TET4190 Power Electronics for

Renewable Energy

Mini Project:

Electric Bike

Fall 2010

Group members: Håkon Tranøy

Ole Christian Nebb
Torstein Stadheim
Sebastian Klötzer
Contents
1. Abstract 3

2. History of the bicycle 3

3. Norwegian safety regulations 4

4. Configuration of the existing electric bike 5

5. Components used in the miniproject 6

5.1. The DC machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5.2. Design of the step-down converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.3. Generation of the PWM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.4. Driver circuit and MOSFET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

6. Measurements on the circuit 10

7. Measurements on the test-bike 12

8. Conclusion 14

A. Appendix 16

2
1. Abstract
The present report on the miniproject ’Electric Bike’ gives an overview over the work,
that was carried out in the past month on the miniproject.
At first, a short introduction on the development of the electric bike and the Norwegian
safety regulations is given. Afterwards, a brief overview over the components of the
provided test-bike is presented. A discussion of a step-down converter for the control of a
DC machine with a fixed supply, including the steps during the design process, is following
in the main part. The report will be concluded with an outline over the measurements
on the step-down converter and on the test ride with the electric bicycle.

2. History of the bicycle

The first documented cycle was introduced by Baron von Drais in 1818 in Paris. It had
2 wheels in-line, but lacked pedals and was driven by pushing the feet on the ground and
steering with the front wheel. Fig. 1 shows a drawing of the aforesaid vehicle.

Figure 1: Riding a Draisienne or hobbyhorse, 1819 [14]

It is not known when the first electric bike was built, but there is a patented solution from
31. December 1895, by Ogden Bolton Junior, who used a hub motor on the rear wheel.
[7] A patent handed in by Hosea W. Libbey in 1987 suggested a setup with a motor at
the hub of the crankshaft axle. [8]
There are many different names for electric bikes, e.g. pedelec, e-bike, power-assist-bike or
EPAC (Electronically Power Assisted Cycles)[2] [3]. A description for the most common
terms can be found at [2]:

• Pedelec: the motor is only actived while pedaling, in order to support the cyclist

• E-Bike: the input for the motor control is set by the turn of a handlebar throttle,
which allows propulsion without the act of pedaling

The biggest market for electric bicycles is in China, with an estimated amount of 120
million electric bicycles is use (Jan 2010). In many cases, the electric bike has replaced
the motorcycle, traditional bicycles or cars as a mean of transportation. In Europe, one
of the most important markets for eletric bikes is in the Netherlands, where in 2009, one
third of the money spent on bicycles, went into electric bikes. [4]

3
3. Norwegian safety regulations
According to the Norwegian regulation of vehicles (”Kjøretøyforskriften”, §4.1.5 [13]) a
bike with an electric motor is to be considered as a normal bike if:
1. The bike fulfills the demands in ”Forskrift for krav om sykkel”. [12]
2. It has an electric motor whose power does not exceed 250 W.
3. When there is no pedaling activity, the power to the engine is cut.
4. The power to the engine should be decreased gradually while the driving speed
increases. If the speed exceeds 25 km/h, the power should be cut.
If some of these points are not fulfilled, the bike is to be considered as an electric vehicle
and should be approved and classified accordingly. This also applies for the operator, who
is obliged to get appropriate training in using the vehicle, i.e. a suiting drivers license.

Physical laws regarding electric assisted biking As written in the title, the electric
motor is only an assistance to an otherwise normally human powered bike. By assuming,
that an average adult human is able to hold a constant power output of 75 W to the pedals
of the bike without experiencing fatigue [11] and a minimum speed of 8 km/h for holding
balance, the power output required by the electric motor can be determined by calculating
the sum of the air resistance Fa , the rolling resistance Fr and the grade resistance Fg : [1]

Fr = fR · m · g · cos α (1)
1
Fa = · cW · A · ρ · v 2 (2)
2
Fg = m · g · sin α (3)
Pres,mech = ΣF · v (4)
Using m = 125 kg as the mass of the rider and the equipment, fR = 0.008 as the rolling
resistance coefficient on rough asphalt, g = 9.81 m/s2 as the gravity constant, cW = 0.5 as
the drag coefficient, the air density ρ = 1.225 kg/m3 , the effective frontal area A = 0.5 m2
and α as the pitch angle, the results shown in Tab. 1 were obtained.

