Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND IT’S AND BACKROUND

Abstract

The Researches seek to fabricate a hybrid E-car that will use solar energy and

mechanical energy simultaneously. Solar energy is the most use alternative energy

because it is the most abundant in the country and it is easy to harvest its energy.

Mechanical energy is can be harvest using alternator. Alternator is motor that is operated

mechanically to produce an electricity.

Introduction

The world has already entered a new era where the use of modern technologies

are common. You can see people from all ages, from children to adults, using new

technologies that requires electricity .Electricity is very important part of life, you cannot

think of a world without electricity

Electrical power is mostly based on fossil fuels. Fossil fuel is a limited source so

they came up with a solution of a cleaner energy through nuclear, hydro power,

geothermal, solar power and wind energy.

In today’s world fuel is needed to run a car, machine or generator. Due to the high

demands of fuel its price have gone very high which causes people specially drivers to

complain about it.

Researchers came up with an idea to use an alternative source of energy which is

the solar energy and mechanical energy. It is much cleaner energy it is also non-polluting
and silent source of electricity. The use of solar energy and mechanical energy in a car

can solve the existing problem in pollution.

 To create an Electric Car supported by an alternator and can be charged via solar

panel.
 To travel for 2-3hours
 To have a maximum weight capacity of 300 kilograms

Statement of the Problem

This study is an attempt to fabricate a Hybrid E-car specifically, this study wanted

to answer the following question.

1. How to fabricate an e-car?

Significance of the Study

This study shall significantly benefit the following:

The faculty of the College of Engineering. The study can help the

faculty to roam around the premises PRMSU.

The Electrical Engineering Student. The study can help the student to

roam around the premises of PRMSU.

Future Researchers. They can be inspired to create a new alternative

source that can help the community.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

supported by an alternator and solar panel. E-car are vehicles that is powered by one or

more electric motors.

The use this project is limited only for the faculty and electrical engineering

students on the premises of the PRMSU.

REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

This Chapter presents the review of related literatures and studies from various

sources that prove insight, background information and references

Review of Related Literature and Studies

In Nineteenth Century, a number of country clubs began to develop private

courses and the United State Golf Association (USGA) was founded in 1894. After World

War II, many private and public courses were constructed, record numbers of Americans

took up the game. The self-propelled golf cart use in that year is the same as we know it

today. But in 1953 a few of the most exclusive golf clubs owned motor driven carts.

Usually the frame of golf cart is made out of steel plates, rods and tubing. The bodies

may be made of sheet aluminum, fiber glass or sheet steel and the other components

usually should the researchers include in designing the golf cart like should the body

made from steel, aluminum, fiber glass or word? How many seats? Electric or a small

engine to insure efficient operation? After all the question were answered the designer

will begin to draw. The first process in manufacturing the golf cart is the fabrication of

floor and body panels. Second, the chassis construction and painting. Third, the transaxle

subassembly. Fourth, the Battery Charger assembly when only electric-powered cart.

Fifth, the transaxle and chassis assembly. Sixth, installing other components like the rack

and pinion steering assembly, the steering wheel and steering wheel shaft, brake pedal,

body panels and motor. Seventh, the fixtures, the headlights, stoplights and on-off key

lock are installed and cables connected. And the final process is the seat cushions are
installed and, if ordered, the canopy top, windshield and storage baskets are attached are

attached, once a prototype golf cart has been built, the quality control starts. It is run on a

mechanized track where it is subjected to shocks and severe vibration and driven on a test

track for hundreds of miles to test its endurance. And last, the golf cart is placed in an

environmental test chamber that is used to simulate actual weather conditions. There are

four major types of waste products: metal chips and contaminated coolant from the

machining operations, cardboard shipping materials and paint overspray. (Jim

Wawrzyniak., 2015)

