Design and Fabrication of Hybrid Electric Vehicle and Testing Rig

The project is divided into two parts; 1. Hybrid Electric Vehicle 2. Testing Rig Hybrid Electric Vehicle The vehicle is based on clean energy utilization and its type is hybrid-electric and is driven on two power sources (battery and engine) in different m

Project Title

Design and Fabrication of Hybrid Electric Vehicle and Testing Rig

Project Area of Specialization

Mechatronics Engineering

Project Summary

The project is divided into two parts;
1. Hybrid Electric Vehicle
2. Testing Rig

Hybrid Electric Vehicle

The vehicle is based on clean energy utilization and its type is hybrid-electric and is driven on two power sources (battery and engine) in different modes. The engine is there for the
emergency power if the charging port is not available (as there are not sufficient charging stations in Pakistan).
There are a total three modes available to users which can be selected by HMI (Human Machine Interface). The UART protocol is applied for the communication between HMI and
the controller. The vehicle offers three modes;
1. Heading Mode

•         Simple/ Stealth mode
•         Parallel Charging Mode

2. Power Mode

• Normal Power Mode
• Parallel Charging Mode

3. Charging Mode

• Via Plug-In
• Via Generator

These three major modes and their sub-modes can be chosen by just clicking on the capacitive touch screen integrated in the vehicle.
The modes flowchart can easily be visualized below,

In the heading mode, the motors are powered by the battery only which ultimately reduces the noise of transportation. That’s why this mode is also known as stealth mode. Whereas in power mode, the motors get power from both battery and generator to deliver more power.

In the parallel charging mode, the generator will run during the trip and start charging the vehicle.

There are two charging options available to the user to get the vehicle charged. In the plug-in mode, the controller will disconnect all the operations using relays to charge the battery.

The vehicle consists of six (6) BLDC Hub motors to provide the sufficient power requirements.

The motors are driven by the drivers which take commands from the ESP32 microcontroller. The user can drive the vehicle with a joystick and can visualize the speed, direction, battery level and the modes of operations on the screen.

The vehicle is capable of carrying one person with a 50kg of load within.

The battery operations are done by the Battery Management System (BMS) which ensures the quality charging and discharging (limits over-charging and over-discharging) of the battery. The BMS is serially connected with the HMI to display the battery level.

The vehicle can move with a speed of 35-40 km/hr.

Testing Rig

The testing rig is capable of testing the two tires of the vehicle at once. The rig can display the readings of following measurements using IoT Cloud.

1. Speed (using optical speed encoder)
2. Temperature (of vehicle’s engine cabin)
3. Vibration (That a user can experience in the vehicle)
4. Torque (of the motor that is being provided at a particular speed)

The rig data is perceived from sensors, processed by ESP32 and can be visualized on any laptop or mobile screen using IoT Cloud. The data is in the form of graphs and live charts for better understanding.

The rig is a platform with four rollers to entertain two tyres on them. The vehicle tyres are the drivers for the rig rollers. The rig flowchart can be seen below;

Project Objectives

The major objectives of the project are as follows;

1. To develop a vehicle that can operate on Clean Energy.
2. Design and fabrication of Hybrid Electric vehicle (HEV).
3. Data analytics using  IoT Cloud 
4. Design and Fabrication of Testing Rig.
5. Development and improvement in an algorithm of control systems.

The first two objectives cover the design and simulations of the HEV and the mechanical fabrication of the vehicle along with the integration of sensors and control system.

The third and forth objectives cover the solid modeling, simulations and fabrication of the testing rig. The integration of sensors and the application's control.

The last objective covers the development of control strategies for both the vehicle and the rig. The methodology of vehicle operation and the collection of rig data is detailed under this section.

