Engineering Asked by oiclid on February 19, 2021
First of all, I am neither an electronic nor a mechanical engineer, so if some of what I say sounds ignorant, that’s most likely because it is.
I have been thinking about this for a while now. I love EVs and the fact that they are one of the best ways to cut down carbon emissions. On the other hand, I hate the fact that more and more modern vehicles are coming with a large amount of control being handed over to Electronic Control Systems. Would it be possible to have an EV that has little or no Electronic Control Systems in it? Is it possible to mechanically control features such as ABS, power-steering, etc without electronics?I mean, how much AI do you actually need in these vehicles? Are we just including it because we can, or because it is absolutely necessary? Essentially, is it possible to build an EV that would survive an EMP bomb?
Thanks.
Yes, it's possible, but electronics do it cheaper, lighter, and in a more sophisticated manner than what electro-mechanicals can do it. You can also tweak software to tune a basic design. With electro-mechanicals, the basic design has to be tweaked to fit the control system. (although which is easier to tweak at this point is a matter of opinion).
Having said that, I have no idea why modern cars need half a million lines of code to roll down the road. And I still operate equipment that has nothing more than an alternator, a fuel solenoid, a starter, and some lights. But even golf carts switched to electronic motor controls
Ward Leonard control was patented for electric vehicles in 1903.
Answered by Phil Sweet on February 19, 2021
It has certainly been done. A friend of mine actually had a Citicar in the 1980’s. The design was very simple. Standard lead-acid batteries and a 12hp DC (brushed) motor. The speed was controlled by a series of relays that would engage was the accelerator was pushed farther in. No regenerative braking. No power brakes or power steering. Max range and speed of around 40 miles and 38 mph.
A big thing computer assistance brings is complex feedback loops. For comparison, modern electric cars (and electric power tools) now use three-phase AC motors, often called “brushless DC motors” by power tool marketing. The reason is higher reliability by eliminating the brushes that wear out, higher efficiency, and vastly higher starting torque. However, it means that speed is controlled not by a variable resistor or a set of relays in the gas pedal/trigger, but by a microchip that reads the trigger input and the current rotation of the motor and decides the duty cycle of the inverters that are generating the three-phase power for the motor. Yes, your cordless drill has an extremely simple computer inside it. Lighter, more torque, longer battery life, longer motor life.
Just an example. Similar control systems have improved gasoline engines from 25% to as much as 80% fuel efficiency in my lifetime.
Answered by UrQuan3 on February 19, 2021
Get help from others!
Recent Answers
Recent Questions
© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP