Transcript Electric Cars - Fenwick High School

Electric Cars
Driving the Nation to a Cleaner
Environment
History of Electric Cars
• 1832-1839 Robert Anderson invented first
electric carriage
• Designed by Professor Stratingh of Holland
and built by Christopher Becker
• Thomas Davenport and Robert Davidson
built more successful vehicles in 1842
• Gaston Plante improved the storage battery
…History…
• France & Britain were the first to support it
• 1899-1900 was the most popular time for
EVs in America
• More popular because gasoline was
expensive, the engine was harder to start, it
was noisy, and produced lots of smoke
• Averaged around $3000
…History…
• Popularity declined around the 1930s
• Charles Kettering invented the electric
starter
• Better roads system connected cities
• Discovery of Texas crude oil
• Mass production of internal combustion
vehicles by Henry Ford
…History…
• Almost no EVs used in the 1960s
• There was a need for alternative fueled
vehicles because of the exhaust emissions
• The first electric Battronic truck was made
in 1964
• Today several legislative and regulatory
efforts have restored electric vehicle
development worldwide
Early Electric Car
Battronic Truck
Clean Air Act Amendments of
1990
• Aimed to improve air quality by creating
restrictions releasing harmful pollutants into
the atmosphere
• Promoted cleaner burning fuels which
increased natural gas demand
• Increased production of EVs because of
restrictions on gasoline powered vehicles
Energy Policy Act of 1992
• Encouraged the electricity generation
market
• Established a new category of electricity
producer: the exempt wholesale generator
• Huge boost to electric power industry
California Air Resources Board
• Mission: “To promote and protect public
health, welfare and ecological resources
through the effective and efficient reduction
of air pollutants while recognizing and
considering the effects on the economy of
the state.”
• http://www.arb.ca.gov/html/mission.htm
How It Works
• Powered by fuel cells and an electric motor
• Electric motor gets power from a controller
which gets power from rechargeable
batteries
• Accelerator pedal hooks to a pair of
potentiometers, which are variable resistors
that provide the signal of how much power
to deliver
…How It Works…
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Each motor has 2 potentiometers for safety
2 types of motors: DC or AC
DC runs on 96-192 volts
AC is a 3-phase motor that runs at 240 volts
with a 300 volt battery pack
…How It Works…
…How it Works
• DC is simpler and less expensive
• Has a 20,000 watt – 30,000 watt motor and
a 40,000 watt – 60,000 watt controller
• Controller reads the setting of the
accelerator pedal
• The pulse power is more than 15,000 times
per second
…How It Works…
…How It Works…
• Able to use any 3-phase AC motor
• Regen feature
• Controller creates 3 pseudo-sine waves and
needs to reverse the polarity of the voltage
60 times per second
• Needs 6 transistors
Charging an EV
• Pumps electricity into batteries as quickly
as batteries will allow
• Monitors batteries and avoids damaging
them
• Can recharge from any outlet
• Average amount of energy the car can
consume is 1.5 kilowatts per hour
• Can take 10-12 hours to fully recharge
Converting to an EV
• Can convert existing gasoline cars into
electric cars at home
• Mainly uses a DC motor and DC controller
• Voltage is decided by owner, usually
between 96 and 192 volts
• Usually have a manual transmission
• Use lead-acid batteries
…Converting To An EV…
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Remove the engine, gas tank, exhaust
system, and clutch
Attach an adaptor plate to the transmission
and mount the motor and controller
Find space to safely install the batteries
Wire the batteries and motor to the
controller
Install accessories
Problems With Batteries
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They are heavy
They are bulky
They have a limited capacity
They are slow to charge
They have a short life
The are expensive
Environmental Advantages
• Environmentally friendly
• No tailpipe emissions or local pollution
• Not entirely pollution free because they are
charged from electric-power grids
• Gasoline powered cars produce 22 lbs. of
CO2 vs. 7 lbs. for an electric car
• Batteries can be recycled
…Environmental Advantages…
• California tried to pass a Zero Emission
Mandate that required 2% of vehicles to be
completely pollution free
• General Motors sued
• 35% of air pollution comes from cars,
motorcycles, and trucks
Economic Advantages
• Traveling 25 miles on 5 kwh costs $0.40 for
an electric car while it costs $2.00-$3.00
with gasoline cars
• An electric car can be charged with a solar
panel
• Generates many new jobs
• Less dependent on other countries for oil
Advancements
• Iver Anderson, Bill McCallum, and
Matthew Cramer from the US Department
of Energy Ames Laboratory designed a
“high performance permanent magnet alloy
• Can operate effectively at 200 C
• Less degradation of magnetic properties at
high temperatures
Disadvantages
• Short battery life
• Long time to charge batteries
• Batteries are expensive
Advantages
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More environmentally friendly
More efficient energy use
No more paying outrageous prices for gas
Easy to use or convert to
Batteries can be reused and recycled
Sources
• http://auto.howstuffworks.com/electric-car2.htm
• http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/transportation/elec
tric.html
• http://www.evworld.com/general.cfm?page=evFA
Q&title=EV%20FAQs
• http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aacarsel
ectrica.htm
• http://www.mindfully.org/Air/GM-Sues-CAZEV.htm