Imagine driving around the world with just one gallon of gasoline. It may not be as far away as you think! A group of students from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) developed and produced an electric vehicle (EV) called eLi14, which consumes only a small amount of gasoline. This electric car has been recorded as the world's most efficient electric car in the Guinness Book of World Records, which uses TI technology.
In the Guinness Record Challenge, eLi14 consumes 81.16 watt-hours per 100 kilometers, which is equivalent to 1 octane of gasoline per 10,956 kilometers. In other words, one gallon of gasoline is enough to travel around the world. The test was conducted at the car manufacturer's test track in Bavaria, Germany. The previous world record was created in 2005, when a car traveled 5,385 kilometers with one liter of gasoline, and now the eLi14 is almost twice as efficient.
The eLi14 electric car was built in 2014 by the TUfast student team and in 2016, it was further modified to challenge the world record. Founded in 2002, TUfast is an extracurricular activity at TUM where students can learn in a professional environment and receive guidance and support from a number of alumni and several electric car companies.
Over the years, students have developed a number of vehicles and participated in events such as the Shell Eco Marathon; this test helps them develop more energy-efficient vehicles using future-optimized optimization techniques.
To challenge the world record, the team redesigned the 2014 model eLi14 from a number of design aspects, making it lighter and electronically controlled. Maximilian Amm of the TUfast team explained: "We realize that extremely accurate motor control is critical to providing the right amount of energy to the motor at the right time.
The TUfast team tried a number of processors, but none of them succeeded. Instead, they switched to TI's C2000TM PiccoloTM microcontroller (MCU) family and TMS320F28069 MCU-based control cards. One of the main advantages of this development kit is the isolated debug interface on the panel for real-time debugging on a running system. In this way, the team can obtain accurate real-time data through the control card, thus instantly repairing the existing problems and better programming and testing the motor.
TUfast team member MarTIn Angerer said: "The ability to implement commissioning during system operation helps accelerate the manufacture of the motor. Through comprehensive testing, we can ensure that the vehicle can reach a record level in orbit."
The C2000 MCU also measures the energy consumption of brushless DC motors and processes them accurately in real time. This allows the motor to operate at a constant torque, keeping energy consumption to a minimum.
The most important factor in the motor's ability to achieve maximum torque with minimal energy consumption is the processor's extremely accurate pulse width modulation (PWM) control and real-time calculations. This allows high-complexity adjustment algorithms to be processed in real time, ensuring that the best current is always supplied to the motor.
However, accurate calculations and control signals alone are not enough. The C2000 MCU is also capable of adjusting transistor dead time (ie, when they are not working) in response to changes in environmental conditions (such as temperature, supply voltage, and output power) to minimize energy loss. Every Joule is crucial in creating new records.
In 2017, the team's plan focused on making new cars and participating in the “City Concept†category of the Shell Eco Marathon. With the experience and knowledge accumulated by the team over the years, especially with eLi14, they are planning to build an ultra-efficient car that is more suitable for public roads than a record-breaking model.
At the same time, eLi14 has reached the end of its service life and is now retiring. However, since then it will still appear as a testimony in various exhibitions and exhibitions - when a group of talented innovators have a common vision and work hard for it, the dream will become a reality.
Learn more about TI's electric and hybrid vehicle technologies:
Other motors in electric vehicle systems
Promote the green revolution
How do we charge future electric and hybrid vehicles?
Powering electronic devices in HEV and EV vehicles
Brushless DC Motor,DC Brushless Motor,24V DC Brushless Motor,High Torque Brushless Motor
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