UNIT – I Electric Vehicles

Prepared by
B.Rajesh
Asst.Professor
EEE
UNIT I - ELECTRIC VEHICLES
 Introduction, Components, vehicle mechanics -
Roadway fundamentals, vehicle kinetics,
Dynamics of vehicle motion - Propulsion System
Design.
THE EARLY YEARS

 Prior to the 1830s, the means of transportation was only through steam
power.
 Faraday demonstrated the principle of the electric motor as early as in 1820
through a wire rod carrying electric current and a magnet.
 In 1831 he discovered the laws of electromagnetic induction that enabled
the development and demonstration of the electric motors and generators
essential for electric transportation.
The history of EVs in those early years up to its peak period in
the early 1900s is summarized as shown:
Pre-1830-Steam-powered transportation
• 1831—Faraday’s law, and shortly thereafter, invention of DC motor
• 1834—Nonrechargeable battery-powered electric car used on a short track
• 1851—Nonrechargeable 19 mph electric car
• 1859—Development of lead storage battery
• 1874—Battery-powered carriage
• Early 1870s-Electricity produced by dynamo-generators
• 1885—Gasoline-powered tricycle car
• 1900—4200 automobiles sold:
• 40% steam powered
• 38% electric powered
• 22% gasoline powered
 The specifications of some of the early EVs are given below:

1897—French Krieger Co. EV: weight, 2230 lb; top speed, 15 mph; range, 50 mi/charge
• 1900—French B.G.S. Co. EV: top speed, 40 mph; range, 100 mi/charge
• 1912—34,000 EVs registered; EVs outnumber gas-powered vehicles 2-to-1
• 1915—Woods EV: top speed, 40 mph; range, 100 mi/charge
• 1915—Lansden EV: weight, 2460 Ib, top speed, 93 mi/charge, capacity, 1 ton payload
• 1920s—EVs disappear, and ICEVs become predominant
The factors that led to the disappearance of EV after its short period of success were as follows:
1. Invention of starter motor in 1911 made gas vehicles easier to start.
2. Improvements in mass production of Henry T (gas-powered car) vehicles sold for $260 in
1925,compared to $850 in 1909. EVs were more expensive.
3. Rural areas had limited access to electricity to charge batteries, whereas gasoline could be sold in
those areas.
 1960s

 Electric vehicles started to resurge in the 1960s, primarily due to environmental hazards
being caused
 by the emissions of ICEVs. The major ICEV manufacturers, General Motors (GM) and Ford,
became
 involved in EV research and development. General Motors started a $15 million program
that
 culminated in the vehicles called Electrovair and Electrovan. The components and
specifications of two
 Electrovair vehicles (Electrovair I (1964) and Electrovair II (1966) by GM) are given below.
 Systems and characteristics:
 Motor—three-phase induction motor, 115 hp, 13,000 rev/m
 Battery—silver-zinc (Ag-Zn), 512 V, 680 lb
 Motor drive—DC-to-AC inverter using a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR)
 Top speed—80 mi/h
 Range—40 to 80 miles
 1970s

 The scenario turned in favor of EVs in the early 1970s, as gasoline prices increased
dramatically due to an energy crisis. The Arab oil embargo of 1973 increased demands for
alternate energy sources, which led to immense interest in EVs.
 It became highly desirable to be less dependent on foreign oil as a nation. In 1975, 352
electric vans were delivered to the U.S. Postal Service for testing. In 1976,
 Congress enacted Public Law 94–413, the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research,
Development and Demonstration Act of 1976. This act authorized a federal program to
promote electric and hybrid
 vehicle technologies and to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of EVs.
 1970s
The case study of a GM EV of the 1970s is as follows:
 System and characteristics:
 Motor—separately excited DC, 34 hp, 2400 rev/m
 Battery pack—Ni-Zn, 120 V, 735 lb
 Auxiliary battery—Ni-Zn, 14 V
 Motor drive—armature DC chopper using SCRs; field DC chopper using bipolar
junction
 transistors (BJTs)
 Top speed—60 mi/h
 Range—60–80 miles
 Acceleration—0–55 mi/h in 27 s
The vehicle utilized a modified Chevy Chevette chassis and body. This EV was used
mainly as a test bed for Ni-Zn batteries. Over 35,500 miles of on-road testing proved
that this EV was sufficiently road worthy.
1980s AND 1990s

