The Catmobile Electric Drive System
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Ballroom C/D
Start Date
16-5-2013
End Date
16-5-2013
Abstract
The CWU EV team participates in the Electrathon America racing series. In this series the objective is to go as far as one can in one hour using only two deep cell 12 volt batteries. However, the vehicle that the EV club competed with last year was based largely on a 25 year old cloud car design. To be a legitimate competitive team we must construct an electric car of our own design that can out-perform the previous one. For that to happen, a drive system had to be designed and built that can out accelerate and drive the new car at least as fast as the old one was capable of. The new car will be constructed on the previously fabricated frame and attached to the Catmobile body that has been sitting in Hogue untouched for several years. The drive system was largely fabricated in the metal shop from raw stock materials, as well as using a modern high efficiency motor. Using finite element analysis and bending stress analysis, a detachable sub-frame was designed to be both lightweight to preserve efficiency and maximized strength to resist shock. A velocity ratio analysis has been performed to determine the optimal drive ratio for a satisfactory top speed while providing ample torque multiplication to out accelerate the previous entry. The resulting drive system and related analyses are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Lee, Thomas and Padilla Jr., Jorge, "The Catmobile Electric Drive System" (2013). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 123.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2013/posters/123
Poster Number
1
Additional Mentoring Department
Mechanical Engineering Technology
The Catmobile Electric Drive System
SURC Ballroom C/D
The CWU EV team participates in the Electrathon America racing series. In this series the objective is to go as far as one can in one hour using only two deep cell 12 volt batteries. However, the vehicle that the EV club competed with last year was based largely on a 25 year old cloud car design. To be a legitimate competitive team we must construct an electric car of our own design that can out-perform the previous one. For that to happen, a drive system had to be designed and built that can out accelerate and drive the new car at least as fast as the old one was capable of. The new car will be constructed on the previously fabricated frame and attached to the Catmobile body that has been sitting in Hogue untouched for several years. The drive system was largely fabricated in the metal shop from raw stock materials, as well as using a modern high efficiency motor. Using finite element analysis and bending stress analysis, a detachable sub-frame was designed to be both lightweight to preserve efficiency and maximized strength to resist shock. A velocity ratio analysis has been performed to determine the optimal drive ratio for a satisfactory top speed while providing ample torque multiplication to out accelerate the previous entry. The resulting drive system and related analyses are discussed.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Charles Pringle