Pulse and glide strategy analysis based on engine operating point during pulse mode

•An optimization problem is formulated to explore the fuel-economy potential of the considered vehicle when using PnG strategy.•It’s obtained that using an operating point with lower torque and lower rotation speed is more fuel-economic than using the minimum BSFC point.•The above conclusion is validated by the analytical and numerical analysis.•For considered vehicle, PnG strategy is more fuel-economic than the CS strategy when the engine power is in the range [4,40] [kW]. PnG strategy, which accelerates and decelerates a vehicle periodically, is proved to be more fuel-economical than Constant Speed (CS) strategy in car-following scenario. In our former study it was found that in a free driving scenario, the most fuel-economical engine operating point during pulse mode is not the minimum BSFC point, but an operating point with lower torque and lower rotation speed. In this study, analytical and numerical analyses are conducted to validate the most fuel-economical operating point and to investigate the effect of the operating point during pulse mode on the manner of PnG strategy. The following conclusions are obtained in this study: 1)Using an operating point with lower torque and lower ration speed would be more fuel economic than using the minimum BSFC point. 2)The manner of PnG strategy obtained is more fuel-economic than all the other tested manners that use different engine operating points (including the minimum BSFC point). 3)PnG strategy is more fuel-economic compared with CS strategy when engine power varies in the range [4,40] [kW] when using the PnG strategy. A more precise model of the powertrain will be considered to obtain more practical results.