Module-1

Vehicle Mechanics
1. Explain the following terms used in roadway fundamentals:
i. Roadway position vector.
ii. Tangential roadway length.
iii. Roadway percentage grade.
Soln: - i. Roadway position vector: - A vehicle moves on a level road and also up and down the
slope of a roadway. The fixed co-ordinate system is attached to the earth such that the force of gravity
is perpendicular to the unit vector ⃗⃗iF Let us consider a straight roadway, i.e., the steering wheel is
locked straight along the xF -direction. The roadway is then on the xF yF plane of the fixed co-ordinate
system as shown in fig-1.

ii. Tangential roadway length: -

Roadway percentage grade: - The average roadway percent grade is the vertical rise per 100m
horizontal distance of roadway with both distances expressed in the same unit. The angle β of the
roadway associated with the slope or grade is the angle between the tangent vector and the horizontal
axis xF as shown in fig. 3.
If Δy is the vertical rise in meters, then

Δy
The tangent of the slope angle is , tan β =
100m
The percent grade or β is greater than zero when the vehicle is on an upward slope and is less than
zero when the vehicle is going downhill. The roadway percent grade can be described as a function
of the roadway as,

2. Explain laws of motion of vehicle.

Soln: - Newton’s second law of motion can expressed in equation form as,

The force calculation to follow, we will consider the vehicle to be a particle mass located at the “cg”
of the vehicle. The “cg” can be considered to be within the vehicle. Particle motion is described by
particle velocity and acceleration characteristics. For the position vector for the particle mass on
which several forces are working as shown fig below, the velocity v and acceleration a are

The power input to the particle for the ith force is

where θ is the angle between Fi and the resultant velocity v.

For a rigid body rotating about a fixed axis, the equivalent terms relating motion and power are torque,
angular velocity and angular acceleration. Let there be a number of independent torques acting on a
rigid body causing it to rotate about one of its central principal axes of inertia as shown in Fig below
If J (unit: kg-m2) is the polar moment of inertia of the rigid body, then the rotational form of Newton’s
second law of motion in the scalar form is

3. Explain the dynamics of vehicle motion.

Soin: - The tractive force is the force supplied by the electric motor in an EV and by the combination
of electric motor and internal combustion engine in a HEV to overcome the road load. The dynamic
equation of motion in the tangential direction is given by

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4. Explain the concept on propulsion power and maximum gradability of a vehicle with
appropriate equations.
Soln: -
Propulsion power: -The desired power rating of the electric motor or the power required from the
combination of electric motor and internal combustion engine (i.e. the propulsion unit) can be
calculated from the above equations based on the system constraints of starting acceleration, vehicle
rated and maximum velocity and vehicle gradability. The torque at the wheels of the vehicle can be
obtained from the power relation

A big advantage of an electrically driven propulsion system is the elimination of multiple gears to
match the vehicle speed and the engine speed. The wide speed range operation of electric motors
enabled by power electronics control makes it possible to use a single gear-ratio transmission for
instantaneous matching of the available motor torque Tmotor with the desired tractive torque TTR. The
gear ratio and the size depend on the maximum motor speed, the maximum vehicle speed and the
wheel radius. A higher motor speed relative to the vehicle speed means a higher gear ratio, larger size
and higher cost. However, higher motor speed is also desired in order to increase the power density
of the motor. Therefore, a compromise is necessary between the maximum motor speed and the gear
ratio to optimize the cost. Planetary gears are typically used for EVs with the gear ratio rarely
exceeding 10.

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 ⇒ v ≅ 0.
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 motor (or motors) at near zero speed. At near stall
condition, under the above assumptions,

below.

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.
 The 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.
 The vehicles are typically designed with a certain objective, such as maximum acceleration
on a given roadway slope on a typical weather condition.
 Two simplified scenarios that will set forth the stage for designing electric and hybrid EVs
are discussed in the following.
1. Constant FTR, Level road
2. Non-Constant FTR, general acceleration.

5. Define constant 𝐅𝐓𝐑 . Derive the equation for distanced traversed and tractive power in an
electrical vehicle.
Soln: Here, 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 β(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 Fig below. Assume
FTR (0) = FTR > Co mg, i.e., the initial tractive force is capable of overcoming the initial rolling
resistance. Therefore,

Since 𝐹𝑇𝑅 (0) > Co mg > 0 and the velocity increases. Once the vehicle starts move, the forces acting
on it changes. At > 0,
i. Distance traversed: -
ii. Tractive Power: -
6. Define constant 𝐅𝐓𝐑 . Derive the equation for voltage profile and energy required in an
electrical vehicle.
Soln: -
i. Voltage profile: -

ii. Energy required: -

Problem: -

Soln: -
7. Explain the concept of electric propulsion design used in EV.
Soln: - 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. Let us consider the
tractive power requirement for initial acceleration, which plays a significant role in determining the
rated power of the propulsion unit. The initial acceleration is specified as 0 to vf in tf sec. 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
internal combustion engine for a HEV will be a function of the vehicle velocity. Furthermore, the
road load characteristics are also function of velocity resulting in a transcendental equation to be
solved to determine the desired tractive power from the propulsion unit. The other design
requirements also play a significant role in determining the tractive power.