Design, Manufacturing, Analysis, and Control for Small-sized Electric Vehicles with Renewable Energy

Abstract

This report describes the design, manufacturing, analysis, and control activities students conducted for small sized electric vehicles. In 1997, the Kochi University of Technology opened. Since then, the students tried to design and manufacture the electric vehicles in the extra-curricula class and in the laboratory. Engineering education for mechanical engineering needs the practical design and manufacturing, since design and manufacturing is the key of engineering. We would like to report the 9 years activities in our laboratory since 1997. We started the production for joining the Kochi Eco-power Race in Kochi in 1997, and for joining the Shikoku Electric Vehicle Rally in Shikoku Island in 1998. Since then, the vehicles we produced are the one converted from a light weight conventional vehicle, two small-sized electric vehicles with four wheels, the one with three wheels, electric motorcycle, and electric tiller. Besides such activities of design and production, the stress analysis and control had been conducted. For renewable energy utilization, we need to consider how to charge the batteries for electric vehicles. We might be able to use the fuel cell battery in the future. In order to charge the electricity for electric vehicles, we planned to use the self-powered electricity, which is produced by a wind-solar hybrid power system. The self-powered street light whose electricity is from wind and solar panel was installed in our university. The experiment had been conducted using the system, and the capability was studied.