles. The range-extended hybrid electric vehicles combine battery and internal combustion (IC) engine to provide the benefit of both battery and IC engine. Despite their advantages, hybrid vehicles also present some challenges. One significant issue arises when the battery gets discharged then a switch from battery power to IC engine power becomes a necessity, which causes a sudden change in noise levels within the passenger cabin, and this disturbs the acoustic comfort and experience of passengers. The abrupt noise shift happens when the quiet operation of the electric motor transitions to the louder IC engine, resulting in noticeable cabin noise. To eliminate this issue, mufflers with a high values of transmission loss (TL), especially at low frequencies as well as wideband TL spectra are essential to ensure a smooth and seamless transition between power sources.