Tutorial on

Electric Vehicle Design

Tai Ran Hsu, Ph.D. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering San Jose State University San Jose, California October 12, 2011 Tai Ran Hsu

Principal references: Build your own electric vehicle, by Seth Leitman and Bob Brant, 2nd Edition McGraw Hill, Build vehicle Brant Edition, Hill New York, ISBN: 978 0 07 154373 6, 1994 Spartan Zero Emissions Hybrid Human Powered Vehicle ZEM HHPV, by Amandeep Manik, Scott MacPherson, Heath Fields and Mark Rafael, San State University student senior design project report, Electrical Engineering Department, May 2008

Content
Part 1 The Basics
History of Electric Vehicles Anatomy of EVs Design for Power Drive Train Electric System and BMS Design for Velocity and No charge Cruising Range

Part 2 Hybrid EVs and Regenerative Braking System

Regenerative Braking Systems (RBS) for Hybrid Gas electric Vehicles The Flywheel Driven RBS

Electric Vehicles Past and Present

Light Weight, Low Speed Neighborhood and Light Utility Vehicles

(Limited to streets with low posted speed limits)

High Speed, Long Cruising Range (Freeway legal)

Nissan Leaf (2010)

Tesla Roadster

Chevy Volt (2011)

Tesla Model S (2012)

Anatomy of EVs
B Battery Man nagement Dr Train rive System (BMS) m

Power Source Charger Batteries Main Controller (BMS) Motor Adaptor

Throttle Controller Speed Controller p

Transmission Drive wheels

AC from Power source to Charger DC from Charger to Batteries Turn key closes Main controller leads to Batteries to Speed controller Throttle controls Speed controller. More volts for higher rpm and higher vehicle speed (48 v for ZEM, 84 v for ZEEN)

Design for Power

The very first item in EV design is to determine how much electric power required to y g p q drive the vehicle at a top velocity with expected payloads for a no charge cruising range. A simple formula from rigid body dynamics will do the job. A moving rigid body such as a vehicle traveling at a velocity V is subjected to the following forces: 1) The friction forces between the wheel tires and the road surface (Ff) 2) Th aerodynamic resistance (Fr) The d i i 3) The dynamic forces associated accompanied with any accelerations (Fd) 4) Gravitational force when traveling along up or down slopes (Fg) Fr V, a Fd Ff W = mg Fg

Electric Power Requirement

The power ( ) required to drive the vehicle at velocity V is: p (P) q y

Ff

Fr

Fd

Fg V

where P has the unit of horse power (hp); F in (lb); V in (ft/s) 1 hp = 550 ft lb/s In SI system: P has a unit of Watt (W): 1W = 1 J/s; (1 J = 1 N m), so 1 W = 1 N m/s, and 1kW = 0 / d k 0.7457 hp h

Forces on Running EVs

Fr V, Va Fd Ff W = mg Fg
The total weight of the vehicle (curb wt. + payload) is very important in the design Normally weight distribution is about 45% on front axel Total weight contributes to the friction force (Ff) the primary force in determining required power for EVs with 4 wheels:

Ff = N = (W/4) where = coefficient of friction, or rolling resistance factor between wheel tires and road surface: = 0.015 on a hard surface (concrete) = 0.08 on a medium-hard surface (asphalt) = 0.3 on a soft surface (sand) The -values may vary with speed V (mph) with: = 0.012 (1 + V/100)

Forces on Running EVs contd

Fr V, Va Fd Ff W = mg Fg
The aerodynamic drag force (Fr) to the vehicle is unavoidable when it is running. It can be expressed as:

Fr = (Cd A V2)/391

with negligible wind

where Fr is in (lb), A is the frontal area in (ft2) and V is the velocity of the vehicle in (mph) The drag coefficient Cd for typical EVs are: Cd = 0.3 to 0.35 for cars; 0.33 to 0.35 for vans; and 0.42 to 0.46 for pickup trucks Coefficient Cd needs to be modified when there is a relative wind velocity of Vw present: Cw = [0.98 (Vw/V)2 + 0.63 (Vw/V)]Crw 0.4 (Vw/V) where Vw = average wind velocity (mph); V = vehicle velocity (mph); Crw = relative wind coefficient = 1.4 for most sedans Total aerodynamic drag force on vehicle is: Fr = (Cd A V2)/391 + [0.98 (Vw/V)2 + 0.63 (Vw/V)]Crw 0.4 (Vw/V)

