Re: [EVDL] Really efficient electric drive trains and what they are?

2014-10-05 Thread Chris Tromley via EV
On Sat, Oct 4, 2014 at 10:42 PM, Lawrence Rhodes via EV ev@lists.evdl.org
wrote:

 When I saw the Stella it made growling ticking noises that stopped after
 the vehicle made some speed.  They said these motors were 98 % efficient.
 I thought the run of the mill ADC motor with a Curtis controller was 90 %
 and brushless were a bit more efficient.  Are these motors worth the 10's
 of thousands they cost?  Are there motorcycle/bicycle  hub motors we can
 buy that are very efficient?  Each of the Stella motors are 20kw.  Some
 bicycle hub motors are very powerful. 10 or more kw.   Is there a loss of
 efficiency with these new powerful motors?  What do I need to compliment a
 very aerodynamic body/go freeway speeds  not suck the life out of my
 batteries?


​I'm certainly no motor expert, but my understanding is ​that PM motors
only get that high efficiency at max power.  The cogging effect (the field
is always there) hurts efficiency everywhere else, and a road vehicle
spends virtually all of its time NOT at max power.  Other attractions of PM
motors are their relatively light weight and ease of implementing regen.

Those who have converted motorcycles have used these advantages, but some
have come to realize they come at a cost.  Light weight also means a
greater tendency to overheat.  Startup torque can be underwhelming.  Series
motors solve these issues nicely, and also coast freely.  I don't want to
re-start the coasting vs. regen debate, but coasting with no regen can be a
pretty effective range enhancement.

The other issue is hub motors.  To my knowledge, no-one has made these work
on an everyday on-road vehicle.  The main concern is unsprung weight, which
will be even more of an issue in a hyperlight car.  If you want to give a
try anyway I'd suggest scooter hub motors, because they have presumably
been designed to survive the pounding an unsprung component gets.  But the
ones I've seen have been designed more for cost than efficiency.

If it was me doing this, I'd probably go the Tropica route.  Use small
series motors near the drive wheels.  Use trailing arm suspension and mount
the motors at or near the trailing arm pivot, with belt or chain drive to
the wheels.  That should get you a solution close to what you're looking
for with low risk.  You're going to have your hands more than full with all
the other aspects of this vehicle.  Getting hub motors to work well is a
whole 'nother project by itself.

Chris
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Re: [EVDL] Really efficient electric drive trains and what they are?

2014-10-05 Thread EVDL Administrator via EV
On 5 Oct 2014 at 6:34, jerry freedomev via EV wrote:

 Having 16kw of battery , 250+ mile range is counter productive in a solar car
 as raises drag, makes hill starting harder,  and makes solar an afterthought
 really

Stella was designed to win a solar race.  It may be more passenger-
friendly and street-friendly than most solar racers, but it's safe to say 
that most design decisions were mainly focused on going as far and as fast 
as possible, while meeting all the rules of the race.  

Those rules govern how much PV square area it has, how big a battery, I 
think how much motor power, and probably much more.  I think all the rules 
are on the Solar Challenge website, if you're interested.

If you were designing a highly efficient street EV, you wouldn't have to 
meet those race rules, so you probably would (should) do things differently. 
You might have other rules to follow though, such as those which would make 
it licensable in your state.

David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
EVDL Administrator

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[EVDL] Really efficient electric drive trains and what they are?

2014-10-04 Thread Lawrence Rhodes via EV
When I saw the Stella it made growling ticking noises that stopped after the 
vehicle made some speed.  They said these motors were 98 % efficient.  I 
thought the run of the mill ADC motor with a Curtis controller was 90 % and 
brushless were a bit more efficient.  Are these motors worth the 10's of 
thousands they cost?  Are there motorcycle/bicycle  hub motors we can buy that 
are very efficient?  Each of the Stella motors are 20kw.  Some bicycle hub 
motors are very powerful. 10 or more kw.   Is there a loss of efficiency with 
these new powerful motors?  What do I need to compliment a very aerodynamic 
body/go freeway speeds  not suck the life out of my batteries?  Lawrence Rhodes
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