Drives

and Electrical Vehicles

Project – VIENA
#1 – Mechanical Characteristics

1
Drives and Electric Vehicles – 2021/2022
João Fernandes, Francisco Silva, Bruno Tibério
1. OBJECTIVES
The main objectives of this first FIAT-competition project report are:
• To obtain the length and slope of each track;
• To obtain the linear mechanical equations that will represent the translational motion of the
vehicle;

2. OVERALL SYSTEM

The overall system is divided into three subsystems, as represented in Fig. 1:

1. The Vehicle Dynamics;
2. The Gearbox, and;
3. The 3-phase Induction Motor.

The first part of the project will focus on the characterization of the subsystem titled “Vehicle Dynamics”.
The inputs of this subsystem should be the slope of the track, θ, and the traction torque acting upon the two
rear wheels, Tw. The outputs should be the vehicle acceleration and linear speed, a and vy respectively, and the
wheels angular speed, ωw.

θ (slope)
a
Vehicle Dynamics
vy
Tw w

Gearbox

m
Tm
V (voltage) Induction Motor
f (frequency)

Fig. 1. Block diagram of the overall system

2
Drives and Electric Vehicles – 2021/2022
João Fernandes, Francisco Silva, Bruno Tibério
3. TRACK CHARACTERIZATION

The FIAT-competition will be divided into two tracks, as indicated by red bold lines in Fig. 2:
• Track 1: From point A to B with a 3º slope;
• Track 2: Endurance competition, with multiple turns (from C-D-E to F without slope).
In Table 1 are listed the coordinates of each track point.

Table 1 – Coordinates of each track

A point.

Point X [m] Y [m]

A 0.0 0.0

B 4.8 -70.0

C 13.1 -97.5
B
D 19.2 -159

C F E 33.5 -158

F 28.5 -97.9

D E

Fig. 2. Satellite view of each track.

TASK 1: OBTAIN THE LENGTH OF EACH PART OF THE TRACKS. The length of each part is
important to know when to stop the simulation.

4. VEHICLE DYNAMICS SUBSYSTEM

To obtain the vehicle dynamics, you must consider the mechanical forces on the vehicle, Fig. 3, where Fg
is the gravitational force, Fd is the total friction forces (aerodynamic and roll friction) and FT is the traction
force.
The traction force, FT, is given by the rear wheels torque and radius, Tw and rw, respectively. Usually, one

3
Drives and Electric Vehicles – 2021/2022
João Fernandes, Francisco Silva, Bruno Tibério
only considers the mass of the vehicle to obtain its resultant force (∑ 𝐹=Ma). However, in a vehicle, an
additional term must be added: “the equivalent mass of the rotational parts”, Meq_rot, resulting in (∑ 𝐹 =
(M+Meq_rot)a).
This equivalent mass of the rotational parts Meq_rot can be computed as in Eq. (1), where Iw and Im are the
wheels inertia and motor’s rotor inertia, respectively, and gr is the gearbox ratio.

NOTE: DEVELOP THE SUB-SYSTEM IN SIMULINK.

1 
I + I m ( gr ) 
2
M eq _ rot = 2 w
(1)
rw  

zv
zw

FT
Fd yv
xv
Fg

θ
xw yw

Fig. 3. Mechanical forces acting on the vehicle.

TASK 2: OBTAIN THE EQUATIONS OF THE SUBSYSTEM “VEHICLE DYNAMICS”,

CONSIDERING THE REQUIRED INPUTS AND OUTPUTS.

5. RESULTS
Consider the vehicle parameters listed in Table 2.

TASK 3: FOR A WHEEL TORQUE OF 200NM FOR TRACK A->B AND A WHEEL TORQUE OF
40NM FOR TRACK C->D->E->F (ONE LAP, BUT DO NOT REPEAT POINT C), COMPUTE:

• The time to finish;

• The linear velocity of the vehicle (Km/h);
• The power traction developed by the vehicle during its motion;
• The total traction energy consumed to complete each track.
Consider that the vehicle starts with zero velocity.

4
Drives and Electric Vehicles – 2021/2022
João Fernandes, Francisco Silva, Bruno Tibério
 Table 2 – Vehicle parameters.

Characteristic Value
Frontal area 2.14 m2
Vehicle weight + passengers 800 kg
Wheels radius, rw 0.165 m
Roll friction coefficient, fr 0.01, |𝑣𝑦 | > 0.1 m/s
{
(wheels on concrete) 0, |𝑣𝑦 | < 0.1 m/s
Aerodynamic coefficient 0.33
Gearbox ratio, gr 8
Wheel inertia, Iw 0.25 kg.m2
Motor’s rotor inertia, Im 0.0025 kg.m2

6. NOTES ABOUT MECHANICAL ASPECTS

1. GEARBOX:

Fig. 4. Two wheels, rotating and contacting at point P.

Consider two wheels, A and B, in Fig. 4. They have an angular speed of 𝜔𝐴 and 𝜔𝐵 , respectively. The
relationship between the angular velocities of the wheels is determined by
A RB
A RA =B RB  = =g (2)
B RA r
Now, consider the relationship between the torques of both wheels, 𝑇𝐴 and 𝑇𝐵 . Assuming there are no
mechanical losses in the contact between both wheels, the power from each wheel must be the same (𝑃𝐴 =
𝑃𝐵 ). The power is determined by 𝑃 = 𝑇𝜔, and so

5
Drives and Electric Vehicles – 2021/2022
João Fernandes, Francisco Silva, Bruno Tibério
 TA B 1
TAA =TBB  = = (3)
TB A gr
What about if we are considering a start of rotational movement from the wheels? The Euler law of motion
must apply for the wheels

TA = I A A (4)

TB = I B B (5)

Since 𝛼 = 𝑑𝜔⁄𝑑𝑡 , applying the derivative in both sides of (2), the relationship between accelerations is the
same as (2) (𝛼𝐴 ⁄𝛼𝐵 = 𝑔𝑟 ). Dividing (4) with (5), one gets

TA I A  A I A 1
=  =
TB I B  B I B gr2
(6)

6
Drives and Electric Vehicles – 2021/2022
João Fernandes, Francisco Silva, Bruno Tibério
 2. EQUIVALENT MASS:

Starting with the car model in Fig. 3 (not including the weight and the friction forces), one has

FT = Ma (7)

Since the traction is made in the wheels, the traction force 𝐹𝑇 must be applied in the rear wheels.
Fig. 5 shows the forces applied in the wheels that are connected to the motor. Since these wheels are
responsible for the traction power the car has, the traction force 𝐹𝑇 must be applied in the point of contact
between the wheels and the road.

𝑇𝑇

𝑟𝑤

𝐹𝑇

Fig. 5. Force diagram in the wheel responsible for the traction power (wheel connected to the motor).

Applying the Newton equations for the rotating parts (which is called the Euler’s Laws of Motion), one has:

TT − FT rw = ITotal (8)

where 𝐼𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 is the total inertia seen from the wheels, 𝑟𝑤 is the wheel radius and 𝛼 is the angular acceleration.

Solving (8) with respect to 𝐹𝑇 and using the relation between the angular acceleration and the linear
acceleration, (7) becomes

TT  I 
= M + total a (9)
rw  rw2 
 

7
Drives and Electric Vehicles – 2021/2022
João Fernandes, Francisco Silva, Bruno Tibério