Charged with Electric Vehicle News and Views
More Tesla Model S street racing from the guys at Drag Times. This time they're racing the Model S Performance against a 2008 Mitsubishi Evo is running 25 psi boots with a full turbo back exhaust, tune, intake and upgraded clutch.
This race is from a standing start with the Evo using a 5,500 rpm Launch control to build turbo boost while stationary.
More Tesla Model S street racing from the guys at Drag Times. This time they're racing the Model S Performance against a 2008 Mitsubishi Evo is running 25 psi boots with a full turbo back exhaust, tune, intake and upgraded clutch.
This race is from a 20 MPH rolling start.
Monash University (Australia) researchers have brought next generation energy storage closer with an engineering first - a graphene-based device that is compact, yet lasts as long as a conventional battery.
Published today in Science, a research team led by Professor Dan Li of the Department of Materials Engineering has developed a completely new strategy to engineer graphene-based supercapacitors (SC), making them viable for widespread use in renewable energy storage, portable electronics and electric vehicles.
SCs are generally made of highly porous carbon impregnated with a liquid electrolyte to transport the electrical charge. Known for their almost indefinite lifespan and the ability to re-charge in seconds, the drawback of existing SCs is their low energy-storage-to-volume ratio - known as energy density. Low energy density of five to eight Watt-hours per litre, means SCs are unfeasibly large or must be re-charged frequently.
Professor Li's team has created an SC with energy density of 60 Watt-hours per litre - comparable to lead-acid batteries and around 12 times higher than commercially available SCs.
"It has long been a challenge to make SCs smaller, lighter and compact to meet the increasingly demanding needs of many commercial uses," Professor Li said.
Graphene, which is formed when graphite is broken down into layers one atom thick, is very strong, chemically stable and an excellent conductor of electricity.
To make their uniquely compact electrode, Professor Li's team exploited an adaptive graphene gel film they had developed previously. They used liquid electrolytes - generally the conductor in traditional SCs - to control the spacing between graphene sheets on the sub-nanometre scale. In this way the liquid electrolyte played a dual role: maintaining the minute space between the graphene sheets and conducting electricity.
Unlike in traditional 'hard' porous carbon, where space is wasted with unnecessarily large 'pores', density is maximised without compromising porosity in Professor Li's electrode.
To create their material, the research team used a method similar to that used in traditional paper making, meaning the process could be easily and cost-effectively scaled up for industrial use.
"We have created a macroscopic graphene material that is a step beyond what has been achieved previously. It is almost at the stage of moving from the lab to commercial development," Professor Li said.
Monash University (Australia) researchers have brought next generation energy storage closer with an engineering first - a graphene-based device that is compact, yet lasts as long as a conventional battery.
Published today in Science, a research team led by Professor Dan Li of the Department of Materials Engineering has developed a completely new strategy to engineer graphene-based supercapacitors (SC), making them viable for widespread use in renewable energy storage, portable electronics and electric vehicles.
SCs are generally made of highly porous carbon impregnated with a liquid electrolyte to transport the electrical charge. Known for their almost indefinite lifespan and the ability to re-charge in seconds, the drawback of existing SCs is their low energy-storage-to-volume ratio - known as energy density. Low energy density of five to eight Watt-hours per litre, means SCs are unfeasibly large or must be re-charged frequently.
Professor Li's team has created an SC with energy density of 60 Watt-hours per litre - comparable to lead-acid batteries and around 12 times higher than commercially available SCs.
"It has long been a challenge to make SCs smaller, lighter and compact to meet the increasingly demanding needs of many commercial uses," Professor Li said.
Graphene, which is formed when graphite is broken down into layers one atom thick, is very strong, chemically stable and an excellent conductor of electricity.
To make their uniquely compact electrode, Professor Li's team exploited an adaptive graphene gel film they had developed previously. They used liquid electrolytes - generally the conductor in traditional SCs - to control the spacing between graphene sheets on the sub-nanometre scale. In this way the liquid electrolyte played a dual role: maintaining the minute space between the graphene sheets and conducting electricity.
Unlike in traditional 'hard' porous carbon, where space is wasted with unnecessarily large 'pores', density is maximised without compromising porosity in Professor Li's electrode.
