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Vehicle dynamics lesson summary

This chapter discusses the calculations needed to determine the power and energy required for vehicle operation, considering factors like vehicle weight, road conditions, and wind resistance. Key concepts include traction power, torque, and energy consumption per kilometer, particularly for electric vehicles which utilize regenerative braking. Additionally, it highlights the importance of efficiency and thermal management in battery performance and energy loss.

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3 views

Vehicle dynamics lesson summary

This chapter discusses the calculations needed to determine the power and energy required for vehicle operation, considering factors like vehicle weight, road conditions, and wind resistance. Key concepts include traction power, torque, and energy consumption per kilometer, particularly for electric vehicles which utilize regenerative braking. Additionally, it highlights the importance of efficiency and thermal management in battery performance and energy loss.

Uploaded by

tt
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lesson Summary

Lesson Summary
This chapter attempts to compute how much power is required to drive a vehicle and how much
energy is required to carry out a trip from one place to another. To do this, we need to understand
a few things about the vehicle. The gross weight of the vehicle, that is the weight of the vehicle
plus the weight of the passengers, road conditions, and how wind resistance impacts the vehicle.

To do such calculations, we need to understand the impact Aerodynamic Drag, Rolling


Resistance, Uphill Resistance, and Acceleration have on a vehicle.
Aerodynamic Drag
Rolling Resistance
Gradient Resistance
Aerodynamic Drag, or wind resistance, is the force that pushes the car back, or acts against the
car, as the car moves forward.

Drag = 1/2*p*Cd*A*v2

p=Air density @27degrees


Cd=drag coefficient
A=Vehicle projected area
v=velocity

A vehicle needs Traction Power, Ptrac (in Watts), applied for it to move and accelerate.
 Traction power in Internal Combustion Engines comes from petrol or diesel engines.

 Traction power in EVs come from a battery through motors and its controllers.

The traction power creates a Force (Ftrac) on the vehicle to move forward.
 Ptrac = Ftrac*v (where v is velocity in m/sec)
The resulting Torque T (in Newton-Meters Nm) on the vehicle wheel created by the force is:
 T = Ftrac*rwheel (wheel radius in meters)
Torque and Speed (referred to as rpm) are the fundamental parameters of a motor or an engine,
and vehicle rpm is obtained from v=rpm*2π*rwheel/60
Ftrac = Acceleration Force + Aerodynamic Drag + Rolling Resistance + Gradient Resistance

Energy = ∫ Ptrac dt in Watt-sec and is converted to kWh by dividing by 3.6


A drive train is to be designed to provide adequate force and torque force at different speeds to
overcome drag, rolling resistance, gradient resistance, and to provide the right acceleration for
pick up.
The purpose of a drive cycle is to determine how much energy a vehicle will consume per
kilometre. This concept of energy efficiency in Electric Vehicles is measured in Kilo-Watt hours
over a kilometre (kWh/km). Different countries have different drive cycles to account for
different driving conditions.
In a battery-powered electric vehicle, regenerative braking is the conversion of the vehicle's
kinetic energy into chemical energy stored in the battery, where it can be used later to drive the
vehicle. The Regeneration Efficiency has to be taken into account when calculating the results
of a drive cycle. In real-world applications, regeneration efficiencies are between 30% to 40%.
Other inefficiencies will cause an energy loss due to power dissipation as heat. Therefore,
thermal insulation needs to be designed to cater for this heat dissipation.
Batteries in electric vehicles operate at 85% capacity, and at 80% as the battery ages, this too has
to be taken into account when designing a vehicle’s power requirements.

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