 In the 1980s and the 1990s, there were tremendous developments of high-power,
high-frequency semiconductor switches, along with the microprocessor revolution,
which led to improved power converter design to drive the electric motors
efficiently.
 Also in this period, factors contributed to the development of magnetic bearings
used in flywheel energy storage systems, although these are not utilized in
mainstream EV development projects.
1990s
The case studies of two GM EVs of the 1990s are given below:
1.GM Impact 3 (1993 completed):

a. Based on 1990 Impact displayed at the Los Angeles auto show

b. Two-passenger, two-door coupe, street legal and safe
c. Initially, 12 built for testing; 50 built by 1995 to be evaluated by 1000 potential customers
d. System and characteristics:
i. Motor—one, three-phase induction motor; 137 hp; 12,000 rev/m
ii. Battery pack—lead-acid (26), 12 V batteries connected in series (312 V), 869 lb
iii. Motor drive—DC-to-AC inverter using insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs)
iv. Top speed—75 mph
v. Range—90 miles on highway
vi. Acceleration—0 to 60 miles in 8.5 s
vii. Vehicle weight—2900 lb
e. This vehicle was used as a test bed for mass production of EVs.

2. Saturn EVl
a. Commercially available electric vehicle made by GM in 1995.
b. Leased in California and Arizona for a total cost of about $30,000.
 RECENT EVs AND HEVs

 GM EVl, Ford Think City, Toyota RAV4, Nissan Hypermini, and Peugeot 106 Electric.
 A number of auto industries started developing hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) to overcome the
battery and range problem of pure electric vehicles.
 The Japanese auto industries lead this trend with Toyota, Honda, and Nissan already marketing their
Prius, Insight, and Tino model hybrids.
 The hybrid vehicles use an electric motor and an internal combustion engine and, thus, do not solve
the pollution problem, although it does mitigate it. Toyota, Honda, and Nissan are marketing the
hybrid vehicles well below the production cost, with significant subsidy and incentive from the
government.
 However, the cost of HEVs and EVs are expected to be high until production volume increases
significantly. Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) can be a viable alternative to battery electric vehicles,
serving as zero-emission vehicles without the range problem.
 Toyota is leading the way with FCEV, announcing the availability of its FCEV in 2003. The Toyota
FCEV is based on the Toyota RAV4 model.
Components of an Electric vehicle:
Components of an Electric vehicle:
Components of an Electric vehicle:
The primary components of an EV system are the motor, controller, power source, and transmission.
Electrochemical batteries have been the traditional source of energy in EVs. Lead-acid batteries have been
the primary choice, because of their well-developed technology and lower cost, although promising
new battery technologies are being tested in many prototype vehicles. The batteries need a charger to
restore the stored energy level once its available energy is near depletion due to usage.
Alternative energy sources are also being developed for zero-emission vehicles. The limited range problem
of battery-driven EVs prompted the search for alternative energy sources, such as fuel cells and
flywheels.
The majority of electric vehicles developed so far are based on DC machines, induction machines, or
permanent magnet machines. The disadvantages of DC machines pushed EV developers to look into
various types of AC machines. The maintenance-free, low-cost induction machines became an
attractive alternative to many developers.
However, high-speed operation of induction machines is only possible with a penalty in size and weight.
Excellent performance together with high-power density features of permanent magnet machines
make them an attractive solution for EV applications, although the cost of permanent magnets
can become prohibitive.
High-power density and a potentially low production cost of switched reluctance machines make
them ideally suited for EV applications. However, the acoustic noise problem has so far been a
deterrent for the use of switched reluctance machines in EVs.
 Components of an Electric Vehicle:

The motor design tasks of today are supported by finite element studies and various computer-aided design tools,
making the design process highly efficient.
The electric motor is driven by a power-electronics-based power-processing unit that converts the fixed DC voltage
available from the source into a variable voltage, variable frequency source controlled to maintain the desired
operating point of the vehicle.
The power electronics circuit comprised of power semiconductor devices saw tremendous development over the past
3 decades. The enabling technology of power electronics is a key driving force in developing efficient and high-
performance power-train units for EVs. High-power devices in compact packaging are available today, enabling
the development of lightweight and efficient power-processing units known as power electronic motor drives.
Advances in power solid state devices and very large-scale integration (VLSI) technology are responsible for the
development of efficient and compact power electronics circuits. The developments in high-speed digital signal
processors or microprocessors enable complex control algorithm implementation with a high degree of
accuracy.
The controller includes algorithms for the motor drive in the inner loop as well as system-level control in the outer
loop.
 Product Development V model

