Unit 5: Frame/Chassis Design

• Introduction to body loads (Load cases and load factor, road

loads),
• Vehicle Dynamics,
• Vehicle Structure/Chassis/Frames,
• Strength and Stiffness,
• Frame building Problems,
• frame components,
• Front and Rear Suspension Systems,
• Battery Packs, Understructure Design,
• FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis),
• Vehicle Structure design against Noise and Vibration
exposure,
• Retrofitting and its associated Problems.
Different Bodies Used In Automobiles:
According to Chassis design the body can divided into
1) Conventional Type
2) Integral Type
3) Semi- Integral Type
According to other usage:
1) Light vehicle Bodies – cars, jeeps.
2) Heavy vehicle Bodies – Busses, Lorries.
3) Medium vehicle Bodies – Vans, Meta Doors.
Requirements Of Bodies For Various Types Of Vehicle:
The body of the most vehicle should fulfill the following requirements:
1) The body should be light.
2) It should have minimum number of components.
3) It should provide sufficient space for passengers and luggage.
4) It should withstand vibrations while in motion.
5) It should offer minimum resistance to air.
6) It should be cheap and easy in manufacturing.
7) It should be attractive in shape and color.
8) It should have uniformly distributed load.
9) It should have long fatigue life
10) It should provide good vision and ventilation.
Chassis frame layout:
• The automobiles such as cars, buses and trucks, etc. are generally considered to be
consisting of two major assemblies, The frame is the main part of the chassis on which
remaining parts of chassis are mounted.
• The automobiles such as cars, buses and trucks, etc. are generally considered to be
consisting of two major assemblies, chassis and Frame.
• A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a manmade object in its
construction and use. A chassis are usually rectangular steel frame, supported on springs
and attached to the axles, that holds the body and motor of an automotive vehicle.
• The frame is the main part of the chassis on which remaining parts of chassis are mounted.
The frame should be extremely rigid and strong so that it can withstand shocks, twists,
stresses and vibrations to which it is subjected while vehicle is moving on road. It is also
called underbody. The frame is supported on the wheels and tire assemblies. The frame is
narrow in the front for providing short turning radius to front wheels. It widens out at the
rear side to provide larger space in the body.
Loads on the Chassis frame :
• Weight of the vehicle and the passengers, which causes vertical
bending of the side members.
• Vertical loads when the vehicle comes across a bump or hollow,
which results in longitudinal torsion due to one wheel lifted with
other wheels at the usual road level.
• Loads due to road camber, side wind, cornering force while taking
a turn, which result in lateral bending off side members.
• Load due to wheel impact with road obstacles may cause that
particular wheel to remain obstructed while the other wheel tends to
move forward , distorting the frame to parallelogram shape.
• Engine torque and braking torque tending to bend the side members
in the vertical plane.
• Sudden impact loads during a collision, which may results in a
general collapse.
Types of Chassis Frame: Function, Material (Loads Acting on
Frame)
Types of Chassis Frame
Conventional Frame:
It is mostly used in heavy duty vehicles. This frame is generally made from
the steel sections. This type of frame has two longitudinal members and 5-6
cross members. These cross members are joined to longitudinal members
with the help of rivets or bolts. The cross members are used to increase the
strength of frame. The side or longitudinal members can be parallel but
commonly they are tapered.
• They are in-swept at front and up-swept at rear. The frame is narrowed
down at front to have a better steering lock which gives smaller turning
circle and provides space for the pivoting and swinging of the front
wheel. The upswept at the rear is primarily to give room for the vertical
movement of the rear axle as they travel over road bumps and other
surface inequalities.
• The body brackets are provided to support the body of the vehicle
whereas the spring brackets are provided on the frame for mounting
the springs. The extension of the chassis frame ahead in the front axle is
known as the front overhang while it’s extension beyond the rear is
known as rear overhang.
The cross members and side members can be made up of
following cross section:-
• Channel section
• Box section
• I-section
• Hat section
• Tubular section
The channel section and Box section have higher bending stiffness
compared to solid square section with same cross section area; therefore
both these sections are used for sidelong members. The I-section, Hat
section and tubular section are normally used for cross members.
The side and cross members are usually joined together by riveting, welding
or bolted together. The engine, clutch, gearbox and steering are all bolted
together to form rigid assembly which is mounted usually on front end of
the frame. It is necessary that chassis must maintain the working assembly
in their correct position to provide a mounting for the body. Although it adds
little for the strength of the structure.
2. Integral Frame: This frame construction, is now a days used in
most of the motor cars called as a frameless or chassis less or mono or
unit construction in which the floor assembly and frame form one
integral unit. In this type of construction heavy longitudinal members
are replaced by multiple cross members to strengthen the body. The
disadvantage of this is that it difficult to repair.
3. Semi-Integral Frame: In semi integral type full frame is divided
into two section which is mounted on the front and rear part of the
vehicle on which engine gearbox and front suspension is mounted. It
has the advantage, when the vehicle is met with accident, the frame
can be taken out easily to replace the damaged chassis frame.
• In automobile chassis is the external structure of the vehicle which
houses the all the components of the vehicle and mounted on
the wheels of vehicle with help of frame. In simple words
automobile chassis is a complete vehicle without a body. It is just
like a complete human without a dress. Frame is an integral part of
chassis on which the whole body of vehicle is mounted.
• The frame or the under body is important part of the chassis.
• The remaining part of the chassis is mounted over the frame.
• The frame is a rigid structure like a skeleton which holds the major
parts together.
• The engine is mounted on the front side of the frame.
• Clutch and transmission system is also mounted on the front side
which completes the power assembly.
• The frame is supported on the wheels of the body through the
suspension system to absorb the shocks.
Functions of Frame
• To carry the chassis and its mountings
• To support the suspension system
• To integrate the chassis and the wheels of the vehicle
• To transfer motion from transmission system to the wheels
Various Loads Acting on Frame
1. Short Duration Loads
These loads are acts when vehicle passes through broken patches of
roads and feels a sudden shock. Due to this action vehicle will
experience a reaction force which is further acts on the frame of the
vehicle.
2. Momentary Duration Loads
When body takes a curve or during cornering body will experience a
centrifugal force. This force is transmitted to the frame. This force
also acts on the frame.
3. Impact Loads
When vehicle experience an accident then the chassis frame
experiences a high impact load which is directly transferred to frame.
The frame has to sustain these impact loads.
4. Inertia Loads
These loads are because of the weight of the vehicle itself. When
brakes are applied and vehicle comes to rest and experiences huge
inertia force due to the vehicle motion on the front side of the chassis,
this is called inertial loads. Similarly, when vehicle accelerates the
complete vehicle weight is transferred to the back side of the frame.
Basically, inertia loads are due to braking and acceleration.
5. Static Loads
These are because of the weight of the vehicle or the weight of
the chassis components viz. transmission system, braking
system, suspension system, body, accessories of vehicle, and
passengers in the vehicle etc.
6. Overhead Loads
These loads are those which are used by engineer to take the factor of
safety to sustain the overloading conditions. For example, two
wheelers are designed to carry loads of two passengers but in actual
the vehicle is designed to carry much more load than two passengers
to provide the factor of safety.