Slope [%] Speed [km/h] Total power need [W] Need of human power [W]
0 8 12,6 0
1 8 39,8 0
2 8 67 0
3 8 94,2 0
4 8 121,4 0
5 8 148,6 0
6 8 175,8 0
7 8 203,1 0
8 8 230,3 0
9 8 257,5 7,5
10 8 284,7 34,7
11 8 311,9 61,9
12 8 339,1 89,1

Table 1: Power need for different slopes at minimum speed

4. Configuration of the existing electric bike
The basis for the electric bike, which is used for measurements in the miniproject, is a
normal citybike. After the upgrade with a wheel hub permanent magnet synchronous
motor in the front wheel, a lead-acid battery pack, a suiting motor controller and a
modified handle bar, a first version of the electrified bike was created. This setup was
used for the measurements, which were done during last year’s miniproject on electric
bikes. Before the start of the recent miniproject, the lead-acid battery pack was replaced
with a lighter LiFePO4 battery pack, which offers higher power- and energy density and
thereby reduces the weight of the bike by 6 kg. Additionally, a new controller, that allows
regenerative braking, was installed. Fig. 2 shows the topology of the current version of
the electric bike.
Handle Bar

= 3˜
LiFePO4
M/G
3˜
Battery Controller Hub Motor

Figure 2: Topology of the drive train of the elecric bike

Permanent magnet synchronous hub motor

The in-wheel mounted permanent magnet synchronous hub motor, manufactured by

Golden Motor Technology Co Ltd., has a rated power of 250 W at a supplying volt-
age of 36 V. Due to the lack of a datasheet, neither the no-load speed, nor the rated and
peak torque and maximum of efficiency can be specified.

Motor controller

The motor controller converts the DC voltage of the battery into a 3-phase AC system and
vice versa, as regenerative braking is supported. Its maximum power output is over 1 kW
and therefore slightly oversized for the supplied hub motor. Nevertheless, at a weigth
of 350 g, the range of the bike should not be influenced significantly. Further features
of the controller include a cruise control mode, which allows riding at constant speed,
over-current and under-voltage protection, as well as a sensorless operation mode, that is
activated on a failure of the motor’s hall sensor.
The input for the torque control of the motor controller can be set by turning the grip
of the bike. The regenerative brake mode is activated by using the left brake handle. At
the present state, the strength of the regenerative brake is fixed and can’t be controlled.

LiFePO4 battery pack

The LiFePO4 battery pack is housed in a solid metal box, which is mounted under the
crossbar of the bike’s frame. It contains 40 single cells, each with an open-circuit voltage
of 3.8 V and a capacity of 4 Ah. With 10 cells connected in a row and 4 in parallel, the
battery pack has a rated voltage of 38 V at a capacity of 16 Ah.

5
5. Components used in the miniproject
5.1. The DC machine

In order to control the three phase permanent magnet synchronous machine used in the
electric bike, a three-phase converter with six switches is necessary. As the time frame for
the miniproject is very limited, a functioncal design of such a converter is unlikely. In-
stead, a DC-motor will be used and the corresponding converter for forward operation will
be designed. The main advantage of this configuration is the simplification of the circuit,
as the basic operation can be achieved by controlling a single switch. As the testcircuit
will only be used stationary, the disadvantages of DC machines, compared to permanent
magnet synchronous machines, such as lower gravimetric and volumetric power density,
lower efficiency and higher wear due to the commutator, which can be crucial in a mobile
application, can be coped with.

In the present miniproject, a 50 W shunt-excited DC machine, manufactured by Parvalux,

is available to be powered by the converter. In order to adjust the load, it is mechanically
coupled to an identical machine, which works as a generator. According to the rating
plate (see. 6), the nominal voltage Va,n is 24 V and the nominal current Ia,n is 3.8 A. The
resistance of the armature winding Ra amounts to 3.6 Ω, which allows the calculation of
the starting current at nominal voltage to
Va,n
Ia,0 = = 6, 67 A. (5)
RA
Although the windings should be able to handle the startup current temporarily, a soft-
start mechanism, that delays the building-up of the terminal voltage, is still advisable for
a gentle start-up.
Assuming constant flux and load, the speed of a DC machine is directly proportional to
the terminal voltage. By dimensioning a battery or fixed power supply according to the
motor’s nominal terminal voltage, a buck converter (fig. 3) is sufficient to regulate the
motor speed from start-up to nominal speed nn .

vo

Vd D C Rload

Figure 3: Buck converter

The buck converter is able to deliver an output voltage Vo equal or smaller to the input
voltage Vd , following the equation
Vo = D · Vd , (6)
where D is the duty cycle (0 ≤ D ≤ 1) of the switch.
The voltage equation for a DC machine in steady-state, with the terminal voltage Va and

6
the back EMF Ea can be written as

Va = Ia · Ra + Ea . (7)

Furthermore, the relations for the torque T and the speed n are

T = cT · Φ · Ia (8)

and
Ea
n= . (9)
cn · Φ
In traction applications, both the load T (∼ Ia ) and the speed n (∼ Ea ) vary constantly.
Therefore, according to equation (7), no linear relation between the behaviour of the
machine and the duty cycle can be made out. If a linear relation between the throttle
position and the motor torque is desired, a current control loop can be added to the
circuit. Furthermore, in order to gain the ability of regenerative braking, an additional
switch and diode has to be added and controlled. As these features are not part of the
circuit, built up during the miniproject, this should not be discussed further.

