Search Results

In recent years there has been a significant focus towards bringing EVs to the market because of the regulations in carbon emissions and increased customer awareness. Unlike the passenger car and two wheelers that are mainly used for personal transportation, the IC engine three wheelers are widely used as commercial vehicles to carry passengers and loads. Converting an existing vehicle in the market to an electric reduces emission and increases sustainability. Large battery capacity is used in these vehicles to achieve the range, thus increasing the initial cost and making it unpopular among customers. However, requirements of the three-wheeler electric vehicles are high in big institutions, resorts, golf courses, hospitals and many other places for internal campus transportation. It is not commercially viable to make a complete design of Body-In-white (BIW) & suspension for this application. Hence, a method of converting an existing three-wheeler into an EV is explained here.

The diesel power train (engine and transmission) is the most significant mass contributor in a three- wheeled vehicle. High idling vibrations from the engine get transmitted to the structure and the body panels through the engine mounts. Isolation of these vibrations by proper design of rubber mounts is the most effective engineering approach to improve ride quality of vehicle. In the present study, a mathematical model of the powertrain and mount system is developed; with the engine and transmission being assumed to behave as a rigid body (6 degrees-of-freedom) and the compliance comes from the mounts. As a first step, the modes and natural frequencies are obtained. Following this the response to unbalanced inertial forces for an excitation frequency range of 20-60 Hz (1200-3600 rpm) has been obtained. The model is validated by comparing its results with results of previous published research work.