The history of the electric car began in the mid-19th century, and the invention of

the electric car is attributed to various inventors. In 1828, Anyos Jedlik, a Hungarian who

invented as early type of electric motor, created a small car model powered by the new

type engine. Before improvement of the internal combustion engine, electric cars held

many records regarding speed and range. Among the most important is breaking the

record of 100 km/h on 29th April 1899.Although Thomas Davenport was among the first

to install an electric motor into a vehicle, the electric car in the conventional sense was

not developed until sometime around 1891. Due to technical limitations, the maximum

speed of these earliest electric cars was approximately 32 km/h. At the beginning of 1900,

despite their relatively low speed, electric cars had a number of advantages over their

competition. They produced no vibrations, odors and noise associated with petrol-

powered cars. Changing gears in petrol-powered cars was the hardest part of the driving,

and electric cars did not require gear changes. Electric cars were popular among

wealthy customers who used them exclusively in city traffic, so their limited range was

not relevant. Electric cars also had the advantage because they did not require manual
effort to start driving. Petrol powered cars had handles for starting the engine on the front

side which required the starting force. Electric cars were often sold as vehicles suitable

for women drivers due to their easier operation. Early electric cars were even labelled as

“women’s cars”. The electric motor gets its power from a controller and the controller

gets its power from a rechargeable battery. The First World War created a huge demand

for electric vehicles in Great Britain and Europe. It is estimated that in 1914 the whole

of Europe had approximately 3,200 electric vehicles (cars, buses...). Commercial

electric vehicles were produced primarily in Europe. The safety of electric vehicles, their

simple design and easy driving made them vehicles that even inexperienced and new,

young drivers were able to drive. Norway and Sweden had on the market a large fleet of

commercial electric vehicles and large energy hydropotential and were very promising

markets after the war. Italy also generated electricity from hydropower, also

representing a promising market for electric cars. Australia, Japan, Mexico and France

were exporting electric vehicles in large quantities so their future looked bright because

the demand was high. Californian manufacturer of electric cars. Tesla Motors, in 2004

started the development of the Tesla Roadster model, which was first delivered to

customers in 2008. Tesla Roadster is the first electric car adapted for American highways

and available in serial production in the USA. From 2008 to December 2011, more than

2,100 vehicles were sold in 31 countries. Tesla was also the first to introduce lithium-ion

batteries in its car production, and Roadsters the first car that has a range greater than

320 km on a single charge and can reach the speed of over 200 km/h. In June 2012, the

company Tesla Motors began delivering Tesla S model (sedan). This model saved the

company, which was on the verge of collapse. Unlike Roadster, which is a sporty two-
seater, Model Sis a luxurious car for the whole family. The basic price of the Model Sin

the US market is about 60 thousand dollars, and this year they plan to deliver five

thousand cars. The basic model comes with batteries that allow a range of up to 258

kilometers, but Tesla Motors also offers batteries of greater capacity that allow this model

to have a range of up to 370 and even up to 483 kilometers. Tesla Superchargers are fast-

charging stations placed on traffic routes in North America. Currently, only six stations

are active, but the plan is to have about a hundred of them by 2015. They are designed to

fill about a half of the battery capacity in half an hour. This is additional 240

kilometers. These rapid charging stations are located in places where you would

otherwise want to stop: near restaurants, cafes and shopping centres. In many places,

solar cells are put on the roof of the charging stations so the electricity is produced from

renewable energy sources.

The electric vehicle operates on an electric/current principle. The battery is used

to restore energy and provide power for the electric motor. The motor then uses its power

to rotate the transmission to turn the wheels. This electric vehicle contains four main

parts; Potentiometer, Batteries, DC controller and the Motor. The Potentiometer is the one

that activates and signals that tells the controller how much power it is supposed to

deliver. The controller is the regulator of the power, and takes the power from batteries

and delivers it to the motor. The motor uses the power from the controller to rotate the

transmission. These are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the electric vehicle.

First disadvantage is the battery it can only go about 100-200 miles before recharging.

The positive part is that the electric vehicle has more advantages than disadvantages, its

source of power can be obtained from any source of electricity, it also reduces the
hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide by 98%, and generally it reduces pollution. The

electric vehicle doesn’t produce emissions which is another advantage because emissions

are harmful in urban cities. Now for the source of power, first is the Solar Energy, using

this kind of renewable energy is more efficient because fossil fuels are not clean and non-

renewable sources so we can’t depend on it forever. Same areas are also abundant of solar

energy because the sun rises for many hours every day, it is also non-polluting and silent

source of electricity. After evaluating all of its disadvantages and advantages, also its

source of power we can say that electric vehicle is a very efficient vehicle because you

find its source of power we can say that electric vehicle is a very efficient vehicle because

you find its source of power from any source of electricity and mostly the non-polluting

factor of this vehicle is the main reason to build this kind of vehicle.( Ryan Sprague.,

