Design and evaluation of a Self-charging Battery electric two wheeler

Abstract

With the world shifting to EVs from conventional fossil fuel run automobiles, there should exist a mediator to effectively make this switch effortless and smooth, atleast to overcome range anxiety and the resistance to use new technology. Therefore, we propose a self- charging HEV and not a complete PHEV. Since the Indian automobile market comprises of mostly two-wheelers that make up 50% of the total sales, it is a good platform to introduce a hybrid powertrain. Key factors are that it should be cheap, easy to run and maintain, highly fuel efficient and should give good performance than its traditional ICE only counterparts. The main idea for this paper is from old diesel-electric locomotives that used a rudimentary hybrid layout to put power to the wheels via an electric motor. Our concept uses the same principle but optimised for a two-wheeler. The bike is powered by a single cylinder petrol or a single cylinder diesel engine that acts as a generator to power a battery which in turn powers a motor to drive the rear wheel. The older locomotives used traction motors to pull heavy loads, whereas our motorcycle can be set to a speed of high torque and low fuel consumption to increase its range which ultimately matters to the Indian consumer. The battery itself can be smaller to reduce the weight that is attributed to EVs. This kind of self-charging EV is especially useful in emerging EV markets like India who is planning a shift to EVs in the near future.