ELECTRIC VEHICLES - How they work Electric vehicles are probably the simplest form of self

propelled mechanical transportation. In it most basic form, the drive train of an electric vehicle
consists of a battery attached to an off and on switch which is attached to an electric motor.
The electric motor drives the wheels. Most electric vehicles have a more elaborate method to
control the amount of electricity going to the motor as well as a system of gears to drive the
wheels in a most efficient manner. In addition to the above, "solar powered" vehicles
incorporate a solar collector which converts solar energy into electricity which is used to slowly
recharge the battery.

WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN NOT DO : Many people have the impression that electric cars are
pollution free and will eventually replace fossil fuel powered engines. This understanding is
rather inaccurate. The fact is that at the present time, electric vehicles can not compete with
main stream gasoline, diesel, compressed natural gas and other vehicles in terms of speed,
range and overall safety. In addition, electric vehicles create pollution in a number of different
ways. First, most of the electricity we use in the United States is from fossil fuel burning power
plants which creates pollution, though usually away from the urban centers. In some cases,
electricity produced at nuclear power plants, though these also pose potential risks. Solar
power plants are in their infancy, though they may be useful in sunny, areas with little cloud
cover. If everyone was to have solar arrays on their property, some people may object to them,
similar to how people objected to the early 10 foot satellite dishes. Wind power may also offer
some potential to generate electricity, though windmills pollute in terms of visual as well as
noise pollution. In January of this year, I drove from Hamburg Germany north towards Denmark
and passed a large array of modern windmill electric generators. The first thing that struck me
was the loud and continuous wiring sound they put out. Here in New York City, there have been
several attempts over the past 25 years to harness wind power. There were windmills on East
10 street between Avenue A and First Avenue, East 5 Street between Avenue A and Avenue B
and on East 9 street and the Bowery. In every case, the owners abandoned the windmills after a
year or so presumable since they were not cost effective. Nevertheless such a system may be
useful in remote areas. Many of the materials used in electric cars today are toxic. For example
the lead, which is the most common element used in conventional deep cycle electric vehicle
batteries can be a serious health hazard. In the case of solar panels, many of the panels are
manufactured using highly toxic chemicals and the panels themselves can, under the wrong
circumstances, pose a health
hazard. Many people are concerned about power lines and the possible health effects. In an
electric car, you are surrounded by massive amounts of electro-magnetic radiation. To this
date,
health hazards of this has not been proven. The primary obstacle facing electric vehicles today
is the limited storage capacity of economically viable batteries. The most common and probably
the best compromise battery is the "deep cycle" lead acid battery...the same type of battery
that has been in use for electric vehicles since the 1880's. There are other batteries that do
offer greater electrical storage capacity but at either a much higher price, or less overall life or
low power output (though higher total storage capacity). Today, most electric cars have a range
of about 40 miles per charge at a speed of about 35 to 45 miles per hours. Most smaller electric
cars use between 6 and 12 6 volt deep cycle, lead acid batteries. The recharging time is
normally 8 hours and once per week, the charging time is 12 hours to even out the charge
among the battery array. Deep cycle lead acid batteries, with proper care, can last about 3 years
or about 600 charge-discharge cycles. Factors such as ambient temperature, moisture in the air,
terrain and how a person drives can substantially decrease these figures. Overall, conventional
batteries are not are predictable in terms of range and speed as say, a gallon of gasoline. To
increase range, many car companies have experimented by building lighter or smaller vehicles.
Generally a lighter or smaller vehicle can hold less passengers and in most cases, does not offer
the safety of a larger vehicle. Solar panels have been used to recharge electric vehicles, though
there is not enough energy from sun light per square foot to directly propel a conventional
2500 pound car. It is possible to slowly store solar energy in the batteries to allow the car to
move for a limited time.

SO WHY BOTHER WITH ELECTRIC VEHICLES? Electric vehicles offer a unique driving experience.
With their low center of gravity, most electric cars, offer superb handling as well as rapid initial
acceleration. Electric motors offer almost continuous torque even at lower speeds. This allows a
vehicle to do things that conventional fossil fuels vehicles can not do. For example, if you were
to drive up to a street curb with a conventional gasoline powered car, stop and then try to
climb the curb, you would have to rev up the motor and only then would you be able to drive
over the curb. With an electric vehicle, you would be able to climb the curb with out any real
effort. Today, most railroads around the world use diesel electric locomotives with the diesel
engine generating the electricity to power the electric motors which actually turns the wheels.
American military tanks use the same technique. Electric vehicles are also ideal for use in areas
that have very high gasoline costs or where conventional fuel is simply not available. During
world war two, many countries started to produce electric vehicles for the population. Electric
cars were manufactured during the war in Spain, Belgium, France, Japan and others. In 1946,
my father had seen several electric powered and steam powered private vehicles in Tokyo that
clever citizens had converted from gasoline when gasoline was no longer available.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Electric vehicles are fascinating to build and drive, even taking into consideration the limitations
as outlined above. Electric vehicles are so simple in overall construction that they can easily be
built by people with basic construction skills. In the simplest form, such as in a high school class,
a very basic electric go cart can be built that can consist of a simple wood frame built out of 2" x
4"s, basic wheels, an electric motor, a car battery and a momentary electrical switch to turn the
electricity on and off as a gas pedal. A more sophisticated system would use a go-cart body
made out of steel (or perhaps converted from an existing gasoline go-cart), with the same
elements as the wooden cart would use. Simple electric vehicles as just described can probably
be built in two weeks with minimal skills.
DESIGNING: As with all design projects, it is essential that the designer has a clear
understanding of what the function of the final vehicle will have. For example, how many
passengers will the vehicle carry? Will there be storage space? Where or how will the vehicle be
recharged? Will it be parked on the street? What are the local regulations pertaining to electric
vehicles? If the vehicle will be charged from the power grid, is the available outlet adequate for
charging the vehicle?