Components of Chassis
Components of Chassis
• Frame
• Front suspension
• Steering mechanism
• Silencer
• Storage battery
• Rear springs
• Road wheels
• Shock absorbers
• Brakes and braking system
• Propeller shaft
• Engine, clutch, gearbox
• Radiator
• Fuel tank
Function of Chassis
• To support the body weight and loads acting on vehicle
• To support the accessories of vehicle
• To support the power system and control system
• To provide space for the passengers
• To get the perfect aerodynamic design to avoid drag
• To integrate the whole parts of the vehicle.
Construction of Chassis
• A typical chassis frame is shown in figure. Here the long sections
which are located on either side are called longitudinal members.
These longitudinal or side members are joined together with cross
members with the help of rivets or bolts. Generally, five or six
cross members are used to give good strength and stability to the
chassis. Sometimes diagonal cross bracing is also provided for
torsional rigidity.
• The longitudinal members are upswept in the front and rear to
provide the space for movement of axle. It also helps in keeping
the frame height low also the frame tapers from rear to front to
provide better steering lock by providing a smaller turning circle.
The brackets are provided in the frame to support the body also for
mounting different parts such as suspension
springs, engine, brake shaft etc.
• The extended part of chassis frame over the front axle is known as
front overhang. Whereas beyond the back axle is known as rear
overhang. The engine, clutch and transmission are all bolted
together into an assembly and are mounted usually on the front end
of this frame by means of rubber blocks. These rubber blocks help
in isolating the engine from road shocks and also isolating the
vehicle from engine vibrations. All these members used in making
the chassis frame are made up of pressed steel.
Types of Chassis
Based on Engine Location:
1. Conventional Chassis
In this type of chassis engine is fitted in front of driver cabin making the driver sit quiet far
from the front axle. Due to this driver is unable to see the road just in front of tyres. The
portion of the chassis where engine is fitted can’t be utilized for carrying passengers or
goods.
2. Semi Forward Chassis
Here engine is fitted in such a way that half of it is in driver’s cabin and remaining half is in
front of drivers’ cabin. This portion of chassis where engine is fitted inside drivers’ cabin can
be utilized.
3. Full forward or Bus Chassis
Here complete engine is mounted inside the driver’s cabin and driver sits just above the front
wheels and is able to see the road just in front of the tyres completely.
4. Centre Engine Chassis
It is also known as mid-engine chassis. In this engine is mounted between front
wheels and rear wheels. Since the weight of the cars shifts under the acceleration this
arrangement further improves wheel grip and curved body can be designed with greater
aerodynamic efficiency.
5. Rear Engine Chassis
Here engine’s Centre of gravity is behind the rear wheels. This is mostly seen in low floor
buses wheels remaining space can be used for passengers and luggage.
B) Based on Assembly:
1. Conventional Chassis
In conventional chassis the longitudinal members or side members are joined by
four or five cross members over which all the body and all the components are
installed.
2. Integral Chassis
This is also called as frameless chassis. The body shell and under body are welded
into a single unit which helps in decreasing the overall weight. Due to the
elimination of longer frame it is cheaper. The only disadvantage is its difficulty to
repair.
3. Semi Integral Chassis
In the semi integral chassis, the engine is installed on a frame. The remaining
portion is frameless. This is because when the vehicle suffers from any accident
then only the front portion can be repaired.
C) Based on Frame:
1. Ladder Frame
This frame is similar to the shape of a ladder. It has two longitudinal members also
called as side members joined by four or five lateral members or cross members.
2. Backbone Frame
In this frame instead of two-dimensional ladder, it consists of strong tubular
backbone which bears most of the loads.
3. Tubular Space Frame
Space frames are all about tubes held together in compression and tension
using 3D pyramid style structure and diagonally brace tube boxes. A tube
space frame is capable of holding its shape even if the joints between tubes
are hinges.
4. Monocoque Frame
In Greek mono means single and in French coque means shell. It is a
construction technique that supports structural loads by using objects
external skin.
5. Aluminum Space Frame
As traditional steel monocoque chassis is heavier. Hence, car makers turned
to replace steel with aluminum and everything is same as monocoque.
6. ULASAB Frame
Aluminum space frame is heavier, so American steel manufacturers hide
Porche engineering services to develop a new kind of steel monocoque
technology called ultra light steel body monocoque frame.
7. Carbon Fibre Frame
Carbon Fiber monocoque frame is a monocoque type frame made of carbon
fibre. It has superior rigidity to weight ratio.
Ladder Frame Chassis
Named after the shape it replicates, the ladder-frame chassis is one of
the oldest chassis types. This chassis is characterized by two long
heavy beams that are supported by two smaller ones. Its quality of
being easily manufactured not only made it contemporarily popular
but also eased the way for its mass production. Since ladder frame
chassis is significantly heavy it’s usually used for vehicles that
transport heavy material.
Benefits
• Easy to manufacture and easy assembling of the car over it.·
• Heavy and strong tensile strength.
Drawbacks
• Poor cornering ability due to weak torsional rigidity
• Its heaviness doesn’t make it suitable for performance cars and
hatchbacks.
Backbone Chassis
Similar to the ladder frame chassis, the backbone chassis is also named after
the shape it reflects. The hollow rectangular cross-section and a cylindrical
tube passing through it connecting the front and rear suspension, like a
backbone. The cylindrical tube surrounds the driveshaft. You can find
backbone chassis in one of the most popular cars, Skoda Rapid.
Benefits
• Its crafting allows better contact between the half axle and ground
making it preferable for off-roading.
• A cylindrical tube covering the driveshaft saves it from any damage
while off-roading.
• The structure’s torsional toughness is relatively more supple than ladder
chassis.
Drawbacks
• In case the driveshaft fails, the whole chassis needs to be dismantled as
the driveshaft is covered with the cylindrical tube of the chassis.
• The manufacture of backbone chassis is costly and increases the overall
cost of the car.
Monocoque Chassis
Monocoque is French for ‘single shell’. This unibody frame is named
after its structural outlook. The monocoque frames were firstly used in
ships, next in aeroplanes, and manufacturers took quite a while to find
them pertinent for cars as well. A monocoque is like an endoskeleton of a
car crafted by fitting chassis and complete basic frame in a single unit.
Monocoque chassis is the most popularly used chassis as of now given
its number of advantages over the other two types of chassis.
Benefits
• Best torsional rigidity
• Its cage-like design makes it relatively safer.
• Easy to repair.
Drawbacks
• The amalgamation of frame and chassis makes it fairly heavy.
• The production of monocoque chassis on a small scale isn’t
financially plausible, thereby it can prove fairly costly for the cars that
are produced in small numbers.
Tubular Chassis
A three-dimensional derivative of ladder chassis, Tubular chassis are mainly
used in performance cars given their excellent safety. Rarely seen in
passenger cars, tubular chassis is much stronger than ladder chassis and they
popularized the utilization of stronger structure underneath the doors to
accomplish more consolidated strength.
Benefits
• Comparatively better rigidity for the chassis of the almost same weight
• Nice ratio of rigidity and weight making a car strong while being light-
weighted.
• Highly preferred for race cars
Drawbacks
• Tubular chassis are quite complex in design, conclusively they can’t be
manufactured by conventional methods.
• They are very time-consuming in production, and can’t be mass-
produced.
• Not suitable for passenger cars
• The tubular chassis elevates the doors a bit making it slightly hard to
access the cabin.
