*Article* **Hybrid Electric Vehicle Performance with Organic Rankine Cycle Waste Heat Recovery System**

### **Amin Mahmoudzadeh Andwari 1,2,\*, Apostolos Pesiridis 1, Apostolos Karvountzis-Kontakiotis 1 and Vahid Esfahanian 2**


Academic Editor: Jose Ramon Serrano Received: 6 February 2017; Accepted: 20 April 2017; Published: 26 April 2017

**Abstract:** This study examines the implementation of a waste heat recovery system on an electric hybrid vehicle. The selected waste heat recovery method operates on organic Rankine cycle principles to target the overall fuel consumption improvement of the internal combustion engine element of a hybrid powertrain. This study examines the operational principle of hybrid electric vehicles, in which the internal combustion engines operates with an electric powertrain layout (electric motors/generators and batteries) as an integral part of the powertrain architecture. A critical evaluation of the performance of the integrated powertrain is presented in this paper whereby vehicle performance is presented through three different driving cycle tests, offering a clear assessment of how this advanced powertrain configuration would benefit under several different, but relevant, driving scenarios. The driving cycles tested highlighted areas where the driver could exploit the full potential of the hybrid powertrain operational modes in order to further reduce fuel consumption.

**Keywords:** internal combustion engine; organic Rankine cycle; hybrid electric vehicle; waste heat recovery; brake specific fuel consumption; New European Driving Cycle