To create their material, the research team used a method similar to that used in traditional paper making, meaning the process could be easily and cost-effectively scaled up for industrial use.
"We have created a macroscopic graphene material that is a step beyond what has been achieved previously. It is almost at the stage of moving from the lab to commercial development," Professor Li said.
Mitsubishi Australia were generous enough to recently loan EV News an iMiEV for a week.
On sale in Australia since 2010, the Mitsubishi iMiEV is based on a Japanese Kei class Mitsubishi I that was first released in 2006.
The iMiEV has the same sized lithium ion battery (16 kWh) as the Holden Volt but because it is a much smaller car and doesn't cart around a full sized 1.4 Lt petrol engine range extender the iMiEV weighs only 1,080 kg Vs 1,715 kg for the Volt. Where the Volt routinely achieves 70 - 80 km from a full charge in EV mode the book spec for the iMiEV is 155 km which is approximately twice the distance for the same battery capacity.
For a 5 door hatchback with only 47 kw (63 hp) and 180 Nm (133 lb/ft) from it's BLDC permanent magnet electric motor mated to a 7.065:1 single speed reduction gearbox, acceleration, while not startling off the line, is very impressive above 50 km/h right up to the cars top speed of 130 km/h. The combination of small road foot print and brilliant mid-speed acceleration brings a whole new dimension to 'gap-shooting' in heavy urban traffic.
The iMiEV's dash board instruments aren't as flash as a Volt with a basic set of segmented LCD meters instead of the all-singing all-dancing colour graphics of the Volt, but the relevant information like State Of Charge (SoC), energy consumption and predicted range are all present.
During our week long test drive we didn't quite get a handle on the algorithm behind the iMiEVs range meter. Driving the iMiEV on surface roads at speeds below 60 km/h with the 'gear' selector in the 'B' maximum brake regeneration position, it was possible to not only travel many kilometers without the indicated range changing at all, but we even managed to leave one morning with a full change indicating 106 km range and travelled to our destination 24 km away having used 2 bars on the battery meter (12.5%) with predicted range having gone UP to 113km by the time we arrived?
While low speed urban driving is definitely the iMiEV's forte, high speed motorways are not. We all know that aerodynamic drag increases in proportion to the square of speed ie doubled speed results in four times as much drag. Unfortunately, despite the blunt nose and steeply raked windscreen the iMiEV's coefficient of drag is no better than a large family sedan @ 0.33 Cd. We even double checked by multiplying the frontal cross sectional area to get the CdA figure but the result was still about equal.
Aside from the fact it doesn't have a cruise control which is unusual for a modern car, the range meter plummets when driven for sustained periods above 100 km/h. This serves as a graphic illustration of the extra loads ALL cars face at higher speeds. It only becomes much more noticeable in the iMiEV because a/ The battery capacity is equivalent to having a 1.5 litre fuel tank (petrol contains 10 kWh per litre) b/ ICE cars are so inefficient at low speeds compared to the iMiEV the difference between high and low speed fuel consumption of an ICE car isn't as noticeable as with the iMiEV.
Like Charging an iPhone
Here in Australia 240 VAC is the standard voltage that all appliances run off so the iMiEV can be fully changed in 8 hours using a standard 10 amp supply (although the iMiEV lead has a 15A plug). In the week we had the car we never used much more than ½ the battery on any given day of running errands so plugging it in for a 4 hour re-charge didn't seem much different to plugging in the iPhone / iPad on a daily basis.
The iMiEV has 2 charge sockets, one on either side of the car, with 240v on the drivers (right) side and a large CHAdeMO charger socket under the left hand side filler flap.
In order to test how practical fast charging is we took a drive to the the NRMA DC Fast Charger installed across the road from their North Strathfield head office. Arriving with 55% charge remaining the battery quickly accepted the 359 volts / 125 amps on offer and was topped up to 80% in 11 minutes flat. While the NRMA fast charger is located near a popular restaurant/cafe precinct, and is free of charge to use, 10 minutes isn't even enough time for a coffee although a full 20 min charge might allow enough time for a stroll to get a cappuccino.
With an introduction price of A$65,000, which was reduced to A$48,880 in 2011, the Mitsubishi iMiEV hasn't exactly been selling like hot cakes with only 227 cars delivered locally. Yet 33,000 have been sold worldwide including Peugeot and Citroen versions with Japan, France and Norway being the top selling countries.