5.2. Design of the step-down converter

For the design of the buck converter, the basic circuit shown in fig. 3 is slightly altered.
First of all, the MOSFET and the diode switch places, as a fixed source potential at
the MOSFET simplifies the triggering of the gate. Secondly, due to the distributed
inductance in the armature winding, which causes a small delay in the build-up of the
armature current (PT1-behavior) and mostly due to the inertia of the rotor, shaft and
gear box of the DC machine, which behaves as an integrator, the speed output of the
machine is filtered by default. Thus, LC-filtering is not necessary and can be left out.
Fig. 4 depicts the buck converter topology, that is used as the basis for the circuit.

La Ra

D Ea

Vd

PWM

Figure 4: Schematic of the buck converter and DC motor

As mentioned above, the duty cycle D of the switch defines the ratio between Vd and Vo .
In order to control Vo , the duty cycle has to be varied manually. A possible solution to
achieve this is the use of pulse-width-modulation (PWM).

7
Using unipolar PWM, the conducting and non-conducting state of the switch is gained
by the comparison of a control voltage vcontrol with a high frequency sawtooth/triangular
voltage vtri . Whenever vcontrol exceeds vtri , the switch will be conducting, otherwise not.
As the output voltage Vo in a step-down converter is a DC-voltage, vcontrol has also to be
chosen as a constant voltage. Fig. 5 shows the waveform of vcontrol and vtri and the state
of the controlled switch.
vtri vcontrol

on

off t
Figure 5: PWM waveforms

To generate the PWM in the circuit, the TL494 integrated circuit (IC), with a recom-
mended input voltage range of 7 V to 40 V, is used. It possesses an internal adjustable
oscillator for the generation of the PWM signal, a dead-time control comparator, which
can be used for a soft-start mechanism and over-voltage protection, a 5 V reference voltage
supply and two output transistors. [6]

5.3. Generation of the PWM

The frequency of the oscillator fs can be set by connecting an external timing capacitor
CT and timing resistor RT , which leads to an oscillation frequency
1
fs = . (10)
RT · CT
To create the triangular waveform, CT is charged through RT with a constant current,
resulting in a constant rise of the capacitor’s voltage. The slope of the waveform is set by
the timing resistor. When the voltage over CT reaches 3 V, CT will be discharged by the
internal circuit almost instantly and the charging cycle is restarted. To allow a change in
the frequency while the circuit is powered up, a potentiometer is used instead of a fixed
resistor. For fs to be set approximetly between 10 kHz and 20 kHz, CT = 0, 01 µF and a
5 kΩ potentiometer in series with a 4,7 kΩ resistor are chosen. Using eq. (10), this results
in a range for the switching frequency between 10,3 kHz and 21,3 kHz.

The control voltage vcontrol is gained by connecting the reference voltage output vref =
5 V with a 10 kΩ potentiometer, which is used as a voltage divider. This allows a smooth
regulation of vcontrol between 0 V and 5 V, which, in theory, would enable the duty cycle to
be varied between 0 and 1. As the TL494 possesses a minimum dead time of 3%, D = 1
can not be reached. [5]

Dead-time Control (DTC) for use as soft-start and overvoltage protection

8
Although the dead-time control is usually used to avoid short circuits in applications with
more than a single switch, it can also be utilized for a soft-start mechanism. The benefit
of this is a reduce in the stress on the switch. In addition, when connected to a motor, a
smooth start-up, independent of the chosen duty-cyle, can be guaranteed and thereby an
overcurrent avoided. Concerning the TL494, the dead-time can be linearly set between
5% and 100% by applying a voltage between 0 V and 3,3 V to the according DTC pin. For
the implementation of the soft-start, the DTC pin is connected with a 3.3 µF electrolytic
capacitor to the 5 V reference voltage and a 180 kΩresistor to ground. On start-up, there
is no charge on the capacitor, hence the voltage over the DTC pin equals the reference
voltage, resulting in 100% dead time. As the capacitor is charged through the resistor,
the voltage over the DTC pin decreases, and the dead-time slowly sinks to the minimum
value. With the chosen parts, the time constant is

τ = R · C = 180 kΩ · 3.3µF = 0, 6 s, (11)

which makes sure, that a duty-cycle of 50%, which is proportional to a capacitor voltage
of 3,4 V, will be reached after

uc (t) 3, 4 V
t = −τ · ln(1 − ) = −0, 6s · ln(1 − ) = 0, 68 s (12)
uref 5V

at the earliest. As the motor in the miniproject is not under load, this short period of
time is enough to avoid an abrupt start-up.