2015 - Mohame, Arasan, Sivakumar., 2018). In 1982, the world’s first solar car was

driven across Australia by Hans Tholstrup, a Danish adventurer, from Perth to Sydney,

in 20 days. His passion in motor sport and the experiences he gained from the

journey has inspired him to introduce the World Solar Challenge event. This event

requires participating team to race over 3000 km through central Australia from

Darwin to Adelaide.23 teams from seven countries participated in the first event

in 1987, with General Motors’ solar car Sunraycer winning the race in 44 hours,

with an average speed of 67 km/h. Recently in 2009, the winning solar car from Tokai

University, Japan had an average speed of 105 km/h, with a maximum recorded speed

of more than 140 km/h. Technological development of solar car participating in the WSC

for the last 20 years has seen the average speed rising tremendously aerodynamic

shape and vehicle weight are the two most important factors influencing a solar car’s
speed and much advancement has been made in these two areas. Materials used to

build solar cars have changed and evolved dramatically since the first event.

Composite materials used in aerospace industries are used frequently these days.

These aerospace materials are lightweight, yet strong. The shape and appearance of

solar cars has altered quite dramatically as aerodynamic factor becomes a very

strong influencing factor. Different vehicle shapes were experimented with in the early

days, before the ‘cockroach’ shape was accepted as being the best to achieve optimum

speed and aerodynamics characteristics. The WSC 1993 had seen 3 solar car teams

employing the wheel motor for the first time out of 52 participating teams. At this

juncture, tire manufacturers also began to take interest in constructing tires of low

rolling resistance, especially designed for WSC events (Taha et. al. 2008;)

In 2009, CPDM had participated again in the WSC with a second version

of solar car which was named Merdeka 2. The vehicle consists of 3 main

electrical components which are the PV or solar array, the batteries and also the

motor including the motor controller. The Sharp NUS0E3E PV panels which are

normally used for house applications were chosen for the solar car. There were 4 panels

used for the vehicle and each panel has its own Outback MX80 MPPT to

maximize the charging current from the panels into the deep cycle 12V Trojan

batteries. This subsystem which consisted of the panels, batteries and the MPPTs was

also called Small Generator Module (SGM) as proposed by Taha et.al. 2010. Several

factors must be considered when designing the solar car as the process involves

multidisciplinary fields. At the early stage, the design work requires a balance

consideration and compromise between four fundamental demands, namely the

selection process however, depends on several aspects either it is design-oriented,

product oriented, cost oriented or environment oriented as noticed by Taha et.al.

2009a. These demands and material selection requirements had nfluenced the design

team at CPDM to apply the sustainable product concept for Merdeka 2. The

development activity for the solar car can be considered as a one-off project. It can be

said that the design concept for the vehicle is very much dependent on the

investment. Since cost is the main concern for this project, the ability to recycle and re-

use the materials and parts that have been used for the vehicle is very important.

The conceptual design of the solar vehicle was very much dependent on the dimension

and profile of the electrical and mechanical components that were used. The top area

of the vehicle was designed to accommodate the 4 solar panels. The chassis was

designed to cater the load and to accommodate all the electrical and mechanical

components with considerations of simplicity, lightweight and easy maintenance.

Generally, the structure of the Merdeka 2 can be divided into 6 important groups

namely the car body, steering system, the wheels, braking system, suspension and also

the driver compartment. (Taha, Passarella, Abd Rahim,Ahmad-Yazid, Umpedac, Jamali.,

2015)
 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology

This chapter present information about the research design it also contains the

paradigm of the study, materials, and equipment.

Conceptual Framework
 INPUT
BRAINSTORMING
FUNDS AND MATERIALS

PROCESS
DESIGN
FABRICATION
INSTALLATION
PRELIMINARY TESTING
FINAL TESTING

OUTPUT
AN ELECTRIC CAR

Research Design

An experimental research design was used in this study to see the product. The

researchers were able to control the factors that may affect the result of their product

 Design of the frame of the E-Car

Figure 3 (Frame of the E-Car)