Life Battery Extension in an Electric Vehicle Katelyn Fron Adam Dashney Sean Jardine Nick Getzlaf Group Number: T230-05 GE 121.3 (10)
Clients Statement
Due to the high emissions of gas vehicles, many consumers are turning to electric cars. However, the more environmentally friendly method of charging a battery can be impractical, as it may only last 200 to 300 km. Thus, any method that would allow an electric car battery to last longer would be highly practical and in the consumers interest. The ability to drive longer than two to three hours on a highway is very important to a driver who may wish to go on trips of 500 or 1000 km. The inconveniency of stopping overnight to charge a car for several hours on a trip may be a large factor in why many consumers do not stray from gas vehicles. Our goal is the improvement in the practicality of electric cars by expanding battery life. The possibility of harnessing and recycling waste energy of an electric car would allow the cars battery to last longer. We are looking for a system to harness waste energy in an electric vehicle to increase battery life. (ex: regenerative braking) This process would allow electric cars to become more practical for highway driving, as it would stretch the kilometers per charge. By analyzing areas where energy efficiency is poor, it may be possible incorporate different technologies such as regenerative braking to increase energy efficiency.
Project Description Design Objectives - The objective of this design project is to create an energy recycling system to increase the efficiency of electric vehicles. This system can be designed through a combination of several solutions. - This energy recycling system should harness waste energy and convert it to electricity as a means to recharge the battery. - The increased battery life cannot be obtained from additional batteries but must stretch the life the of existing battery. - The cost to profit ratio should be similar to vehicles without the energy recycling system. - The new design should be as manufacturable as possible on a mass scale. - The adjustments to the vehicle should not affect serviceability. -The designed system should be fairly universal, in that the idea and design could be used for future vehicles
User Requirements -It is important that the vehicles waste recycling system creates a substantial amount of energy, otherwise the adjustment to the vehicle will be senseless to the consumer. -The cost of the vehicle should be competitive with other vehicles in the electric vehicle class. - The recycling system components should not affect the users ability to do regular maintenance on the adjusted vehicle. These components should also not affect the users safety in operating the adjusted vehicle. - The vehicle adjustments should not affect functionality in a negative way. Constraints -The energy efficiency must be improved by a significant amount. A minimum 20% increase in km per charge is required for an adjustment to be acceptable -The adjustments must be ...