Fr

Forces on Running EVs ends

V, a Fd Ff W = mg Fg

Dynamic forces (Fd) to the vehicle needs to be accounted for only if the vehicle changes its velocity y ( y g y e.g., in accelerations or decelerations. The magnitude of these forces is: Fd = Ma where M = mass in slug or kg in SI system; and a = acceleration with (+) sign and deceleration with (-) sign in unit of ft/s2 of m/s2 in SI system Gravitational, or body force (Fg) in determining the required power only when the vehicle travels on sloped roads. Its magnitude is: Fg = W Sin in which W = the total weight of the vehicle; = is the inclination of the road surface. A +ve sign for traveling up the slope and a ve sign for down-slope traveling. Notice All forces are related to the WEIGHT of the vehicle. Minimizing weight is a major consideration in design

Typical Drive Train of EVs

Wheel

Motor & Controller

Clutch

Manual Transmission

Drive Shaft

Differential Gear

Drive Axles Battery Banks & BMS

Wheel

Design of Drive Train

Three useful formula: hpmotor = (Torquewheel x mph x Revolution/mile)/(315120 x ) for selecting motor p ( q p / )/( g Torquewheel = Torquemotor x (Overall gear ratio x Overall drive train efficiency ( )
Speedwheel (mph) = (rpmmotor x 60)/(Overall gear ratio x revolution/mile)

where

0.9, Overall gear ratio = rpmmotor/rpmwheel

Determine the torque of wheels: Torquewheel = Ff R + Fh where R = radius of driving wheel tire, ft; h = distance between center of gravity (CG) of the vehicle and the wheel axel, ft

Design of Electric System and BMS

Electric system and its associated battery management system (BMS) are the cardiology system of human bodies. Most EVs contain a system as illustrated below:
Battery Charger e.g., 48 DCV, 15A

Battery Banks
e.g. 48 DCV, 4000 Wh ea. 48 DCV

48 DCV

DC/DC / Converter

SPDT Switch

120 VAC Power Source

Reverse Contactor 400 A Max

Main Contactor 400 A Max Dash Instrument Panel & Control Switching

Electronic Throttle

Motor Controller 48 DCV, 250A (1 hr)

DC Motor
e.g., 10 hp (40 hp peak) 48 72 DCV series wound

Connected to Mechanical Drive System

Major Components in Electrical System

Component Name Battery charger Picture Principal Function 15 A wall charger from 110 ACV to e.g., e g 48 DCV of the EV battery banks It is a heavy duty safety switch delivering power to the DC motor To allow electronically controlled forward/reverse motion of the motor To control motor speed and allows safe reversing g The motor that drives the EV. Should deliver the maximum designed power for the EV

Main contactor

Reverse contactor

Motor controller

DC motor

Batteries for Electric Vehicles

Batteries are like the gas tank for a vehicle powered by internal combustion engine gas tank engine. No car can run without gas tank. The larger the gas tank the farther the car runs. Batteries are where the vehicle driving energy is stored. No EV or HEV can run without batteries. The more electric energy is stored in the batteries, the farther the vehicle will run batteries run.

Common Batteries for Vehicles

Characteristics Voltage (v) Electrolytec (Environmental merits) Theorectical Energy Density (kW/kg) Theoretical Amp hr Regular charging time (hr) Memory effect Self discharge Cost C Lead Acid Pb acid 12 Surfuric acid 35 42 45 (Discharged @1.75A) @1 75A) 4 to 8 At low voltage 2 to 10%/mo Low L Lithium Ion Li ion 3.2 to 3.6 per cell Lithium salts (non aqueous solution) 150 250 3 to 12 1.5 to 2 No 1%/mo High Hi h Nicke Metal Hydride y NiMH 1.4 to 1.6 per cell Alkaline (Potassium hydroxide) 60 70 5 to 10 1 No >30%/mo Moderate M d

Design for Velocity

The velocity of the EV relates to the speed of the driving motor and the drive train of the vehicle, as shown by the formula: f th hi l h b th f l

Speedvehicle (mph) = (RPMmotor x 60)/(overall gear ratio x revolutions/mile)

where Overall gear ratio = RPMmotor/RPMwheel Revolutions/mile = 5280/( d) in which d = diameter of wheel tire in ft The velocity (or speed) of the vehicle (V) in the following formula is also related to the the ELECTRIC POWER (P) that the batteries can provide:

Obviously, the electric power (P) in the above equation must be greater than the power required to drive the motor (hpmotor)

Design for No charge Range

The Th cruising range of an EV (R) d ii f depends on h f the vehicle travels on specific d how fast h hi l l ifi road conditions and the traffic en route. g g (R) y g g The cruising range of an EV ( ) can be obtained by using the following formula:

R = n E Vav/P

miles

where n = total no. of batteries or cells E = (Theoretical Amp h) x (voltage output by each battery or cell, v) from characteristics of the selected batteries (W h) Vav = A Average vehicle velocity ( il /h ) hi l l i (miles/hr) P = Required power to drive the vehicle, W

