PhD Thesis - Cranfield University

Chapter 6
6.1 The experimental vehicle
The experimental vehicle developed for this work consists of a modified go-kart chassis
propelled by a 12kW Lynch motor, driven by a 4-quadrant DC Motor controller. Figure 6.1
along with data in Table 6.1 describes the test vehicle specification. The propulsion power
source units comprises of deep discharge SLA batteries and self-balancing ultracapacitor
modules. Instrumentation and control is designed around the National Instruments
Compact Field Point (CFP) architecture.
Figure 6.1 Baseline vehicle (Left) and the vehicle augmented with dual energy systems (Right)
Vehicle mass (Including Driver ) 254.3 kg
Frontal area 1.04 m 2
Motor peak power 12 kW
Maximum velocity 42 km/h
Energy Storage System Battery Ultracapacitor
Module capacity / Max. Voltage 27 Ah / 13.8V 58 F / 15V
Module ESR @ 1kHz 5m ohm 10m ohm
Module max. stored energy 320 Wh 1.8 Wh
Module mass 11.2 kg 0.68 kg
Quantity /Configuration 4 / series 9 / 3x3 matrix
System nominal voltage 48V 45V
Power Electronics Interface
Peak power 15 kW
DC link voltage 55V to 65V
Semiconductor technology MOSFET
Switching frequency 20 kHz
Thermal dissipation mode Air cooled heat sink
Inductors 392µH (Air core)
Table 6.1 Vehicle Data
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