Mitsubishi Australia are now selling the last of their 70 remaining iMiEVs and have no plans to order more unless there is customer demand. Dealers have reduced the new price to A$24,990 with rumours doing the rounds that an ex-demo with 10k on the clock can be had for as little as A$20k.
Sure it is a first generation EV in a market where the technology is evolving rapidly, but with local fuel prices currently above 2008 levels and oil prices having just passed A$120, anything electrically powered is looking better by the day.
I certainly wasn't keen to return the iMiEV, which cost approx $2.00 a day to charge, to resume pumping the usual $80 worth of fuel per week. Anyone with a roof-top PV solar system should be giving an iMiEV serious consideration as they can dramatically shorten the payback period of the PV system by eliminating fuel costs instead of utility bills and effectively power the iMiEV free of charge for the next 10-20 years. The EV grin as you drive past $1.70/Lt fuel billboards is almost priceless.
Mitsubishi Australia were generous enough to recently loan EV News an iMiEV for a week.
On sale in Australia since 2010, the Mitsubishi iMiEV is based on a Japanese Kei class Mitsubishi I that was first released in 2006.
The iMiEV has the same sized lithium ion battery (16 kWh) as the Holden Volt but because it is a much smaller car and doesn't cart around a full sized 1.4 Lt petrol engine range extender the iMiEV weighs only 1,080 kg Vs 1,715 kg for the Volt. Where the Volt routinely achieves 70 - 80 km from a full charge in EV mode the book spec for the iMiEV is 155 km which is approximately twice the distance for the same battery capacity.
For a 5 door hatchback with only 47 kw (63 hp) and 180 Nm (133 lb/ft) from it's BLDC permanent magnet electric motor mated to a 7.065:1 single speed reduction gearbox, acceleration, while not startling off the line, is very impressive above 50 km/h right up to the cars top speed of 130 km/h. The combination of small road foot print and brilliant mid-speed acceleration brings a whole new dimension to 'gap-shooting' in heavy urban traffic.
The iMiEV's dash board instruments aren't as flash as a Volt with a basic set of segmented LCD meters instead of the all-singing all-dancing colour graphics of the Volt, but the relevant information like State Of Charge (SoC), energy consumption and predicted range are all present.
During our week long test drive we didn't quite get a handle on the algorithm behind the iMiEVs range meter. Driving the iMiEV on surface roads at speeds below 60 km/h with the 'gear' selector in the 'B' maximum brake regeneration position, it was possible to not only travel many kilometers without the indicated range changing at all, but we even managed to leave one morning with a full change indicating 106 km range and travelled to our destination 24 km away having used 2 bars on the battery meter (12.5%) with predicted range having gone UP to 113km by the time we arrived?
While low speed urban driving is definitely the iMiEV's forte, high speed motorways are not. We all know that aerodynamic drag increases in proportion to the square of speed ie doubled speed results in four times as much drag. Unfortunately, despite the blunt nose and steeply raked windscreen the iMiEV's coefficient of drag is no better than a large family sedan @ 0.33 Cd. We even double checked by multiplying the frontal cross sectional area to get the CdA figure but the result was still about equal.
Aside from the fact it doesn't have a cruise control which is unusual for a modern car, the range meter plummets when driven for sustained periods above 100 km/h. This serves as a graphic illustration of the extra loads ALL cars face at higher speeds. It only becomes much more noticeable in the iMiEV because a/ The battery capacity is equivalent to having a 1.5 litre fuel tank (petrol contains 10 kWh per litre) b/ ICE cars are so inefficient at low speeds compared to the iMiEV the difference between high and low speed fuel consumption of an ICE car isn't as noticeable as with the iMiEV.
Like Charging an iPhone
Here in Australia 240 VAC is the standard voltage that all appliances run off so the iMiEV can be fully changed in 8 hours using a standard 10 amp supply (although the iMiEV lead has a 15A plug). In the week we had the car we never used much more than ½ the battery on any given day of running errands so plugging it in for a 4 hour re-charge didn't seem much different to plugging in the iPhone / iPad on a daily basis.
The iMiEV has 2 charge sockets, one on either side of the car, with 240v on the drivers (right) side and a large CHAdeMO charger socket under the left hand side filler flap.