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Dynamics of Electric Vehicle
Vehicle Mechanics
The fundamentals of vehicle design are embedded in the basic mechanics of physics,
particularly in Newton’s second law of motion relating force and acceleration.
Newton’s second law states that the acceleration of an object is proportional to
the net force exerted on it.
The object accelerates when the net force is nonzero, where the term “net force”
refers to the result of the forces acting on the object. In the vehicle system, several
forces act on it, with the resultant or net force dictating the motion according to
Newton’s second law.
A vehicle moves forward with the aid of the force delivered by the propulsion unit
overcoming the resisting forces due to gravity, air, and tire resistance. The
acceleration and speed of the vehicle depend on the torque and power available
from the traction unit and the existing road and aerodynamic conditions.
A vehicle moves forward with the aid of the force delivered by the propulsion unit
overcoming the resisting forces due to gravity, air, and tire resistance. The
acceleration and speed of the vehicle depend on the torque and power available
from the traction unit and the existing road and aerodynamic conditions.
Acceleration also depends on the composite mass of the vehicle, including the
propulsion unit, all mechanical and electrical components, and the batteries.
Vehicle Mechanics
 A vehicle is designed based on certain given specifications and requirements.
 The system-level perspective helps in mastering the design skills for a complex
system, for example, first, the power and energy requirements from the propulsion
unit are determined from a given set of vehicle cruising and acceleration
specifications.
 The component-level design begins in the second stage, where the propulsion unit,
the energy source, and other auxiliary units are specified and designed. In this
stage, the electrical and mechanical engineers start designing the electric motor for
electric vehicles (EVs) or the combination of electric motor and internal
combustion (IC) engine for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).
 The power electronics engineers design the power conversion unit that links the
energy source with the electric motor. The controls engineer works in conjunction
with the power electronics engineer to develop the propulsion control system. The
chemists and the chemical engineers have the primary responsibility of designing
the energy source based on the energy requirement and guidelines of the vehicle
manufacturer. Many of the component designs proceed in an iterative manner,
where various designers interact to ensure that the design goals are met.
Road Fundamentals

A vehicle moves on a level road and also up and down the slope of a roadway. We can simplify our
description of the roadway by considering a straight roadway. Furthermore, we will define a
tangential coordinate system that moves along with the vehicle, with respect to a fixed two-
dimensional system.
The roadway description will be utilized to calculate the distance traversed by a vehicle along the
roadway.
The fixed coordinate system is attached to the earth such that the force of gravity is perpendicular
to the unit vector and in the xf yf plane. Let us consider a straight roadway, i.e., the steering
wheel is locked straight along the XF direction. The roadway is then in the xf , yf plane of the
fixed coordinate system.
Road Fundamentals

The two-dimensional roadway can be described as Yf=f(xf). The roadway position vector
between two points a and b along the horizontal direction is

The direction of motion and the distance traversed by the vehicle are easier to express in terms
of the tangent vector of the roadway position vector, given as:
LAWS OF MOTION

Newton’s second law of motion can be expressed in equation form as follows:

F = ma
Fte is called Tractive Effort
Roadway Fundamentals
Once the force requirement is defined, we would proceed to calculate the
power and energy required for a vehicle under consideration.
Roadway Fundamentals

The two dimensional roadway vector can be described as Y f=f(Xf)

The distance-norm of the tangent vector
 Roadway Fundamentals
The tangential roadway length is the distance traversed along the roadway. S is the
length of yf=f(xf)

The roadway percent grade is the vertical rise per 100 horizontal distance of
roadway.
 Roadway Fundamentals
The tangent of slope angle is as shown below.beta is greater than 0 for uphill and
less than 0 for downhill.
LAWS OF MOTION

Centre of gravity is considered instead of multiple masses and forces acting

on the body at different places.
LAWS OF MOTION
Forces on a particle

Power input to the particle

Rigid body rotation
Laws of motion

Rotational form of Newtons second Law

ω = angular speed
Α = dω/dt = angular acceleration rad/sec 2
Vehicle Kinetics

Let uT(xF) be the unit tangent vector in the fixed coordinate system pointing in the direction of
increasing XF. Therefore,
 Vehicle Kinetics

Newton’s second law of motion can now be applied to the cg of EV in the tangential
coordinate system as

