Design Considerations and Analysis of Electric Microcar for Cities

Increasing concerns about environmental issues, such as global warming and pollutant emissions have made increase in energy efficiency and emission reduction a primary concern for automobiles. In addition, the compounding effects of adding personal vehicles, increasing density of road traffic and intensifying parking difficulties are indirectly promoting proliferation of small-size vehicles in large cities. Hence, there is a need to develop a microcar with zero emission. Thus, electric microcar is probably the simplest, green and energy efficient vehicle that relatively affordable and easily maneuverable in cities. However, a careful analysis is required in order to properly evaluate the propulsion system component sizing, vehicle dimension, performance and weight. This paper mainly focuses on design options and modeling of electric microcar using hub motors followed by analysis. A two seater electric microcar analytical model using MATLAB has been carried out for sizing of powertrain elements. CAD modeling of tubular frame chassis using solid works followed by analysis using ANSYS is also carried out. A successful deployment of an electric microcar is need of the hour to meet the requirements of rapid urbanization and achieve national energy security.