In order to test how practical fast charging is we took a drive to the the NRMA DC Fast Charger installed across the road from their North Strathfield head office. Arriving with 55% charge remaining the battery quickly accepted the 359 volts / 125 amps on offer and was topped up to 80% in 11 minutes flat. While the NRMA fast charger is located near a popular restaurant/cafe precinct, and is free of charge to use, 10 minutes isn't even enough time for a coffee although a full 20 min charge might allow enough time for a stroll to get a cappuccino.
With an introduction price of A$65,000, which was reduced to A$48,880 in 2011, the Mitsubishi iMiEV hasn't exactly been selling like hot cakes with only 227 cars delivered locally. Yet 33,000 have been sold worldwide including Peugeot and Citroen versions with Japan, France and Norway being the top selling countries.
Mitsubishi Australia are now selling the last of their 70 remaining iMiEVs and have no plans to order more unless there is customer demand. Dealers have reduced the new price to A$24,990 with rumours doing the rounds that an ex-demo with 10k on the clock can be had for as little as A$20k.
Sure it is a first generation EV in a market where the technology is evolving rapidly, but with local fuel prices currently above 2008 levels and oil prices having just passed A$120, anything electrically powered is looking better by the day.
I certainly wasn't keen to return the iMiEV, which cost approx $2.00 a day to charge, to resume pumping the usual $80 worth of fuel per week. Anyone with a roof-top PV solar system should be giving an iMiEV serious consideration as they can dramatically shorten the payback period of the PV system by eliminating fuel costs instead of utility bills and effectively power the iMiEV free of charge for the next 10-20 years. The EV grin as you drive past $1.70/Lt fuel billboards is almost priceless.
Australia based start-up company Evans Electric have unveiled an All Wheel Drive In-Wheel Motor powered Lancer Evo 3 during Meguiar's MotorEx at Sydney Olympic Park
The 4 door sedan with World Rally Championship pedigree features a direct drive, disc type electric motor in each of it's 19” wheels. Each Axial Flux 3 phase AC Induction wheel motor has a nominal output of 75 kw and 625 Nm of torque with a peak output of 150 kw and 1,250 Nm giving the vehicle a total peak output of 600 kw (800 hp) and 5,000 Nm.
While the torque figure could at first glance appear fantastic, standard automotive industry practice only quotes torque at the flywheel not at the wheels. As an example the Tesla Model S Performance has a quoted peak motor torque of 600 Nm. With a single speed reduction gear ratio of 9.73:1 that equates to a total of 5,838 Nm (minus gearing losses) at the wheels. The Evans Electric motors are direct drive, so the rotor turns at the same speed as the wheel. Instead of mechanical reduction gearing, they are electrically geared using an 8 pole stator winding configuration.
Direct drive wheel motors eliminate mechanical transmission losses allowing up to 85% of a vehicle's kinetic energy to be recoverable during braking. Maximising brake regeneration lowers a vehicles over-all energy consumption potentially leading to more range per kWh of battery capacity or the use of a smaller battery pack for similar range. As the battery is the single most expensive component in an EV this could lead to lower cost electric cars.
The Evans Electric in-wheel motors enable non-contact electromagnetic braking, replacing hydraulic friction brake systems which are 99% redundant in current generation electric/hybrid vehicles. Using only the wheel motors, the car can brake at greater than 1G.
Evans Electric hold a patent for a vehicle drive system using wheel motors for propulsion and braking, the most impressive feature of which is that safety and vehicle dynamics features such as ABS, stability control, traction control, brake steer, active brake bias, torque vectoring, intelligent cruise control, emergency brake assist and collision avoidance all become customisable and upgradable software functions.
When these systems are combined with wheel motors they allow a new level of performance based active yaw control that unlike most current stability control systems (which only activate in an emergency situation) are active at all times, dynamically fine tuning understeer and oversteer to enhance cornering speed and safety.
After an extensive period of wheel motor validation testing and power electronics development the company has met with several automotive Tier 1 suppliers to discuss collaboration &/or licensing to move the project from proof of concept to commercial product development.
Final preparations are under way with track testing expected to commence by the time the Bathurst 1000 rolls around in October.