Tangential coordinate system and the unit tangent vector on a roadway

 Vehicle Kinetics
Component tangent to the road:

Component normal to the road:

And, because motion is assumed to be

confined to the xTyT plane:
 Vehicle Kinetics
The first step in vehicle performance modelling is to produce an equation for the tractive effort. This
is the force propelling the vehicle forward, transmitted to the ground through the drive wheels.
Consider a vehicle of mass m, proceeding at a velocity v, up a slope of angle ψ, as in
The force propelling the vehicle forward, the tractive effort, has to accomplish the following:
• overcome the rolling resistance;
• overcome the aerodynamic drag;
• provide the force needed to overcome the component of the vehicle’s weight acting down the
slope;
• accelerate the vehicle, if the velocity is not constant.
Rolling resistance force
The rolling resistance is primarily due to the friction of the vehicle tyre on the road.
Friction in bearings and the gearing system also play their part. The rolling
resistance is approximately constant, and hardly depends on vehicle speed. It is
proportional to vehicle
weight. The equation is:
Frr = μrrmg
Hill climbing force
The force needed to drive the vehicle up a slope is the most straightforward to find. It
is simply the component of the vehicle weight that acts along the slope. By simple
resolution of forces we see that:
Fhc = mg sin(ψ)

Acceleration force
If the velocity of the vehicle is changing, then clearly a force will need to be applied in
addition to the forces shown in Figure 7.1. This force will provide the linear
acceleration of the vehicle, and is given by the well-known equation derived from
Newton’s
second law, Fa = ma
Forces acting
Drive wheel – Tractive Effort
Aerodynamic drag
 This part of the force is due to the friction of the vehicle body moving through the
air.
It is a function of the frontal area, shape, protrusions such as side mirrors, ducts and air
passages, spoilers, and many other factors. The formula for this component is:
 Fad = 1/2ρACd V 2
Vehicle Kinetics
The propulsion unit of the vehicle exerts a tractive force, FT, to
propel the vehicle forward at a desired velocity.
The tractive force must overcome the opposing forces, which are
summed together and labelled as the road load force, FRL.
The road load force consists of the gravitational force, rolling
resistance of the tires, and the aerodynamic drag force. The road
load force is as follows:
Vehicle Kinetics
Forces acting on a vehicle.

Rolling resistance force of wheels.

 Vehicle Kinetics
The rolling resistance force, Froll, is the force due to the couple, which opposes the
motion of the wheel. The force Froll is tangential to the roadway and always assists in
braking or retarding the motion of the vehicle.
The tractive force FTR must overcome this force Froll along with the gravitational force
and the aerodynamic drag force. Rolling resistance can be minimized by keeping the
tires as inflated as possible as well as by reducing the hysteresis.
The ratio of the retarding force due to rolling resistance and the vertical load on the
wheel is known as the coefficient of rolling resistance, C0. The rolling resistance force
is given by the following:
Vehicle Kinetics
Typically, 0.004<C0<0.02 (unitless), and C1<<C0 (s2/m2). C0mg is the
maximum rolling resistance at standstill. The sgn[vxT] is the signum
function given as

The aerodynamic drag force is the result of viscous resistance and

pressure distribution over the body of the air working against the motion
of the vehicle. The force is given by

where is the air density in kg/m3, CD is the aerodynamic drag coefficient

(dimensionless, and typically is 0.2<CD<0.4), AF is the equivalent frontal
area of the vehicle, and v0 is the head-wind velocity
Dynamics of Vehicle Motion
Tractive force is the force between the vehicle’s tires and the road (and
parallel to the road) supplied by the electric motor in an EV and by the
combination of electric motor and IC engine in an HEV to overcome the
road load. The dynamic equation of motion in the tangential direction is
given by
Propulsion Power

where TTR is the tractive torque in N-m, and ω wh is the angular velocity of the
wheel in rad/s. FTR is in N, and vxT is in m/s.

where rwh is the radius of the wheel in meters.