Once everything of the final vehicle has been written down and considered, you can start to
design the vehicle. With the limited storage capacity of batteries, it is important to design the
vehicle using as much light weight materials that can be safely incorporated into the vehicle
with cost and skill considerations in mind. It should be noted that many light weight materials
are particularly difficult to work with and often times a person who is not acquainted with the
particular engineering of the material will actually build a vehicle that is heavier using the light
weight materials, than if they had used heavier, but easier to use materials. I have seen college
student constructed solar powered racing cars using much touted, though still questionable,
carbon fiber that probably weighed more then if they had used aluminum or steel tubing. Steel,
particularly thin walled steel, is the easiest to work with. Aluminum, while weighing about 60
percent less then steel, is very difficult to weld and requires considerable engineering in order
to fully take advantage of the wight difference. Wood can often be used for some components,
though in an accident, it usually does not offer the same protection that metals offer. Steel and
wood are by far the cheapest materials to work with and this should be taken into
consideration if cost of the finished vehicle is a factor.

After everything is considered, then and only then should the actual design phase proceed. In a
classroom environment, I think that it is important for a professor to summarize to the students
what materials can be used and then, with out suggesting a design, let the students individually
design their vehicle on paper as a homework assignment

SKILLS: In building a prototype vehicle, one must consider the skill of the builders. Probably any
shop class or machine shop could build a reasonably high quality electric powered car. The
basic skills that will be needed using off the shelf components or surplus components includes
welding skills, metal cutting skills, drafting skills and general design skills. Welding is essential if
the frame of the vehicle is to be made out of steel. Surprisingly, it is very easy to master basic
welding, particularly if using a wire fed "mig" type welder. Such basic mig welders can be
purchased from mail order companies such as Harbor Freight Tools, out in California for as little
as $129 though prices can also be substantially higher. It will also be necessary to have access
to a metal cut-off saw. A cut off saw capable of using 12 or 14 inch blades is ideal. Once basic
welding techniques are mastered, many seemingly hard projects will look much easier. If the
vehicle is to have a body, it is useful that someone with auto body repair skills be involved in
the project. Such a person with auto body and painting skills can make a basic body look like a
big three fantasy car.
MATERIALS: The basic materials needed to build a steel framed,electric vehicle with a body
includes:

Steel tubing. I prefer to use basic 1/2" to 1" EMT electrical tubes. They are light weight, easy to
cut, easy to handle and are very inexpensive. For example, a 3/4" x 10 foot EMT tube at Home
Depot costs about $2.50 in New York City. If you prefer, you can also purchase standard square
steel tubes from steel distributors such as Eastern Steel in New York City for very low prices.
The standard length of steel tubes form distributors is 20 feet or 24 feet.

Electric Motor. Though some people have used ac motors, I much prefer to use DC motors. One
to three HP DC motors can be purchased in scrap yards (not to be confused with auto junk
yards) for under $100. They can also be purchased from a variety of surplus outlets throughout
the country.
Drive. You can use a number of systems to couple theelectric motor to the wheels including
sprocket gear andchain, pulley and belt or similar. The pulley and belt systemis probably the
easiest system to use.

Body. There are several ways to shape the body. One way is to use a very large styrofoam block
that can be sanded using an electric sander to the correct shape and then covered first with
Elmers type white glue and then covered with fiberglass. Another, cheaper and less messy way
is to use chicken wire mesh to shape the body over a basic metal frame. You can then cover the
wire mesh with fiberglass sheets, though I usually cover the mesh first with very thin layer of
plaster and fabric strips to give the mould strength and then cover it with the fiberglass. The
finish can be made perfect with the help of an auto body expert who will smooth out
imperfections and then paint the resulting vehicle to high standards.

Windshield. The windshield should be made out of a substance with safety in mind. While
conventional car windshields are useful, I have found them to be generally too heavy for my
vehicles. Instead, I prefer to use "unbreakable" Lexan type plastic. I normally use the 1/16" thick
lexan and for strength, design the windscreen so that it is curved. It is also possible to mould
the windscreen using either a vacuum or compression system, though this requires a rather
high degree of construction skill.

Electric wiring and switches can be purchased at most electrical supply houses.

CONSTRUCTION: After the vehicle has been designed on paper, and the components
purchased, you can proceed with the actual construction. Safety should never be compromised.
Always wear ear plugs, face shield, proper protective clothing and work in a well ventilated,
properly lighted room.
First cut out the immediate metal frame parts and weld them together. I have found that a
department store type rolling coat rack can be utilized as a welding jig with the use of vice grips
to hold the metal that is being welded together. After the frame has been welded together add
the steering mechanism and electric drive components. Before the body can be incorporated
on to the vehicle, it is essential that the vehicle is in complete working order. After the body has
been built, it is normally more difficult to make possible modifications to the mechanical
components. Initial test drives should not be conducted on public roads but rather on private
property, at the slowest possible speed. As with all prototypes, it will probably be necessary to
made minor and possibly major modifications before the vehicle is ready for general use. No
matter how much preparation is made in designing the vehicle, one can never predict the
effects of every possible design feature.

Construction of a basic vehicle, capable of holding two people should not take more than 60
hours of actual construction time, though it may take as little as 25 hours.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS The federal government as well as all states have strict rule for motor
vehicles manufacturers. Almost all states have special provisions for electric cars. Further, most
states allow human powered vehicles with power assists to operate on local roads without
having to be registered. Further, some
states have special regulations that are easier to conform to for slow moving vehicles or
specialty vehicles such as snow mobiles, or all terrain vehicles. These provisions may be useful
to know when designing the vehicle.