A fuel efficiency evaluation of gas-turbine-engine-based hybrid vehicles

The purpose of the contribution is evaluating the fuel efficiency of gas turbine (GT) engine-based hybrid vehicles, which can be manufactured utilizing modern technologies. An analytical equation for calculating fuel consumption is derived taking into account specific properties of hybrid vehicles. European Union Directives and regulations of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe are adopted to evaluate the fuel efficiency. The equation is first verified by calculating the mileage of several commercial hybrid passenger vehicles and then applied to GT-based hybrid vehicles. It is revealed that even though GT engine possesses relatively poor efficiency, reduced turbine-generator weight results in a lower overall weight of the vehicle, leading to fuel consumption decrease. The estimated fuel efficiency of GT engine-based vehicles is shown to be on a par with the efficiency of widely employed diesel and gasoline engine-based vehicles.