ELEMENTS OF VEHICLE DYNAMICS
• In vehicle dynamics, the vehicle body (sprung mass), the suspension
component (spring and damper) and tire (unsprung mass) are
essential parts of the system.
• Factors affecting vehicle dynamics
1)Drivetrain and braking
2)Suspension and steering
3)Distribution of mass
4)Aerodynamics
5)Tires
• Analysis and Simulation considering spring mass system and using
software like ADAMS, Modelica, CARsim, Simulink etc.
DYNAMICS OF THE MOTOR VEHICLE:
• It is a combine study of interaction between driver, vehicle, road and
environment.
• It mainly deals with, the improvement of active safety and driving comfort
and the reduction of road destruction.
• The acceleration of the vehicle depends upon the power delivered by the
propulsion unit, road conditions, aerodynamics shape and mass of the
vehicle.
• General description of the vehicle movement like tractive force, rolling
resistance, aerodynamic drag and uphill (grading and acceleration)
resistance.
• Longitudinal vehicle dynamics, Forces and motions in longitudinal
direction, smooth road surface Predicting top speed, acceleration and
braking performances, gradeability, fuel consumption...
• Lateral vehicle dynamics, Forces and motions mainly in lateral direction
Predicting cornering performances, handling, stability..
• Vertical vehicle dynamics, Forces and motions mainly in vertical direction
Ride, vibration behavior, tier/road contact...
Forces acting on the vehicle
• Gravity effects
• Aerodynamic forces
• Tyre-road interaction
• Tyre behavior (longitudinal and side slip)
• The dynamic equation of vehicle motion along the longitudinal
direction
Performance parameters
• Acceleration
• Top speed
• Gradeability
• Breaking performances
• Adhesion, Dynamic wheel radius and slip
Aerodynamic drag:
• Aerodynamic means the behavior of the air moving relative to the
car body. Aerodynamic drag is also called air resistance.
• Air drag force acts in the direction of vehicle motion.
• The total aerodynamic drag of a vehicle includes many factors such
as profile drag (57%), induced drag (8%), skin friction (10%),
interference drag (15%) and cooling and ventilation drag (10%).
• The streamline of airflow around the vehicle should be continuous
and separation of the boundary layer with its attendant vertices
should be avoided. The skin drag coefficient should be decreased
by smooth and well-polished of the body surface.
• The accessories such as mirror, door handle aerials and badges
which project outward from normal surface of the body produce
interference drag and projection below the vehicle such as axle,
propeller shaft, tow bar also contribute interference drag hence
such projection should be avoided.
Aerodynamic lift:
• It is the vertical component of the resultant force caused by the
pressure distribution on the vehicle body.
• The aerodynamic lift and pitching moment are undesirable effects. The
aerodynamic lift tends to reduce the pressure between the tire and the
ground. This causes the loss of steering on the front axle and loss of
traction on the rear axle.
• Pitching causes rear wheel lift off the ground and reduces available
traction. It is the rocking chair or rotating action about the transverse
axis through the vehicle parallel to the ground. Due to pitching, the
front suspension moves out of phase with the rear resulting in rocking
effect in a vehicle.
Side force:
• The imbalance of the wheel due to centrifugal force acts on the vehicle
during turning which produces a side thrust.
• To sustain that force, the plane of the wheel makes some angle with the
direction of the motion of the vehicle. This is achieved by the direction
of the tire which is flexible.
• The angled form during taking a turn to sustain the side thrust is
known as slip angle and the force produces to counteracts the side
thrust is called a cornering force.
Yawing movement (Bouncing):
• It is a vertical movement of the complete body. When a complete body of the
vehicle goes up and down which is known as bounce or bouncing. Depending
upon the movement of the front end or rear end the bounce is known as front end
bounce or rear-end bounce.
Rolling movement:
• It is the movement of a vehicle about its longitudinal axis produced due to
centrifugal force act during cornering.
• The retarding and cornering forces are applied at road levels but the center of
gravity of a vehicle is at a certain height. During cornering, a turning couple is
produced about the longitudinal axis of the vehicle owing to centrifugal force
acting at the center of gravity and forces acting at the point of contact of road and
tire patch. This results in a motion known as rolling.
• A combination of rolling and pitching is called diagonal pitch.
Countermeasures:
• In order to control all the above suspension movements; an anti roller bar,
stabilizer, pitch and roll control bars, hydraulic systems, mechanical leveling
devices, etc. are provided to vehicles.
Rolling resistance force
The rolling resistance force occurs due to the friction between the tires
and the driving surface. The rolling resistance force is zero at
standstill. When the vehicle starts moving, the rolling resistance force
acts in the direction opposite to the direction of motion and can be
calculated by the rolling resistance coefficient Cr multiplied by the
normal force between the vehicle and the road.
Gradient force
The third force that acts on a vehicle is the gradient force, and it occurs
when the vehicle is driving on an uphill or a downhill road. The
gradient force is due to the longitudinal component of gravitational
force. The gradient force and the angle theta (inclination angle of the
road) are negative when driving downhill, and positive when driving
uphill. Road gradients are expressed as a percentage in terms of
tangent theta and have a value typically between plus or minus 10%.
Frame building Problems
Defects in frames and body generally occur due to severe impacts on
rough roads and collision with other objects or vehicles. Depending
upon the nature of collision, the defects of the following kinds may
occur.
• Misalignment in horizontal and/or vertical plane.
• Twisting of main frame and/or sub-frames.
• Buckled main frame and/or sub-frames.
• Bent side members and/or dumb iron.
• Broken or loose gusset plates and rivets.
Types of Frame Damage & How to Spot Them
1) Sagging Frame: You may notice gaps in the body of your car if
your frame is sagging. When parts of the frame are uneven, the
vehicle tends to lean towards and create these gaps. Sagging causes
stress to tires and coils, and without frame repair, they will wear out
faster.
2) Twisted Frame: A twisted frame causes similar damage as a
sagging frame. However, it is harder to spot. If your car feels
unstable at high speeds or experiences difficulty in turns, this may
indicate that your vehicle has a twisted frame. To find the source of
damage, you will need a thorough inspection.
3) Sway Damage: Sway damage occurs when something hits any
corner of your vehicle. This type of damage is more noticeable
since the car will significantly lean in one direction. You will have
difficulty keeping the car driving straight and may feel vibrations
while driving. Sway damage not only compromises the vehicle’s
alignment but can also lead to transmission issues and even a full
breakdown if not dealt with in time.
4) Mashed Frame: These types of accidents can cause the frame to
crumple in on itself, making it effectively shorter than the
appropriate specifications. Deformities in the hood, fenders, or rails
may indicate damage to the frame. A mashed frame can also cause
a chain reaction, extending to other parts of the car and resulting in
sags, twists, and sway damage.
Design and repair tips:
1) Surfaces should be smooth and contoured without strain concentrators such as
notches and sharp steps.
2) Avoid putting holes in highly stressed locations. In particular, avoid holes in the
flanges of the rails.
3) Avoid putting holes or section changes where the rails or cross members experience
significant flex or twisting. For example, when a rigid body is installed on a truck the
two front mounts should be flexible.
4) Use medium grade steel (grade 350 or higher) rather than mild steel. This will help
achieve an adequate Factor of Safety.
5) Use steel that has a surface hardness. Because cracks start on the surface, hardness
here will hinder crack development. Nitriding or Carburising, for which the metal is
exposed to a Nitrogen-rich or Carbon-rich environment at high temperature will
produce a surface layer that is hardened.
