I had seen previous
efforts in regard to the electric wheel and I presume that this one is
superior. There will be no reduction
gearing and this makes for a superefficient system. Note the additional benefits as each wheel
responds on its own to the road surface.
This will make the
advent of the electrical vehicle far easier as losses are now minimized.
Even a hybrid configuration
will see a huge jump in efficiency and performance. We have waited a long time for this and it
was easily foretold. The deveil as usual
was in the details which is quickly receding behind us.
In-Wheel EV Motor From
Evans Electric Unveiled In Australia
The
Australian company Evans Electric has developed an electric car that is
literally direct drive. It is a 4-door sedan, a
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, that
produces 800 HP/600 kW (peak) and 1,250 Newton-metres (925 foot-pounds) of
torque.
“While
the torque figure could at first glance appear fantastic, standard automotive
industry practice only quotes torque at the flywheel not at the wheels,” Evans
Electric notes. “As an example the Tesla Model S Performance has a quoted peak
motor torque of 600 Nm. With a single speed reduction gear ratio of 9.73:1 that
equates to a total of 5,838 Nm (minus gearing losses) at the wheels. The Evans
Electric motors are direct drive, so the rotor turns at the same speed as the
wheel. Instead of mechanical reduction gearing, they are electrically geared
using an 8 pole stator winding configuration.”
To
help you understand the significance of that: direct drive equipment has the
benefit of mechanical simplicity, and sometimes efficiency, as the
alternatives, which are gear-driven systems, waste energy.
Mechanical
equipment cannot get any simpler than direct drive. This is because the motor
directly turns the wheels itself. In the case of this Lancer Evo 3
vehicle, it has an electric motor integrated into each of the four 19″ (48 cm)
wheels. No gears, no transmission, nothing at all.
The
most reliable equipment I have ever used is direct drive.
Apart
from the points above, according to the Evans Electric press release, there are
other benefits of the electric drive system. It says that the improved
mechanical power transmission efficiency enables more energy to be recaptured via regenerative braking,
up to 85% of it in this case.
This
vehicle can achieve electromagnetic braking. No friction. Friction brakes are inherently
inefficient because they dissipate the kinetic energy that moves the vehicle as
heat and wastes it until the vehicle slows to a stop.
“The
Evans Electric in-wheel motors enable non-contact electromagnetic braking,
replacing hydraulic friction brake systems which are 99% redundant in
current generation electric/hybrid vehicles. Using only the wheel motors,
the car can brake at greater than 1G.”
The
Evans Electric in-wheel EV motor, powering a Lancer Evo 3, was just
unveiled at Meguiar’s MotorEx at Sydney Olympic Park. Here are some more
notes from Evans Electric about its technology:
Evans
Electric hold a patent for a vehicle drive system using wheel motors for
propulsion and braking, the most impressive feature of which is that
safety and vehicle dynamics features such as ABS, stability control, traction
control, brake steer, active brake bias, torque vectoring, intelligent cruise
control, emergency brake assist and collision avoidance all become customisable
and upgradable software functions.
When
these systems are combined with wheel motors they allow a new level of
performance based active yaw control that unlike most current stability
control systems (which only activate in an emergency situation) are active at
all times, dynamically fine tuning understeer and oversteer to enhance
cornering speed and safety.
After
an extensive period of wheel motor validation testing and power electronics
development the company has met with several automotive Tier 1 suppliers to
discuss collaboration &/or licensing to move the project from proof of
concept to commercial product development. Final preparations are under way
with track testing expected to commence by the time the Bathurst 1000 rolls
around in October.
Notably,
this isn’t the first in-wheel electric motor we’ve featured
on CleanTechnica. Protean is
supposed to be bringing an in-wheel electric motor of its own to market in 2014.
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