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A Preliminary Design of a Land Yacht with an Auxiliary Electric Motor

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A Preliminary Design of a Land Yacht with an Auxiliary Electric Motor A Preliminary Design of a Land Yacht with an Auxiliary Electric Motor Sérgio Manuel Felícia Ramires Thesis to obtain the Master of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering Supervisor: Prof. Miguel António Lopes de Matos Neves Examination Committee Chairperson: Prof. João Orlando Marques Gameiro Folgado Supervisor: Prof. Miguel António Lopes de Matos Neves Member of the Committee: Prof. Eduardo Joaquim Anjos de Matos Almas November 2016 ii Acknowledgements This work and the academic years that preceded it were only possible due to the help and support of people to whom I must declare my gratitude. I would like to thank first and foremost my supervisor in this thesis, Professor Miguel Matos Neves, for suggesting this challenge and for the constant availability, support and help offered throughout the elaboration of this work. It is also important to recognize the contribution of the different professors and colleagues from whom I have learned in the past few years and thus helped me reach my goals. Finally, I would like to thank my parents are brothers for the support in all these years and in particular in the past months. iii Abstract The main goal of this work is to study the integration of an auxiliary electric propulsion system in a land sailing vehicle destined to recreation. By making the vehicle a hybrid it is expected to make it more appealing to potential users. Initially, it is exposed the relevance of this thematic, being followed by a market and patent research with the objective of knowing the existent options in terms of components that may be explored in this project, namely in what concerns the electric motors, batteries and controllers. Based on the information gathered different concepts of vehicles were generated. Utilizing a set of selection methods these concepts were reduced to a single one to be studied in detail. In a second stage it is done the preliminary structural design of the vehicle, namely the static analysis of the chassis in different load situations, the study of the natural modes of vibration and the analysis of the bolted joints. Finally, it is made the study of the electric circuit to be implemented. In conclusion, the implementation of electric motors in this type of vehicles is a current topic that begins to be explored by the main brand in the sector, and although this integration brings along some challenges it also allows to benefit from advantages, one of the most relevant being the possibility of using the vehicle under a broader set of atmospheric conditions, smaller sail, etc. Keywords: Land Sailing Electric Propulsion System Concept Generation and Selection Mechanical Design iv Resumo Este trabalho tem como principal objetivo o estudo da integração de um sistema de propulsão elétrica auxiliar num veículo à vela terrestre de recreação. Ao tornar o veículo híbrido é esperado que este se torne mais apelativo para os potenciais utilizadores. Inicialmente é feita a exposição da relevância deste tema, seguindo-se uma pesquisa de mercado e patentes que visa fazer um levantamento das opções de componentes já existentes e que podem ser explorados para utilização no projeto, nomeadamente ao nível de motores elétricos, baterias e controladores. Com base na informação recolhida, foram gerados diferentes conceitos de veículos que permitissem responder ao objetivo do trabalho, e utilizando um conjunto de métodos de seleção estes conceitos foram reduzidos a um único a ser estudado em detalhe. Numa segunda fase é feito o dimensionamento estrutural preliminar do veículo, nomeadamente a análise estática do chassis em diferentes situações de carga, o estudo dos modos de vibração e análise das ligações aparafusadas. Finalmente, é estudado em maior detalhe o circuito elétrico a implementar. Foi possível concluir que a implementação de motores elétricos neste tipo de veículos é um tema atual que começa a ser explorado pela principal marca do sector, e que apesar de esta integração apresentar alguns desafios permite também um conjunto de vantagens das quais se destaca a possibilidade de utilização do veículo em condições atmosféricas sob as quais sem este sistema não seria possível. Palavras-Chave: Kart à vela Sistema de Propulsão Elétrico Geração e Seleção de Conceitos Projeto Mecânico v Table of Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. iv Resumo .............................................................................................................................................. v Figure Index ..................................................................................................................................... ix Table Index ....................................................................................................................................... xi Acronym List .................................................................................................................................. xii Part A: Descriptive Analysis ............................................................................................................ 1 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 The main challenge and motivation ................................................................................ 1 1.2 Brief history of the electric vehicle ................................................................................. 2 1.3 The challenge ........................................................................................................................ 3 1.4 Land yacht general structure............................................................................................ 5 2. Market and Patent Research ................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Electric drive solutions ...................................................................................................... 6 2.1.1 Electric bicycle motors ............................................................................................... 7 2.1.2 Electric bicycle batteries .......................................................................................... 12 2.1.2.1 Battery Regeneration ......................................................................................... 14 2.1.3 Electric bicycle controllers ...................................................................................... 15 2.1.4 Other possible solutions .......................................................................................... 16 2.1.5 Variables to consider when choosing the electrical system .......................... 17 2.2 Structural solutions ........................................................................................................... 18 2.3 Brief Patent Research ....................................................................................................... 20 2.4 Analysis of options ........................................................................................................... 21 2.4.1 Type of control ............................................................................................................ 22 2.4.2. Motor and batteries ................................................................................................... 22 2.5 Available commercial options ........................................................................................ 24 2.5.1 Complete sets available in the market .................................................................. 25 2.5.2 Conversion kits ........................................................................................................... 26 2.5.2.1 Motors/controllers ............................................................................................... 26 2.5.2.2 Batteries................................................................................................................. 27 3. Hybrid land yacht concepts .................................................................................................. 28 vi 3.1 Concept generation ........................................................................................................... 28 3.1.1 Concept A1 – Battery Below .................................................................................... 29 3.1.2 Concept A2 – Battery on Top .................................................................................. 30 3.1.3 Concept A3 – Two Batteries Below ....................................................................... 30 3.1.4 Concept A4 – Geared Motor with SLA Battery Below ....................................... 31 3.1.5 Concept A5 – Geared Motor with SLA Battery on Top ..................................... 31 3.1.6 Concept A6 – Geared Motor with Li Ion Battery Below .................................... 32 3.1.7 Concept A7 – Geared Motor with Li Ion Battery on Top .................................. 32 3.1.8 Concept A8 – One motor on each rear wheel with two SLA batteries below ................................................................................................................................................... 32 3.1.9 Concept A9 – One motor on each rear wheel with two Li ion
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