6) Use gradual changes to the section properties. Sharp changes will cause stress risers
and this will promote crack propagation at these locations.
7) Tensile stresses open cracks whilst compressive stresses close them. The most
vulnerable regions are in tension.
8) The fatigue life of a welded part is independent of the material properties. The
quality of the weld is the important factor. Undercutting and discontinuities in the
weld are risk factors. Preheating and tempering of the weld can be important.
Requirements of body structural system for a road vehicles are
following -
• Space availability: There must be adequate space inside the body
for the passenger & luggage both.
• Stiffness: The car body may be considered a rigid beam which is
supported on wheels at each end. The car body must have sufficient
to prevent excessive sagging or bending in the middle.
• Strength: The body must be strong enough to withstand all tyres of
forces to which the car is subjected , which include the weight of
car, passengers & luggage inertia & side forces. It should able to
cope with impact bads of reasonable magnitude.
• Protection against weather: The design of the body must be such
that the occupants & luggage are protected from bad weather.
• Tensional stiffness: The body should be sufficiently rigid to resist
twisting movement on rough Soods.
Body Bending Strength Requirement
• A most basic structure requirement is to locate and retain the vehicle
subsystems in the correct positions. Powertrain, occupants,
suspension, etc. must be supported by the body structure.
• Consider a vehicle at rest with the weight of the vehicle subsystems
being supported by the body structure, which we will idealize as a
beam in the side view, A requirement for this structure is that it does
not fail under this loading condition.
• Using standard bending moment analysis techniques, we can identify the
shear loads and moments being applied at any position along the length of
the structure, A strength requirement for this body structure is to react
these moments without failure.
• Dynamic loading (where the inertia loads of the subsystem exert larger
forces during use than in the static condition. ) condition can be addressed
by multiplying the forces and moments of the static case by a dynamic
acceleration factor.
• A second condition is jacking or towing, where one support point is
moved to an end of the vehicle,. For this condition, we can take an
extreme case in which passenger loads are present. Considering all the
above conditions, we define an envelop of maximum bending moments
which the body structure must react without excessive permanent
deformation.
• the body bending strength requirement depends on the bending moment
analysis for the particular vehicle under consideration. Those bending
moments depend on the placement of the subsystem mass, and the
longitudinal dimensions of the vehicle, particularly the wheelbase.
Body Bending Stiffness Requirement
• The bending stiffness requirement for a specific vehicle depends on
the parameters such as Wheel base, Rigidly mounted mass,
Required bending stiffness, young modulus, bending resonant
frequency, Overall length, Rigidly mounted mass etc.
• Thus vehicles which have higher mass loading (highly optioned
luxury cars for example) or cars with long overall length (four-door
sedans vs. two-seat sport coupes, for example) will require higher
static bending stiffness to achieve the same frequency target.
• In addition to adequate bending stiffness being important for
structural feel, a high bending stiffness is also significant in
reducing the relative deformations which cause squeaks and rattles
during normal use.
Front and Rear Suspension Systems
• The automobile vehicles frame and body are mounted on the front
and rear axle not directly but through some form of springs and
shock absorbers. This is done to damp to road shocks transmitted
parts which perform this function are collectively called a
suspension system.
• Thus, the suspension system includes springs, shock absorbers and
their mountings. The suspension system of a motor vehicle is
divided into the rear end suspension and front end suspension.
• The front end suspension is more complicated than the rear end
suspension because the front wheels not only move up and down
with respect to the car frame but also swing at various angles to the
car frame for steering. In order to permit the front wheels to swing
to one side or the other for steering, each wheel is ported on a
spindle which is part of the steering knuckle. The steering knuckle
is then supported through ball joints, by upper and lower control
arms which are attached to the car frame.
• Front suspension is valuable to every mountain biker. The shock
absorption from the forks means the front wheel stays in contact
with the ground and enables the rider to turn the bike effectively.
Rear suspension makes a bike more comfortable but is less
important than forks for most people.
• Front suspension helps to keep the front tire in contact with the
ground by absorbing small bumps in the terrain and keeping the
wheel in contact with the ground for longer, making the steering
more controllable. Additionally, the forks perform the majority of
the shock absorption when riding steep sections.
• Rear suspension works much in the same way as it absorbs the
bumps from the trail, just through the back wheel as opposed to the
front. The difference however is that rear suspension provides more
traction to the back wheel whereas front suspension provides
traction to the front wheel.
• the front suspension will improve steering control whilst the rear
suspension will increase traction on the back wheel.
Battery Packs
• A battery pack is a set of any number of (preferably) identical batteries or
individual battery cells. They may be configured in a series, parallel or a mixture
of both to deliver the desired voltage, capacity, or power density. The term battery
pack is often used in reference to cordless tools, radio-controlled hobby toys, and
battery electric vehicles.
• Components of battery packs include the individual batteries or cells, and the
interconnects which provide electrical conductivity between them. Rechargeable
battery packs often contain a temperature sensor, which the battery charger uses to
detect the end of charging.
• When a pack contains groups of cells in parallel there are differing wiring
configurations which take into consideration the electrical balance of the circuit.
Battery regulators are sometimes used to keep the voltage of each individual cell
below its maximum value during charging so as to allow the weaker batteries to
become fully charged, bringing the whole pack back into balance. Active
balancing can also be performed by battery balancer devices which can shuttle
energy from strong cells to weaker ones in real time for better balance. A well-
balanced pack lasts longer and delivers better performance.
Advantages
• An advantage of a battery pack is the ease with which it can be
swapped into or out of a device. This allows multiple packs to
deliver extended runtimes, freeing up the device for continued use
while charging the removed pack separately.
• Another advantage is the flexibility of their design and
implementation, allowing the use of cheaper high-production cells
or batteries to be combined into a pack for nearly any application.
• At the end of product life, batteries can be removed and recycled
separately, reducing the total volume of hazardous waste.
Disadvantages
• Packs are often simpler for end users to repair or tamper with than
a sealed non-serviceable battery or cell. Though some might
consider this an advantage it is important to take safety precautions
when servicing a battery pack as they pose a danger as potential
chemical, electrical, and fire risks.
Some common issues that can affect a battery pack’s performance:
• Cold temperatures prevent batteries from delivering their full power.
Batteries operate best within a specific temperature range, which is
between 68°F and 77°F (20°C and 25°C). Maintaining the right
operating temperature is essential.
• Batteries lose part of their available power over time due to natural
wear. EV manufacturers need to make sure that this power loss does
not affect the driving experience.
• Battery cells need to be balanced to offer optimal performance,
meaning that they must all have the same voltage. Battery cells are
rebalanced during charges, but they lose their ability to maintain
that balance as they age. In addition, rapid charges which are
gaining in popularity are challenging the balancing performance.
The Components of a Battery Pack
A battery pack is the most expensive part in an electric vehicle. It is a complex system
made of a wide range of components. Here are some of the important components.
• Cells are the most important components of a battery pack. The mixture of materials
comprising the cell is known as its chemistry. Different battery chemistries can
achieve different performances and specifications. There are two common types of
cells: energy cells and power cells. There are also many variants to provide the perfect
trade-off depending on the application. In the EV industry, the lithium-ion cell (li-ion
cell) is the most common chemistry. Alternative chemistries are sometimes used, such
as Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH), which offers a slightly better lifecycle.
