ELECTRIC CARS

OLANREWAJU EMMANUEL ABIODUN

LADOKE AKINTOLA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Email; [email protected]

Abstract

An electric car also called battery electric car is a plug –in electric automobile that is
propelled by an electric motors, using a rechargeable battery which is recharge by electricity.
Charging an electric car can be done by a variety of methods in the charging stations, these
charging stations are mainly located in house and public areas. We have two types of electric
vehicle: hybrid and pure electric. Electric car comes with different components which help it
operation.

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRIC CAR

An electric car also called battery electric car is a plug –in electric automobile that is
propelled by an electric motors, using a rechargeable battery which is recharge by electricity.
From 2008, manufacturing of electric car comes into play due to many issues arising such as;
high fuel consumption, emission rate, maintenance and so on.

Charging an electric car can be done by a variety of methods in the charging stations, these
charging stations are mainly located in house and public areas. The two all-time best selling
electric cars, Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S, have EPA rated ranges reaching up to 151
mi and 335 mi respectively. Electric car are a variety of electric vehicle. The term electric
vehicle implies any vehicle that uses electric motors for propulsion while electric car refers to
highway-capable automobiles powered by electricity. An electric vehicle may be powered
through a collector system by electricity from off-vehicle sources or may be by a self-
contained with a battery, solar panels or an electric generator to convert fuel to electricity.

HISTORY OF ELECTRIC CARS

Electric cars are nothing new, around 1900s interest in motor vehicles increases and around
then there were about twice as many electric cars on the road than petrol/diesel cars. Only in
1920s that interest in electric vehicle dwindled due to reduced speed and low travelling range.

Henry Ford was the one who put the nail in the electric car coffin when his company began to
mass-produce the Model T. This slashed the price of petrol cars to about half of that an
electric car and so in the early 1900s almost all electric car manufacturers began to cease
making them.

Interest in electric cars returned following the energy crises of the 1970s and 80s; with the
availability and price of oil being shown to be increasingly volatile. People could see the
benefits of battery-powered cars. However electric vehicles were still losing out to the style
and lower price of their petrol-fuelled cousins. In the 2000s, the development of hybrid
vehicles, plus other fuel crises saw the technology adopted by larger numbers than before. As
of September 2016, there were more than one million pure electric cars and vans owned
globally.

How do electric cars work?

We have two types of electric vehicle: hybrid and pure electric.

Pure Electric car

It consists of rechargeable battery, controller and electric motor. The battery is powered.
Then the controller converts DC to AC so it can be used by the motor. The motor then
converts electrical energy to mechanical energy for the vehicle movement.

Hybrid electric car

The same technology exists in hybrid cars, alongside a small gasoline engine running a
generator. This power the car at cruising speed and batteries provides extra power during
acceleration.

Benefits of electric cars

No emission is release

They offer a smooth drive with less effort

They are cheaper to run

Solves problem arising from non-renewable energy source

Does not contribute to green house emission like petrol vehicles

It is also eco-friendly.

Drawbacks of electric vehicles

It is affected by weather condition

They normally take a longer time to charge depending on car and charger

Charging points are not easily accessible

Electric vehicle Main Components

Motor

The motor converts electrical energy into kinetic energy that moves the wheel. The advantage
of using the motor instead of an engine is numerous. The noise and vibration is minimized.
The electric vehicle power train is smaller than the engine, thus providing lots of additional
space for efficient vehicle design.

The motor also serves as an electric generator that converts the kinetic energy generated
while in neutral gear into electric saved to the battery. Some of the Hyundai Motor Group’s
EV’S are equipped with a mechanism that can control the levels of regenerative braking via
paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

An electric Motor

Source; IEE Spectrum

Reducer

The reducer helps to easily convey the motor’s power to the wheel. But it carries the special
name-reducer-for a reason. The motor has a far higher RPM than that of an internal
combustion engine, so whereas the transmission changes the engine RPM to match the
driving circumstances.

Battery

The battery stores electrical energy which is equivalent to fuel tank which store fuel in petrol
engine. The distance an EV can travel to is usually determine by the battery capacity. The
higher the capacity the higher the distance travels and vice versa. Increasingly the capacity of
the battery now depends because the increase would cause increase in the time needed to be
stopping at each charging stations.

Thanks to the recent advancement in battery technology, the more recent EV has a higher
upgrade over the last models in terms of battery capacity and distance travel. The battery life
which is the life span of the battery also increases.

An electric battery

Source; carmagzine.co.uk

Battery Management System (BMS)

The BMS manage the battery cells so they can operate as if they are a single entity. The EV’s
battery consists of as little as tens to as many as thousands of mini-cells and each cells needs
to be in a nearly same condition to the other s to optimize the battery’s durability.

Most often the BMS is built into battery’s body, though sometimes it is incorporated into the
Electric Power Control Unit. The BMS mainly oversees the cell’s charge/discharge status, but
when it sees a malfunctioning cell, it automatically adjusts the power status.

Battery Heating System

In lower temperatures, the battery sees a decrease in both charging and speed. The battery
heater exists to keep the battery within the normal temperature range and also maintaining the
maximum distance to be cover. It also functions while charging to ensure efficiency of the
charge.

Electric Power Control Unit (EPCU)

The EPCU is an efficient integration of nearly all devices that control the flow of the electric
power in the vehicle. It consists of the following;

Inverter
The inverter converts the battery’s DC into AC which then is used to control the motor speed.
It execute acceleration, deceleration.

Low voltage DC-DC Converter

This helps to convert the high voltage electricity from the EV’S into low voltage and supplies
it to the vehicle’s various electronic systems.

Vehicle Control Unit

As the control tower of all electric power control systems in the vehicle, the VCU is arguably
the most important part of EPCU. It oversees nearly all the vehicle’s power control
mechanism.

Charge Port

The charge port allows the vehicle to connect to an external power supply which charges the
traction battery pack.

An electric charge port

Source: pinterest.com

CONCLUSION

From various manufacturers now producing electric car various development have evolved
over time from the battery down to electric motor for propelling. However, the major
challenging factor in it is the battery which is still expensive and easily discharged especially
when raining. According to expert prediction some years to come electric car will dominate.

REFERENCES

thegreenage.co.uk/introduction to electric cars

news.hyundaimotorgroup.com
https;//afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/how-do-all-electric-cars-work

pinterest.com

carmagzine.co.uk

spectrum.ieee.org