A Swappable Battery Pack for Short-Range Electric Vehicles

Abstract

As the flaws of fossil fuels become more ever-apparent, alternatives are being developed to fill the gap. There has been a large initiative to produce electric vehicles (EVs) to replace internal combustion engines (ICE) that currently populate the roads. However, EVs are less capable of traveling greater distances and providing as much power as ICE vehicles; but when used at slow speeds and for short commutes, EVs are operationally cheaper and a more effective means of transportation. By utilizing a Global Electric Motorcar (GEM) that is currently in disrepair on a university campus, an analysis of benefits and costs of replacing the conventional lead acid batteries with lithium batteries can be done. To improve the utility of the vehicle, the batteries were placed in a removable battery pack to promote ease of battery exchange. In addition, a battery drawer was added to the vehicle providing the ability to rapidly exchange battery packs to facilitate a longer working day. The renovation will increase battery and usage efficiency, ameliorating the effectiveness of the vehicle in transporting personnel and recycling while improving the campus environmental impact and outlook. This effort, as part of an undergraduate capstone design class, describes the theory that went into designing the pack capacity, the design of the battery drawer and pack, along with the construction of the system. Preliminary results of driving the upgraded GEM vehicle are also presented.