• Electrical connectors such as busbars, wires, or other distribution conductors are
used to make series or parallel connections between cells and groups of cells. These
connections are typically done using ultrasonic bonding or laser welding. Busbar
connections between modules can also be done mechanically using fasteners.
• Thermal interface materials (TIMs) such as pastes, adhesives and gap fillers are
inserted between battery components to join them mechanically while improving
thermal properties between surfaces. With the rise of the structural battery pack, TIMs
are becoming essential components.
• The Battery Management System (BMS) protects cells by monitoring key
parameters such as voltages, currents, and temperatures. It is responsible for cell
balancing (to maintain the optimal performance of the cells at the right voltage)
and communicates with several systems such as engine management and
temperature control. It also includes protection devices that can shut down the
battery if needed.
• The Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS) controls the thermal
energy in the electric vehicle’s powertrain and cabin, providing cooling or heating
as needed to meet the battery’s thermal needs and protect the cells. The BTMS
includes several components such as a heat exchanger, tubes, hoses, cold plates,
pumps, valves, and temperature sensors.
• The Contactor System is a switch controlled by the battery management system.
It can cut off the electrical connection between the main battery and the high
voltage bus, which delivers current to the traction motor and other high-voltage
components.
• The Housing is a rigid enclosure that protects the battery from environmental
factors such as water, dust, and salt. It helps maintain a precise temperature and
electrical insulation in the battery, and it prevents damages like rust and slow
shorts.
• The Communications System ensures communication with other components in
the electric vehicle. The most used protocol is CAN bus.
The 4 Main Types of Battery Pack Designs
12V Battery Packs for Accessories
• 12V battery pack With their low voltage, 12V batteries are used for low energy
applications such as headlights, radio systems, and other accessories. In hybrid
and petrol cars, they are used to start the engine.
• In electric vehicles, they are used as an energy source that can function without
the main electric battery (traction battery). For example, it is used to activate the
traction battery and provide power to some vital components if power has been
cut off for safety reasons.
• Traditionally, the most known type of 12V batteries were made using the lead-
acid cell chemistry and were hence referred to as lead-acid batteries. The number
of cells in these packs was limited to 6.
• The most recent 12V batteries are lithium-ion battery packs whose lithium cells
offer better performance and lighter weight.
• 12V batteries are small and are typically placed under the hood. More recently,
manufacturers have started placing them inside the trunk to improve safety, as it
minimizes chances of short circuits during crashes. Since more collisions occur at
the front, the battery is better protected from impacts when it is positioned at the
back.
Hybrid Battery Packs
• Hybrid battery packHybrid batteries contain a smaller amount of
energy than EV batteries and are much smaller.
• Still, today’s hybrid batteries typically have a range between 30 and
50 miles (50 and 80 km).
• They can be used for most short-distance trips without having to fall
back on the internal combustion engine (ICE). That’s a major
improvement compared to the very first models, which offered a
mere 0.6 miles of autonomy (1 km).
• Hybrid battery packs are built to complement the combustion engine
when it is least efficient, such as when accelerating.
• The goal is to diminish petrol consumption as much as possible. The
battery can also recharge itself by recovering wasted energy when
braking (regen braking).
EV Battery Packs
• EV structural battery pack Unlike other battery pack designs, EV
batteries are full-sized batteries made to supply the entire range of
the vehicle, including the traction motor and accessories. Current
EV batteries offer between 20 and 130 kWh of energy and can use
between 90% and 95% of that energy—a much higher percentage
than other types of batteries. The Mercedes EQS is the electric car
with the highest range, offering 485 miles of autonomy (780 km).
• EV batteries represent a significant portion of the vehicle’s weight
and volume. They can weigh up to 450 kg (1000 lbs), representing
one-fourth of the car’s total weight. Different designs come with
high voltage going from 400V to 900V. In the most recent designs,
they are being integrated as part of the vehicle’s structure.
High Performance Battery Packs
• E-formula racing uses high-performance battery backHigh
performance battery packs are batteries designed for Formula E
races. They are divided in two categories: hybrid and pure EV.
• They are made with composite materials to obtain an ultra light
structure. Some high-performance batteries are removable so they
can be replaced during races.
• Even though they are small, these batteries can deliver ultra high
power. More precisely, they can deliver several hundred kW of
power, which is enough to output power for an entire neighborhood.
Their cooling system is oversized due to the aggressive power
demand.
• High-performance battery packs are more energy efficient than
other types of batteries. For example, they can recover a larger
portion of lost energy during braking (regen braking).
Design of battery pack:
• A battery pack is a set of any number of (preferably) identical
batteries or individual battery cells. They may be configured in a
series, parallel or a mixture of both to deliver the desired voltage,
capacity, or power density.
Battery pack designing involves following steps:
• Battery Connection: Battery connection is about cell configurations,
cells placement pattern, welding and the cell holding. It further
considers its size, shape, electrical and mechanical parameters as
well as charging and discharging characteristics.
• Let us assume that voltage required by our system is 300 V. We will now
configure the cells in series and parallel configuration. We will find the
series and parallel as shown below:
 Capacity in Ah = 18000kWh/300V = 60 Ah
 Parallel cells (Decides capacity) = Required capacity/Capacity of one
cell = 60/2.5 = 24 cells
 Series cell (Decides voltage) = Required voltage/voltage of a cell =
300/3.3 = 91 cells
 Total cells required = 91 * 24 = 2184 cells.
• Cells will be connected in nPmS configuration. That is we first make the
module of n parallel cells and then we connect this modules m times. Here
n is 24 and m is 91. We have chosen this configuration because of its
simplicity and the cells in this configuration can perform auto balance to
some extent.
• There are numerous way to arrange cell in battery pack here we have
chosen cubic pattern. Cubic packing is in neat rows. The size of such a
pack is nD x mD x H, where n is the number of cells in a row, m is the
number of rows, D is the cell diameter, and H is the cell height.
• According to this pattern size of our battery pack is
(24*25.96)*(91*25.96)*(65.15) = 95891 cubic.meter.
Inner Battery Pack
• If battery pack were made of prismatic or pouch cells they might
have needed some extra mechanical design which needs to be taken
care of. Below is the image which shows force acting on battery
pack which is the result of pressure exerted by the battery weight
and expansion and contraction of cells.
• as we are dealing with cylindrical cells here we only need the cell
holders.
 The battery pack matrix welded with the tabs to the individual
cells is placed into a inner casing.
 The inner casing is made out of a polymer material to create a
protective insulated shell around the battery pack. This inner case
is flexible and resistant to the environmental and electrical
requirements.
 The battery 24P 91S matrix is fitted inside the inner casing, the
cells have to be protected during the assembly from any
mechanical and electrical damage.
  The casing is a combined top and bottom shell constrained by
spacers placed between the cells. These spacers are pulling together
the top and bottom inner casing through counter sink head screws to
save space.
 The battery pack with the inner casing forms a solid entity floating
inside the outer casing.
 The cells are electrically monitored at all times during the operation
of the battery pack; this was made possible by attaching the cell
wires which are inserted into the connector pin sockets.