Design Case
A neighborhood electric vehicle with a curb weight at 1200 lbs and is designed to carry a payload of 400 lbs. the vehicle is designed to operate under the following conditions: 1) The vehicle is powered by 2 banks of lead acid batteries with 12 v output by each battery. Each bank consists of 4 batteries connected in series. The DC amp h output is 45/battery. 2) Travels on straight flat concrete paved roads with an average slope av = 3o. 3) Maximum speed Vmax = 35 mph with an average speed Vav = 25 mph (or 36.67 ft/s). The latter is used as the designed velocity 4) The vehicle is designed to acceleration from zero to 25 mph in 30 seconds after each stop. 5) The vehicle has a small front surface area of 8 ft2 with an aerodynamic drag coefficient Cd = 0.3. 6) The vehicle wheel tire diameter is 20 inches.

Design for power requirement:

Electric power requirement for the NEV can be obtained by the equation:

where V = Vav = 25 mph = 25x5280/3600 ft/s = 36.67 ft/s The forces acting on the vehicle are: The friction force: Ff = W /4 = 0.015 x (1600)/4 = 6 lbs

The aerodynamic drag force: Fr = (CdAV2)/391 = (0.3 x 8 x 252)/391 = 1.4 lbs The dynamic force Fd = Ma = (1600/32.2) x [(36.67 0)/30] = 60.7 lbs

The gravitational force Fg = W Sin = 1600 Sin(3o) = 83.74 lbs Total forces acting on the vehicle is F = 6 + 1.4 + 60.7 + 83.74 = 151.84 lbs Hence the required power P = F V = 151.84 x 36.67 ft lbs/s = 5568 ft lbs/s = 5568/550 h = 10.12 h 68/ 0 hp 0 2 hp = 10.12/0.7457 kW = 13.58 kW

Selection of DC motor:
Use the formula: hpmotor = (Torq ewheel x mph x Re ol tion/mile)/(315120 x ) form la (Torque Revolution/mile)/(315120

In the above formula: Torquewheel = FfR + Fh with R = 10/12 = 0.833 ft and h = 2 ft (estimated) with forces: Ff = 6 lbs, Fr = 1.4 lbs, Fd = 60.7 lbs, and Fg = 83.74 lbs, and Revolution/mile = 5280 (ft/mi)/(2 R) (ft/rev) = 1009 rev/mi, and = 0 9 a common assumption, we h d 0.9, ti have th h the horsepower of the motor t b f th t to be:

Hpmotor = [6x10/12 + (1.4 + 60.7 + 83.74)x2]x25 (mph)x 1009 rev/mi/(315120x0.9) = 26.39 hp

Design for No charge Range R = n E Vav/P

where n = no. of b tt i = 8 h f batteries E = (Theoretical Amp h) x (voltage output by each battery or cell, v) from characteristics of the selected batteries (W h) = 45 (Amp h) x 12 (v) = 540 W h V = Vav = 25 mph h P = Required power to drive the vehicle = 13.58 kW = 13580 W

Hence the no charge cruising range is: R = 8 x 540 x 25/13580 = 0.318 mi This no charge cruising range R for the EV is UNACCEPTABLY LOW!! One need to either use more and more powerful batteries (n), or cut down the power requirement (P) by reducing the weight (W) of the vehicle.

Batteries and high voltage can make a huge difference in no charge cruising range:
Higher spee ed

Longer cruising range

EVs with Higher Velocity and Better No charge Cruising Range

Maximum velocity (V) and No charge cruising range (R) are the two most important design features for any EV. These features are the principal reasons for the slow emergence of EV EV presence in marketplace. Up till very recently, most EVs could only be used for what is termed as neighborhood operations with typical V< 35 mph and R< 40 miles miles. Low V and R are primarily attributed to the limited electric power and the energy storage systems using less than efficient batteries.

Electric V hi l on C El i Vehicles Current M k Market Ford Focus Mitsubishi I Nissan Leaf Electric
Base Price* Miles per charge Seats Projected P j t d availability Not available Up to 100 miles Not available 50 to 85 miles $32,780 $32 780 100 miles

Tesla Model S
$56,500 $56 500 160 to 300 miles depend to battery pack Seven Early E l 2012

Five Late L t 2011

Four Fall F ll 2011

Five Already Al d available

*Qualify for $7,500 federal tax credit with possible $5,000 state rebate. Source: Make Way for Electric Vehicles San Jose Mercury News, April 3, 2011

Design Considerations for Idea EVs

Low weight g Streamline exterior Simple drive train DC to get started AC to r n abo e 30 mph run above Use more high frequency components (> 400 Hz) DC motor that gets 96 volts AC motor that gets 400 volts Matching controller and motor impedance Use high energy density batteries