Objectives in visualization:

Design And Fabrication of HEV:

Design and Fabrication of Testing Rig:

Development and Improvement in Control Algorithm:

Project Implementation Method

Implementation Methodology of HEV:

The HEV can be divided into three main parts;

1. Mechanical assembly
2. Electrical portion
3. Control strategies

Mechanical assembly:

The mechanical body of the vehicle is designed and simulated in SOLIDWORKS. The body is fabricated using an 18 gauge metal sheet. The welding facility makes the design smooth. Angle irons are used to make the basic structure and cabins of the vehicle. BLDC hub motors are used due to their working efficiency in electric vehicles. 6 hub motors are used to fulfill the torque requirements of the vehicle.  Dampers provide sufficient damping for the smooth trip.

Electrical Portion

The engine and battery are two power sources in the vehicle. The engine is coupled with the generator and made to self start using a dc motor. HMI is integrated in the vehicle for the user’s guide. Motors are derived by motor drivers. Joystick offers the features of vehicle steering. The complete electrical portion is connected with the ESP32 

Control strategies

The complete control is applied in the ESP32. The HMI is connected serially (using UART protocol) with the controller. The modes are selected by the user on HMI and then the data is transferred to the ESP32 which maps the command to relays to perform the particular operation. In the heading modes, the user will drive the vehicle using a joystick. The analog readings from the potentiometer of joysticks will be processed to generate the commands for the heading operations. The data of speed, battery level will be displayed on the HMI screen. The battery is managed by Battery Management System (BMS) which transfers the data serially to the ESP32 for the battery status.

The flowchart for the operational methodology is presented below,

Implementation Methodology of Testing Rig:

The Testing Rig is divided into three main sections;

1. Mechanical structure
2. Electrical portion
3. Control part

Mechanical Structure

The mechanical design of the testing rig is designed on SOLIDWORKS and the simulations are done using ANSYS. After confirming the design calculations, the rig is fabricated using angle irons and 18-gauge metal sheet. The rollers are aligned on the Lathe machine and integrated using a welding plant. The rubber sheet is used to cover the rollers for providing sufficient friction. 

Electrical Portion

The sensors are integrated with the rig for speed, vibration, temperature and torque data. ESP32 is used and the battery is integrated to power the rig. The wires are completely labeled for removing any ambiguity in the connections.

Control Part

The rig sensors are connected with the ESP using UART protocol and some provide analog values to the controller. The Arduino IoT Cloud is used to display the readings of the sensors on any laptop screen. The ESP32 is connected with the IoT Cloud using the built-in Wi-Fi feature. The readings are in the form of graphs or live charts for better visualization.

Benefits of the Project

Benefits of the Project

Following are the benefits of the vehicle;

1. Utilization of clean and green energy.
2. Highly demanded technology (Hybrid Electric Vehicle).
3. IoT Cloud makes data visulization must easier  and efficient. 
4. User friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the vehicle.
5. Flexible control algorithms.
6. Testing facility of the rig.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

There are two main deliverables of the project;

1. Hybrid Electric Vehicle                                 
2. Testing Rig

Technical details of HEV

The vehicle deliverables are as follows;

1. HEV
   • The mechanical body with 6 integrated BLDC hub motors along their drivers and dampers.
   • Bonnet and the back door are integrated in the vehicle.

1. Engine and Battery
   • A grass cutting engine, coupled with the generator and battery pack with Battery Management System (BMS) are used as power sources.
2. HMI and Joystick
   • DWIN capacitive touch HMI is integrated in the project for the modes selection. Joystick serves the operations of steering.
3.  ESP32
   • An ESP32 is used for the controlling operations.

Technical details of Testing Rig

The testing Rig deliverables are as follows;

1. Mechanical Body
   • Four rollers are integrated in the mechanical structure of the rig using bearings and shafts. The rubber sheet is covered on the roller to provide sufficient friction.

1. Sensors and Battery
   • Speed, vibration and temperature sensors are integrated with the rig for data collection. Torque is calculated on the basis of speed and the torque curve of the motors. The battery is used as a power source for the sensors and for the microcontroller.
2. ESP32 and IoT Cloud

An ESP32 is used for controlling purposes and an Arduino IoT platform is customized for the project.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Transportation

Other Industries

Core Technology

Clean Tech

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Affordable and Clean Energy, Climate Action

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com