• The ultimate shape and dimensions of the battery pack are mostly
governed by the cavity which is planned to house it within the intended
application. This in turn dictates the possible cell sizes and layouts
which can be used. Prismatic cells provide the best space utilization,
however cylindrical cells provide simpler cooling options for high
power batteries. The use of pouch cells provides the product designer
more freedom in specifying the shape of the battery cavity permitting
very compact designs. The orientation of the cells is designed to
minimize the interconnections between the cells.
Environmental Shock Vibration and Acceleration Damping Solution
• The inner battery pack is suspended onto “L” shaped mounts, shock and vibration dampening
absorbent material
• The shape, size, relative stiffness and hardness of these damping inserts are established based on
engineering calculations which are functions of the environmental loads. The key factor in the design
is the natural frequency of the assembly.
• There are 8 mounts installed on the edges of the inner pack. The mounts are compressed for optimal
vibration damping. The design accommodates this compression factor.
• Acceleration: Steady state acceleration of 24.0 G for min. 360 sec. For the X Axis only (flight
direction), perpendicular to the cover, the cover is facing upwards.
• Figure shows a few examples of the random vibration, acceleration and shock requirements.
External Case Assembly
Design process of the case:
• The case is designed and tested with the Finite Element Analysis
Software for optimization.
• These figures are showing the case put through the vibration
environmental testing and the process flow of design optimization.
• The case from the original design (due to failure) during the
simulation is redesigned, by eliminating the stress risers and weak
points on the questionable surface’s areas.
• The design reaches a “pass” stage after which the optimization is
continued to reach the safety factors needed.
• The design is finalized and ready for detailing.
• Shock and acceleration simulations are performed as well to pass all
the needed environmental requirements
• After several iterations, a final design is chosen to be built and
tested in real shock, vibration and acceleration conditions.
• The external case assembly is formed from the case, the ring-gasket
and the cover.
• The case is a one piece machined aluminum box fitted with a flange on the top side.
• There are two mounting brackets located on the back of the case.
• The ring gasket houses the rubber “O” ring and is sandwiched between the cover and
the flange of the case.
• The cover is constrained onto the case with screws and washers. Once the screws are
tightened the “O” ring inside the ring-gasket is squeezed between the case and the
cover creating a tight seal. The cover is reinforced with aluminum extrusions for
strength purposes, similar design is applied onto the bottom of the case.
• On the side of the case is a connector attached which establishes the communication
between the battery pack and the exterior. Each battery is monitored for its
performance through that connector.
• Mechanical design of battery packs leads to safe, and cost-effective structural
elements that are lightweight and highly reliable. In this Project we got to know that
how battery pack is mechanically designed. Some of the important considerations
while designing the battery mechanically are: Material selection, Base plate design for
individual cell accommodation, Cell movement constrain and control, Uniform
pressure over cell surface, Material cost optimization, Outer case design for overall
protection, Bus-bar designing, Packaging constraints. Apart from the design we also
need to test it for surety and finalization of design. Here are the General battery pack
test standards: Harmonic vibration test - AIS 048: 2009, Shock abuse test - AIS 048:
2009, Random vibration test - SAE J 2380.
FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis)
Lithium-ion battery failure may be due to several reasons. The below list
provides some of the most significant causes for safety-related failure.
Electrical over-stress
Various components (e.g. transient suppressors and battery cells) are sensitive
to electrical overstress and may fail thermally. An element can heat or ignite
adjacent surfaces, creating electrical product hazards such as fire.
Overheating is possible to occur during the charge or discharge of the
lithium-ion cell. Installing a control circuit in the battery pack can help avoid
such hazards and ensure the cell’s correct operation.
Thermal over-stress
Lithium-ion batteries are sensitive to temperature. Because of that, the battery
cell must always operate within a specific temperature range. When the
temperature is below the recommended, undesirable lithium plating may
occur. Furthermore, venting of the battery cell can cause the electrolyte to
migrate to the circuit board of the battery pack or the product device.
Consequently, the electrolyte may cause propagating circuit board failures,
leading to external heating of the cell and forcing the cell into thermal
runaway.
Mechanical over-stress
Safety issues can occur when the battery cell or the circuit is mechanically
stressed or damaged. Damage to any of these two components may lead to
immediate battery failure or induce a defect before the failure occurs. The
cell’s failure mode depends on factors such as the extent of mechanical
damage, age of the cell, ambient temperature, and the state of charge. If there
is mechanical stress on the cell, the separator within the cell may fail,
resulting in an anode-to-cathode short circuit. If the damage is to the circuit
board, the result could be malfunctioning.
Cell internal fault
An internal cell fault can occur due to manufacturing defects, contaminated
raw materials, improper cell design and failed separators, among many. To
minimize internal cell faults, the cell’s design and manufacturing need to pass
conformity evaluation. The cell design must comply with the technical
specifications of the relevant battery safety standards and receive safety
certification. The cell’s manufacturing needs to be managed by safety audits
and certification. Implementing a quality management system will help
ensure the consistency of the manufacturing process.
• FMEA is “a systematic methodology to identify potential failure
mechanisms and models for all potential failure modes, and to
prioritize failure mechanisms” and is the cornerstone of the physics
of failure approach to reliability assessment of systems, subsystems,
and components.
• Failure mechanisms are identified as the “processes by which
physical, electrical, chemical, and mechanical stresses induce
failures”, These mechanisms describe the fundamental manner in
which a device or component can fail.
• Failure modes, on the other hand, are defined as the manner by
which a failure is physically observed. The mode may not be easily
observed in-situ; however, a complete failure analysis would reveal
the source of the failure.
• The failure cause is the driving force behind the failure mechanism,
and can be the result of either internal or external stresses. Finally,
the failure effect is how the failure mechanism impacts the usability
of the device or component.
• It provides a comprehensive list of the parts within a lithium-ion
battery that can fail or degrade, the mode by which the failure is
observed, the potential causes of the failure, whether the failure is
brought on by progressive degradation (wearout) or abrupt
overstress, the frequency of occurrence, the severity of failure, and
the ease of detection of the failure mechanism.
• Using this tool, we can find and evaluate the potential failure modes
of products or processes, point out the weaknesses and possible
defects judged according to experience as early as possible, analyze
the failure consequences and risks caused, and finally find measures
to avoid or reduce these potential failures in the decision-making
process.
• DFMEA (Design Failure Mode Effect Analysis) failure mode
impact analysis is to analyze the potential failure modes of each
component unit of the product and the functional impact on the
product in the process of system or equipment design.
• DFMEA can achieve the following objectives in the process of system or
equipment design:
1) Find out what is important to system function and performance. All
kinds of affected components and their failure modes are found out and
their influence degree analyzed.
2) Be able to ensure that all failure modes and effects of all components
of the system are carefully considered and relevant measures are taken,
which can help designers and decision makers to select the best
scheme to meet the system reliability requirements from various design
schemes.
3) Make objective and scientific evaluation of relevant measures, testing
equipment, etc. in design review.
4) Be able to provide basis and implementation conditions for
quantitative analysis of system reliability design and provide system
reliability evaluation results.
5) Provide data, technology, and conditions for further improvement of
system design.
6) Accumulate technical data for the next similar new product design
scheme selection and decision-making.
Capacity decay failure
• As related systems mentioned that, during the standard cycle life
test, when the number of cycles reaches 500, the discharge capacity
shall not be less than 90% of the initial capacity. Or when the
number of cycles reaches 1000, the discharge capacity shall not be
less than 80% of the initial capacity.
