Regenerative Braking
The regenerative braking is a software strategy and is controlled by the powertrain control module (PCM), the transaxle control module (TCM), and the traction battery control module (TBCM). Regenerative braking is the ability to capture and store a portion of the energy that would be lost as heat during a braking event. When the driver uses the brakes, the PCM determines how much negative torque (braking force) the traction motor should provide in addition to the friction brakes. Depending on the high voltage traction battery state of charge (SOC), the amount of negative torque provided by traction motor can vary between 0 and 100 percent. The traction motor then becomes a generator, which causes the energy to flow into the high voltage traction battery. The PCM strategy smoothly blends regenerative and friction brake effort to make the dual brake operation transparent to the driver.