Design Report For A Formula Electric Car

DESIGN REPORT FOR A FORMULA ELECTRIC CAR
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this report is to present the philosophy and methodology behind the design of the battery
pack for the team’s electric formula car. Functional requirements are established for the pack. An
overview of cell chemistry and configuration selection process to meet these requirements is given. Next,
the primary safety components are discussed along with the battery management system designed by
the team and the grounds for the motor selection.
ACCUMULATOR
INTRODUCTION
Accumulator is a British term for a large rechargeable battery. The accumulator is a custom-built lithium
Ion battery pack that includes everything required for safe operation and to supply power to the
motorcontrollers.
FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF ACCUMULATOR
Supply the maximum allowable power at the desired voltage to the motors . Store enough energy to
power the car for the entire endurance event .Comply with all the safety regulations laid out in the rules
.Not overheat during any event under reasonable conditions. Not add significant weight above that of the
bare cells .Able to be disassembled quickly and non-destructively.
CELL SELECTION
Cell selection is one of the most important tasks for an electric FSAE car as the battery pack essentially
fuels the car. INR18650-13P LITHIUM ION cells,cylindrical in shape are selected to be used as
accumulator cells with a nominal voltage of 3.6V and cell capacity of 2200mAh the reason for this is very
simple; they offer high energy density which means the devices can be powered for longer.Lithium is the
lightest metal available in the world and it has become the replacement for lead in cell chemistries
because of its light weight properties. These days lithium ion cells find application in almost all
electronic devices and even hybrid and electric cars.
BATTERY CONFIGURATION
The motor ouputs 12KW at 72VDC,thus 12KW/72=167 A continuous current is required.In order to build
a 3.17kWh , 72V pack out of 3.6V, 2200mAh cells. One would first add cells in series until we reached
72V, which would be at 20 cells(20*3.6=72V).One cell capacity is 7.92Wh,so 22 cells would be added in
parallel to get the continuous current rating . Our battery pack consist of 4 segments. Each segment has
110 number of cells connected in a configuration of 5s22p.Thus, in terms of individual cylindrical cells,
the whole battery pack is a 20s22p configuration.
SAFETY
SHUTDOWN CIRCUIT
Shutdown circuit consists of a series of safety switches as recommended by the FSAE rulebook; these can
open the Accumulator Isolation Relay (AIR) to disconnect the accumulator from the rest of the tractive
system. This allows for the maintenance and troubleshooting of all the other components in the tractive
system if there is a need.
BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM(BMS)
The Battery Management System (BMS) is a critical part of the accumulator, and one of the most
important safety devices in the entire car.Accumulator and battery management system (BMS) are in the
same container. BMS manages the individual cells with in the accumulator to deliver maximum
performance out of the cells.
BMS DESIGN
A custom BMS is being developed by the team. The segments are designed in such a way that connectors
are placed on the PCB of each segment. The connectors from all segments connect with the centralized
BMS. Appropriately sized fuses are placed in the path of all connections. The BMS itself is powered by
the Cell Segments and information is transmitted to the Main Vehicle Control Unit through an optically
isolated USART Communication. The chip bq76PL536A-Q1 and STM8S903K3 Microcontroller have
been used for this custom designed BMS.
It has sensors that measure the voltage and temperature of every cell in the pack, and the current flow
through the entire pack. It is hardwired into the shutdown circuit if any parameters exceed the operating
bounds, it opens the AIRs and forces the car to shut down.It also performs the function of cell balancing.
MOTOR
A 12 KW single brushless DC motor(BLDC) is selected to drive the vehicle. BLDC motors and
induction motor both can be used,but we opted three phase BLDC motor because BLDC motors are
smaller and much more compact than equivalent Induction motor due to their use of permanent magnets.
Lighter than induction motors. Easier speed control than Induction motor. They develop high torque at
low speeds. When we talk about the energy efficiency of brushless DC (BLDC) motors we can obtain a
relatively high amount of mechanical power, in return for the electrical power that we use.

Design Report For A Formula Electric Car

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Design Report For A Formula Electric Car

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Design Report For A Formula Electric Car

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

DESIGN REPORT FOR A FORMULA ELECTRIC CAR

FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF ACCUMULATOR

BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM(BMS)

You might also like