• If the capacity drops sharply within the standard cycle range, it
belongs to capacity attenuation failure. The failure of battery
capacity attenuation is caused by the failure of materials, which is
closely related to the objective factors such as battery manufacturing
process and battery use environment.
• From the material point of view, the main causes of the failure are
the structural failure of the positive material, the transition growth
of SEI on the negative surface, the decomposition and modification
of the electrolyte, the corrosion of the collecting fluid, and the trace
impurities in the system.
Structural failure of positive material
• Structural failure of positive material includes particle breakage,
irreversible phase transformation, material disorder, etc. During the
charging and discharging process, the structure of LiMn2O4 will be
distorted due to Jahn teller effect, and even the particles will be
broken, resulting in the failure of electrical contact between
particles.
• During the charging and discharging process of Li1.5Ni0.5O4
material, the phase transition of tetragonal system cubic system will
take place.
• During the charging and discharging process of LiCoO2 material,
due to the transition of Li, Co will enter the Li layer, resulting in the
disorder of the layered structure and restricting its capacity.
Negative electrode material failure
• The failure of graphite electrode mainly occurs on the surface of
graphite. The surface of graphite reacts with electrolyte to produce
solid electrolyte interface phase (SEI).
• If excessive growth leads to the decrease of lithium-ion content in
the internal system of battery, the result is capacity degradation.
• The failure of silicon anode materials is mainly due to the cyclic
performance problems caused by its huge volume expansion.
• The formation of nano voids between the stripped Li and SEI films
is attributed to the accumulation of lithium metal vacancies.
• The rapid dissolution of lithium leads to the growth and aggregation
of voids, followed by the collapse of SEI.
Electrolyte failure
• The stability of LiPF6 is poor, and it is easy to decompose to reduce
the content of Li + in the electrolyte.
• It is also easy to react with trace water in the electrolyte to generate
HF, which causes corrosion inside the battery.
• The poor air tightness results in the deterioration of electrolyte, the
change of viscosity and chroma of electrolyte, and the sharp decline
of ion transport performance.
Failure of current collector
• Corrosion of current collector and decrease of adhesion of collecting
fluid.
• HF produced by the failure of the above electrolyte will cause corrosion
to the collecting fluid and generate compounds with poor conductivity,
resulting in increased Ohmic contact or failure of active substances.
• In the process of charging and discharging, the copper foil is dissolved at
low potential and deposited on the positive electrode surface, which is
called "copper evolution".
• The common form of collector failure is that the binding force between
collector and active substance is not enough, which leads to the stripping
of active substance and cannot provide capacity for battery.
Increased internal resistance
• The increase of internal resistance of lithium battery will be
accompanied by the decrease of energy density, voltage and power, and
heat generation. The main factors that lead to the increase of internal
resistance of Li-ion battery are the key materials and the operating
environment of the battery.
Key materials of battery
Microcracks and breakage of positive materials, destruction of
negative materials and over thickness of SEI on the surface, aging of
electrolyte, separation of active substances from collecting fluid, poor
contact between active substances and conductive additives (including
loss of conductive additives), blocking of diaphragm shrinkage,
abnormal welding of cell ears, etc.
Battery use environment
• High/low ambient temperature, overcharge and over discharge,
high-rate charge and discharge, manufacturing process and battery
design structure, etc.
• The generation of heat and gas are two common characteristics in
the process of overcharge. The heat comes from Ohmic heat and
side effects.
• Firstly, lithium dendrites grow on the anode surface due to excessive
lithium intercalation. The growth time of lithium dendrite is
determined by the stoichiometric ratio of cathode and anode.
• Secondly, the excessive extraction of lithium leads to the collapse of
cathode structure due to heating and oxygen release. The release of
oxygen accelerates the decomposition of electrolyte and produces a large
amount of gas.
• As the internal pressure increases, the exhaust valve opens and the battery
begins to exhaust. After the active substance in the cell contacts with air, it
reacts violently and releases a lot of heat.
• Overcharge protection can be carried out from voltage management and
material adjustment. During the over discharge period, the battery with the
lowest voltage in the battery pack can be forced to discharge by other
batteries connected in series.
• During the forced discharge, the pole reverses and the battery voltage
becomes negative, which leads to the abnormal heating of the over
discharge battery.
• The dissolved copper ions migrate through the membrane and form
copper dendrites with low potential on the cathode side. With the increase
of growth, copper dendrites may penetrate the membrane, resulting in
severe thermal runaway.
• In the first stage, there was no obvious side reaction inside the
battery, and the temperature and internal resistance of the battery
changed little.
• Moreover, the electrolyte was oxidized at the positive side, and
lithium was precipitated on the surface of the negative electrode.
• The reaction between lithium and solvent makes SEI film thicker,
the impedance of battery increases, and the temperature of battery
begins to rise slowly.
• Then the temperature rise of the battery is accelerated, the battery
bulges obviously, the electrolyte oxidation on the positive side
accelerates, and a lot of heat and gas are released.
• Lithium continued to precipitate on the anode surface, and the SEI
film began to decompose, and the lithium graphite reacted with the
electrolyte.
• In the last stage, the internal pressure of the battery exceeded the
limit, the shell cracked, the diaphragm contracted and deformed,
and the battery heat was out of control.
Internal short circuit
• Short circuit can be separated by four reasons. Firstly, short circuit
between copper / aluminium current collector.
• The contact of positive and negative collector caused by untrimmed
metal foreign matters puncturing diaphragm or electrode,
displacement of electrode piece or ear in battery packaging during
battery production or use.
• Short circuit between copper and aluminium collector is caused by
the positive and negative current collector contact caused by the
unshaven metal foreign body puncturing the diaphragm or electrode
during the production or use of the battery, and the displacement of
the electrode piece or ear in the battery package.
• Furthermore, short circuit caused by diaphragm failure. The aging,
collapse and corrosion of the separator will lead to diaphragm
failure.
• The failure diaphragm will lose electronic insulation, leading
positive and negative micro contact, and then local heating will
occur.
• Continuous charging and discharging will spread around, resulting
in thermal loss control.
• Thirdly, if the transition metal impurities in the positive slurry are
not removed, it will lead to piercing the diaphragm or lead to the
formation of lithium dendrite in the negative electrode, leading to
internal short circuit.
• Finally, the lithium dendrite will appear in the place with uneven
local charge during the long cycle, and the dendrite will cause
internal short circuit through the diaphragm.
• In the process of battery design and manufacture or battery pack
assembly, unreasonable design or excessive local pressure will also
lead to internal short circuit.
• Internal short circuit will also occur under the guidance of battery
overshoot and over discharge.
• The consequence of potential failure is the influence of failure mode
on the operation, personnel safety, and product function of energy
storage station.
• The consequences of failure should be described according to the
circumstances that may be found or experienced.
• The potential failure mode for the hidden danger of electric collision
of energy storage station.
• The results of potential failure consequence analysis are shown in
Lithium-ion battery failure mode and effect analysis,
• According to the structural characteristics of power battery system,
electrical safety failure mode, the content of failure mode analysis
needs to be reflected in the design scheme in the product design
process, and the failure can be eliminated through the design
process.
• During the design of the energy storage station, the following
electrical safety design requirements are put forward: (1) In addition
to the capacity separation method, the separation methods such as
internal resistance, AC impedance spectrum and so on should be
increased. (2) Strengthen the monitoring of battery inconsistency in
battery pack. (3) Control the temperature of energy storage station
and add smoke alarm device in battery box.
