RANGE EXTENDER FOR THE RENAULT FLUENCE Z.E. Choice of the engine and design of the structural support. Bachelor Degree Project in Science Engineering Level 22.5 ECTS Spring term 2012 Andrés Agea Ávila Iván Millán Rodríguez Supervisor: Alexander Eklind Examiner: Thomas Carlberger I Abstract Electric cars have appeared as an alternative to the big pollution caused by internal combustion engine cars. However, electric cars as the Renault Fluence Z.E. are not very sold in the market because of their small range of autonomy. To make this car an attractive option, it is necessary to add a range extender that extends its autonomy. This range extender is based in the addition of a small internal combustion engine to be attached only when the electric autonomy cannot fulfill the trip. A range extender is chosen by means of a comparison between different electric engines sold in the market. By means of a classification tree, the different places of the car where to mount it are compared and the most appropriate is chosen. By using Solidworks, a structure to support the engine and attach it to the car is designed. The result is a Range Extender device to mount in the hitch hook of the Renault Fluence Z.E. that provides an autonomy of around 665 km. This supposes a good solution for the owner of the Renault Fluence Z.E. who needs to cover trips of more than 180 km, the electric autonomy of this car. I Table of contents 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background .......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem ................................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Goal ..................................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Purpose ................................................................................................................ 6 1.5 Method ................................................................................................................ 6 1.6 Literature review .................................................................................................. 7 1.6.1 History ................................................................................................................... 7 1.6.2 Electric cars ......................................................................................................... 10 1.6.3 Configuration types for hybrid cars ..................................................................... 11 1.6.4 Renault Fluence Z.E. (Technical specifications) ................................................... 13 1.6.5 Autonomy of the Renault Fluence Z.E ................................................................. 14 1.6.6 Ways of charging ................................................................................................. 15 1.6.7 Connection with the batteries ............................................................................ 16 1.6.8 Models of electric generators ............................................................................. 18 1.6.9 Attaching systems ............................................................................................... 19 1.6.10 Classification tree ................................................................................................ 21 1.6.11 Brainstorming ...................................................................................................... 22 1.6.12 Hitch hook types .................................................................................................. 22 1.6.13 Solidworks and Solidworks Simulation................................................................ 23 1.6.14 Welding ............................................................................................................... 26 1.7 Limitations ......................................................................................................... 29 2 IMPLEMENTATION ........................................................................................... 30 2.1 Study of autonomy of Renault Fluence Z.E ........................................................... 30 2.2 Choosing the electric generator ........................................................................... 30 2.3 Choosing the place to put the engine ................................................................... 33 2.3.1 Analysis of the positions ...................................................................................... 36 2.4 Hitch hook analysis ............................................................................................. 40 2.4.1 Design of the attaching system ........................................................................... 41 2.5 Design of the structure ........................................................................................ 45 2.5.1 Choice of the shape of the structure................................................................... 45 2.5.2 Profile of the bars ................................................................................................ 48 2.5.3 Dimensioning the force ....................................................................................... 49 2.5.4 Solving the problem in Solidworks ...................................................................... 51 2.5.5 Estimation of the attaching system ..................................................................... 59 2.5.6 Calculation of the welding ................................................................................... 62 2.6 Exterior design .................................................................................................... 66 2.6.1 Cover case ........................................................................................................... 66 2.6.2 Signaling of the system ....................................................................................... 67 2.6.3 Security chain ...................................................................................................... 68 2.6.4 Final appearance of the exterior design ............................................................. 69 3 RESULTS .......................................................................................................... 70 II 4 ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................... 72 5 CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................. 73 6 FUTHER WORK ................................................................................................ 75 7 APPENDIX ........................................................................................................ 76 7.1 Appendix 1 ......................................................................................................... 76 7.2 Appendix 2 ......................................................................................................... 78 7.3 Appendix 3 ......................................................................................................... 79 7.4 Appendix 4 ......................................................................................................... 81 7.5 Appendix 5 ......................................................................................................... 82 7.6 Appendix 6 ......................................................................................................... 83 7.7 Appendix 7 ......................................................................................................... 84 7.8 Appendix 8 ......................................................................................................... 88 7.9 Appendix 9 ......................................................................................................... 89 8 REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 90 III Table of figures Figure 1. Graph of oil consumption. .............................................................................................. 1 Figure 2. Gantt diagram. ............................................................................................................... 5 Figure 3. First hybrid vehicle. ........................................................................................................ 8 Figure 4. Global Fossil Carbon Emissions. ..................................................................................... 9 Figure 5. Factors of CO2 emissions. .............................................................................................. 9 Figure 6. Parallel configuration detail. ........................................................................................ 11 Figure 7. Serial configuration detail. ........................................................................................... 12 Figure 8. Renault Fluence Z.E. ..................................................................................................... 13 Figure 9. New European Driving Cycle. ....................................................................................... 15 Figure 10. Renault connection plug. ........................................................................................... 16 Figure 11. Renault engine. .........................................................................................................