Ultrasonic welding, a high-tech manufacturing process used in the aerospace and medical industries, is helping ensure high quality for the new Cadillac ELR extended-range electric luxury coupe that goes on sale in North America in early 2014.
Ultrasonic welding’s key advantage is exceptional and predictable quality and performance from one battery pack to the next. Every ELR battery, for example, has close to 200 ultrasonic welds. Each is required to meet stringent quality requirements, enabling Cadillac to offer an eight-year/100,000-mile battery system warranty.
Short cycle times, low capital costs and manufacturing flexibility through the use of automation are other advantages of ultrasonic welding.
“Ultrasonic welding is a far superior joining technology in applications where it can be deployed,” said Jay Baron, president and CEO of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. “Cadillac’s innovative process will produce batteries with superior quality compared with traditional methods – and do it more efficiently. This is one example of technology development that is becoming pervasive in today’s world class vehicles.”
General Motors’ Brownstown Battery Assembly plant near Detroit, uses ultrasonic welding to join metal electrode tabs on ELR’s advanced 16.5-kWh lithium-ion battery system, and does it with a proprietary quality monitoring process. Brownstown uses an automated system to execute millions of these welds each year.
Ultrasonic welding uses specialized tools called an anvil and horn to apply rapid mechanical vibrations to the battery’s copper and aluminum electrodes. This creates heat through friction, resulting in a weld that does not require melting-point temperatures or joining material such as adhesives, soldering or fasteners.
An integrated camera vision system is used to shoot a reference image of the weld area prior to the operation to achieve pinpoint accuracy. Quality operators check electrode tabs before and after welding, and the system monitors dozens of signal processing features during each weld.
The battery-specific welding process is a result of collaboration among General Motors’ Manufacturing Systems Research Lab and Advanced Propulsion Center and the Brownstown plant. GM first applied the process on the award-winning Chevrolet Volt – its groundbreaking extended-range electric vehicle – and further refined it for ELR.
“This effort is an outstanding example of teamwork between research and manufacturing engineering,” said Catherine Clegg, GM vice president of Global Manufacturing Engineering. “It has helped integrate the use of highly technical, complex technology into a sustainable manufacturing process, which means we can consistently deliver high-quality batteries to our customers for the Cadillac ELR.”
The ELR’s T-shaped battery pack is located along the centerline of the vehicle, between the front and rear wheels for optimal weight distribution. The 5.5-foot-long (1.6 m), 435-pound (198 kg) pack supplies energy to an advanced electric drive unit capable of 295 lb-ft of instant torque (400 Nm) to propel the vehicle. Using only the energy stored in the battery, the ELR will deliver a GM-estimated range of about 35 miles (56 km) of pure electric driving, depending on terrain, driving techniques and temperature.
Charging the ELR’s battery can be done with a 120V electrical outlet or a dedicated 240V charging station. The vehicle can be completely recharged in about 4.5 hours using a 240V outlet, depending on the outside temperature.
The Cadillac ELR is built at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant, one of the few high-volume electric vehicle manufacturing facilities based in the U.S. Its battery pack is built from cell to pack at Brownstown and shipped to Detroit-Hamtramck for assembly into the vehicle.
Spark Racing Technology has announced plans to introduce their Spark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E race car at the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 10th.
Set to become one the most prominent race cars in the series, the SRT_01E has a Dallara-designed monocoque chassis that is constructed out of carbon fiber and aluminum. The model also features aerodynamic styling and bespoke Michelin tires that are specifically designed to last the entire race.
While the McLaren-sourced electric powertrain can produce up to 270 bhp (200 kW), it will be limited to 180 bhp (133 kW) during races. However, drivers can use a 'Push-to-Pass' system which temporary allows the car to harness its full potential. This should enable the model to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in approximately three seconds and hit an FIA-limited top speed of 225 km/h (140 mph).
The US subsidiary of South Korean company LG Chem last month began producing batteries for the Chevrolet Volt at its Holland-area facility.
LG Chem spokesman Randy Boileau says employees completed “pre-production testing” with General Motors Co. and began ramping up production in July. He says LG Chem anticipates the first shipments from the facility will come in September or October.
LG Chem drew attention during its 2010 groundbreaking, when President Barack Obama traveled to Michigan for the event.