• The reliability of the battery can reduce the safety risk and ensure
the safe operation of energy storage station.
Vehicle Structure design against Noise and Vibration exposure
Sources of NVH in Electric Vehicles
Without an engine vibrating and generating noise that would normally
cancel out certain squeaks and rattles, engineers are having to improve
upon or create from scratch solutions to prevent or at least reduce
NVH. Some of the sources of NVH that need to be addressed include:
• Cooling Fans
• Transmission
• Road Noise
• Brakes
• Fluid Routing Lines
• Wind
• Actuators
• Alternator
• Doors
• Panel Holes
• Mounting Brackets
Vehicle Structure design against Noise and Vibration exposure

• The motor and reducer are two main vibration and noise sources of
the electric powertrain system. The electromagnetic forces of the
motor and the gear-meshing forces of the reducer could cause
structural vibration and whine noise that shows obvious order
characteristics.
• Functional units, such as the motor, reducer, motor control unit, and
power supply, are integrated into just one drive unit, i.e., the electric
powertrain. The integration of the electric drive system can
significantly reduce the volume, weight, and cost of the powertrain
system.
• When the electric vehicle is speeding up or decelerating, harmonic
excitation forces with order characteristics in the electric drive
system excite the powertrain housing to vibrate and radiate noise
into the air. There are two main types of harmonic excitation forces
responsible for whine noise, i.e., electromagnetic excitation loads
and gear-meshing forces.
• The electromagnetic loads mainly consist of two parts, including the
electromagnetic forces on the stator teeth and the torque ripple on
the rotor. The former acts on the stator structure directly, while the
latter acts on the rotor shaft which transmits the pulsating harmonic
load to the powertrain housing through the bearings of the drive
system.
• Gear-meshing forces are the dynamic loads produced by the interaction
between meshing gears, which can also be transmitted to the powertrain
housing through the bearings.
• Design considerations:
1) To Absorb a wider range of impact forces and vibrational frequencies to
ensure greater efficiency and a smoother ride.
2) To Achieve the same energy absorption in a tighter space with high
volume compressibility, low lateral expansion, and minimal
compression set.
3) To Improve alignment and stability with consistent stiffness through a
wide range of frequencies.
4) To Provide your drivetrain with greater protection from torsional stress
and strain.
5) To Reduce weight for the same performance up to 35% relative to
conventional elastomers.
6) To Provide lifelong powertrain performance with excellent abrasion
resistance to mechanical and chemical wear.
7) To Select from a range of material densities to produce an endless
variety of components in different shapes and sizes with this dynamic
Design of Vehicle against NVH
• The Vehicle NVH carries out evaluations at Body-In-White (BiW), trim
body and full vehicle levels.
• This involves simulating load cases ranging from powertrain excitation to
different road profiles in order to understand tactile and acoustic
responses.
Design of Vehicle against Powertrain NVH
The Powertrain NVH works on the development of quieter powertrains.
Simulations are performed to assess the dynamic stiffness of components,
predict noise radiated from engines and optimizing of weight. Multi-body
simulations are also carried out to evaluate torsion booming, imbalance of
propeller shaft, gear whine, clutch release clonk, etc.
Solutions Used to Reduce NVH
Non Conductive A/C Line Grommets
• Custom rubber tube grommets reduce NVH by preventing metal-to-
metal contact and limiting the movement of metal tubing. The custom-
designed internal ribs give the fluid routing line assembly the ability to
be flexible, while significantly reducing the amount of vibration that
occurs. And they’re made with a custom EPDM rubber formulation
that is non-conductive (developed by pulling out the carbon black),
aiding in the prevention of galvanic corrosion.
Metal Bracket Rubber Inserts
• Similar to the A/C line grommets, rubber inserts are designed
specifically to prevent metal-to-metal contact with the bracket and
metal tubing, and reduce vibration with it's ribbed design.
Butyl Patches
• Panel holes found throughout a vehicle’s body are typically covered
with butyl foil patches (foil backed with butyl adhesive). These work
as a great way of sealing out liquids, as well as reducing the amount of
noise that enters a vehicle's cabin. In NVH applications, manufacturers
Rubber Panel Plugs
• Rubber panel plugs are another great way of covering a vehicle's panel
openings. The ideal panel plug is a small component that does three
major things – it reduces noise transmission into the cabin, it is
watertight, and it installs with ease. Rubber panel plugs accomplish all
three tasks, a feat that is not easily duplicated.
• The general nature of plugs supplies an improved installation quality,
compared to butyl foil patches, as they eliminate the tendency toward
human error of not completely covering the hole. EPDM panel plugs
are also rubber, rather than plastic, which seals out moisture better than
plastic and provides superior noise reduction.
Rubber - An Ideal NVH Material
• Usage of rubber in NVH applications continues to grow as the Electric
Vehicle market climbs. Due to its versatility, high density, and
consistency, rubber is an ideal NVH material. The high density of
rubber materials like EPDM gives it the ability to better absorb sound
and vibrations compared to plastics, while its consistency allows sound
and vibration to be evenly distributed throughout the material.
Retrofitting and its associated Problems.
• EV retrofitting means replacing the petrol engine with an electric
powertrain. An electric motor gets fixed in the rear wheel and
engine parts get removed.
• Electric Vehicle Retro-fitment means to convert existing petrol or
diesel run vehicles into an electric vehicle. The process involves
changing the original engine and other related components and a
new alternative energy source to be transplanted into the existing
vehicle body. The retrofitting will allow people to continue to use
their costly vehicles rather than getting them scrapped, and will also
be beneficial for the environment.
• It can either be an additional system added to the existing vehicle
motor or to completely replace the existing engine with a new motor
and drivetrain. All other components remain the same on the
vehicle, which makes it easier to replace or repair parts like
suspension, brakes, headlights, etc.
• benefits of EV retrofitting,
1) Zero Pollution,
2) Less number of parts needed to produce the drivetrain as compared to a petrol
or diesel fuel which are made from nearly 350 parts, it is cost effective,
3) zero sound pollution, heat is not generated, no vibrations, reduction of noise
pollution.
4) With the recent rule of scrapping 10-15 year old vehicles, the main benefit of
retrofitting is increasing the lifespan of your vehicle especially if the vehicle is
in good running condition so there is no need to compulsory retire your
vehicle.
5) When the consumption of fossil fuel has reduced, the imports of fuel will be
stopped, which will automatically control the air pollution, and with the
vehicles being retrofitted new job opportunities are being generated for the EV
industry.
6) From the customer’s point of view, retrofitting reduces the running cost of the
vehicle, prolongs the life of the vehicle, and gives the pride of taking a step
towards sustainability.
7) From society’s point of view, electric/hybrid vehicles are good for public
health and cause less harm to the global climate.
8) From the government’s point of view, retrofitting reduce crude oil
consumption, vehicular emissions, and expenditure on oil imports.
• Some of these challenges are:
1) the higher cost of retrofit electric powertrains,
2) falling prices of electric batteries leading to a fall in the prices of
new EVs. This leads to buying a new EV easier for the end
customer vis-à-vis retrofitting an old ICE vehicle
3) Range anxiety
4) Lack of charging infrastructure
5) Battery quality