Force Velocity Characteristics

Plot of velocity profile. Tractive force versus steady state velocity

characteristics.
FORCE-VELOCITY CHARACTERISTICS
When the steady state velocity is reached, dv/dt=0; and, hence, SF=0. Therefore, we
have

Note that
Maximum Gradability
The maximum grade that a vehicle will be able to overcome with the maximum force
available from the propulsion unit is an important design criterion as well as
performance measure. The vehicle is expected to move forward very slowly when
climbing a steep slope and, hence, we can make the following assumptions for
maximum gradability:
1.The vehicle moves very slowly .
2.FAD and Froll are negligible.
3.The vehicle is not accelerating, i.e., dv/dt=0.
4.FTR is the maximum tractive force delivered by a motor (or motors) at near zero
speed.
At near stall conditions, under the above assumptions,
 Maximum Gradability

(a) Force diagram to determine maximum gradability. (b) Tractive force and mg
with respect to the grade.
VELOCITY AND ACCELERATION

The energy required from the propulsion unit depends on the desired acceleration and
the road load force that the vehicle has to overcome.
Maximum acceleration is limited by the maximum tractive power available and the
roadway condition at the time of vehicle operation. Although the road load force is
unknown in a real-world roadway, significant insight about the vehicle velocity
profile and energy requirement can be obtained through studies of assumed
scenarios
CONSTANT FTR, LEVEL ROAD
In the first case, we will assume a level road condition, where the propulsion
unit for an EV exerts a constant tractive force. The level road condition
implies that ß(s) =0. We will assume that the EV is initially at rest, which
implies v(0)=0. The free body diagram at t=0 is shown in

Forces acting on the vehicle on a level road. (a) Free body diagram t = 0. (b) Forces on the
vehicle at t>0.
Assume that FTR(0)=FTR>C0mg, i.e., the initial tractive force is capable of
overcoming the initial rolling resistance. Therefore,

Because FTR(0)>C0mg, dv(0)/dt>0, and the velocity v increases. Once the

vehicle starts to move, the forces acting on it change. At t>0:
Assuming v(t)>0 for t>0 and solving for dv/dt,

Let us define the following constants for a constant FTR acceleration:

Velocity profile for a constant FTR on a level road.

Velocity Profile
The velocity profile for the constant FTR level road case can be obtained by solving for v from
the dv/dt equation above, which gives

The terminal velocity can be obtained by taking the limit of the velocity profile as time
approaches infinity. The terminal velocity is
Distance traversed
The distance as a function of time is obtained by integrating the above equation: The starting
acceleration is often specified as 0 to vfm/s in tfs, where vf is the desired velocity at the end of the
specified time tf s. The time to reach the desired velocity is given by

Integrating above equation

Distance traversed

desired time
Tractive Power

The instantaneous tractive power delivered by the propulsion unit is

Terminal power can be expressed as PT=FTRVT. The tractive power required to
reach the desired velocity vf over the acceleration interval t

The mean tractive power over the acceleration interval t is

Energy Required

The energy requirement for a given acceleration and constant steady state
velocity is necessary for the design and selection of the energy source or
batteries to cover a certain distance. The rate of change of energy is the
tractive power, given as

where eTR is the instantaneous tractive energy. The energy required or energy
change during an interval of the vehicle can be obtained from the integration
of the instantaneous power equation as
NONCONSTANT FTR, GENERAL ACCELERATION
Arbitrary velocity profile

The change in tractive energy eTR is

NONCONSTANT FTR, GENERAL ACCELERATION
 PROPULSION SYSTEM DESIGN
The design problem is to solve for FTR, starting with a set of variables including
vehicle mass, rolling resistance, aerodynamic drag coefficient, percent grade,
wheel radius, etc., some of which are known, while others have to be
assumed. The acceleration of the vehicle in terms of these variables is given
by

The tractive force output of the electric motor for an EV or the combination of
electric motor and IC engine for an HEV will be a function of vehicle velocity.
Furthermore, the road load characteristics are a function of velocity, resulting in
a transcendental equation to be solved to determine the desired tractive power
from the propulsion unit.
Propulsion system design
The steady state maximum velocity, maximum gradability, and the velocity
equations can be used in the design stage to specify the power requirement of
a particular vehicle.

Slip
It is defined as the ratio of linear vehicle velocity and the spin velocity of the
wheel.
S=(1-v/wr) it lies between 0 and 1.
Vehicle Coordinate system

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 Pressure Distribution on Vehicle

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 Dirt Deposition

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 Airflow in the wheels

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 Other calculations done during design

 Braking Forces
 Time to stop
 Distance to stop

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 Problem 1
Hints

Solutions:
Tractive Effort
Power
E loss
Change in KE and delta eTR
Problem 2
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Problem 3
EV overall efficiency