The dead-time control also offers an elegant way to implement an overvoltage protection.
Texas Instruments’ application notes [5] suggest a solution with a TL431 shunt regulator
(see fig. 6). The TL431 behaves like a zener diode with a breakdown voltage of 2,5 V, with
the advantage of having an external reference pin. When the monitored voltage at this
pin increases over the breakdown voltage, the TL431 goes into conduction, resulting in a
forward bias of Q1. This causes the DTC to be clamped to the Reference voltage and the
PWM switching to stop entirely. By these means, the supplying voltage can be monitored
and the switching process entirely prohibited, when the voltage exceeds the tolerance of
the motor. Unfortunately, due to a supply bottleneck, the TL431 did not arrive in time,
which prevented the implementation of the protection circuit. A possible alternative way
for optimizing the circuit in order to protect the motor from an overvoltage might be the
simple use of a zener diode in series with a resistor.

9
ad-time control to be pulled up to the reference voltage and di

Monitored
Supply Rail
VREF

R1
Q1
Dead-Time
Control
R2

TL431
Figure 6: Overvoltage-protection circuit [5]
Figure 31. Overvoltage-Protection Circuit
5.4. Driver circuit and MOSFET
urnoff Transition
As the output current of the TL494 is limited, a half-bridge gate-driver IC (FAN73832 by
Fairchild) for MOSFETs and IGBTs, with a recommended supply voltage between 15 V
and 20 V, is used to control the switching device. In order to allow an easy expandability,
utput pulse by the TL494 is accomplished by modulating the t
the switch is connected to the lower, inverted output of the driver IC and the bootstrap
circuit is added. That means, by soldering in a second switch and diode, a half bride
tors. The turnoff transition always is concurrent with the fallin
circuit can be built up quickly, if desired.
Like the TL494, the FAN73832 also inherits a dead-time control. As this matter is already
. Figure 32 shows the oscillator output as it is compared to a v
taken care of by the PWM IC, the smallest possible dead-time of 0,4 µs is set by using a
dead-time resistor RDT = 22 kΩ.
ting output waveforms. If modulation of the turnoff transition is
For the switch, an n-channel enhancement power MOSFET (IRF540A by Fairchild) with
a maximum drain-source voltage of 100 V and a continuous drain current of 28 A is appli-
ope sawtooth waveform (see Figure 33) can be used without
cated. As these ratings exceed the ratings of DC Motor by far, safe operation, concerning
transient voltage peaks during the switching process and a thermal reserve during con-
e of the TL494.
duction mode, is ensured. With a gate-source voltage vgs = 16 V, the on-state resistance
RDS(on) is as low as 0,04 Ω, and therefore negligible compared to the resistance of the
armature winding. [15]
For the connection between the lower output of the driver IC and the gate of the MOS-
FET, a 10 Ωgate resistor has proven to be a fine solution.
Since the main parts of the step-down converter circuit are discussed, the next part briefly
covers the measurements on the circuit.

6. Measurements on the circuit

In this short section, the main function of the buck converter, i.e. to decrease the input
voltage according to the duty cycle of the switch, will be reviewed. Additionaly, a mea-
surement of the converter’s efficiency is presented.

tage Regulators With the TL494 10

The final setup for the buck converter, drawn in fig. 13, is used for the measurements.
Due to the lack of an additional power supply, a measurement on the motor with varying
load torque could not be done. Instead, a resistive was used. The measurement results for
the output voltage Vo over duty cycle at RL = 200 Ωare displayed in fig. 7. It is shown,
that the measured values for Vo follow the theoretical values very closely. It has to be
noted, that the maximum duty cycle of the MOSFET is only around 0.86, which leaves
room for an improvement.
25

20
output voltage [V]

15

Measurement
10
ideal output voltage

0
0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 1
duty cycle

Figure 7: Output voltage Vo over duty cycle D

For the measurement of the efficiency of the converter, the power input from the signal
power supply (16 V) and the load power supply (24 V) is measured and compared with
the measured output on the load. The efficiency is defined as
Pout
η= . (13)
Psignal,in + Ppower,in
The results of the measurement (see Tab. 7 and 8) with a resistive load of 20 Ω and 200 Ω
are illustrated in fig. 8.
100
90
80
70
efficiency [%]

60
50
RL = 200 Ohm
40
RL = 20 Ohm
30
20
10
0
0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 1
duty cycle

Figure 8: Efficiency η over duty cycle D

The signal part of the circuit consumes power in no load. Therefore, the efficiency with a
high load and low duty cycle, which results in a low power output, is especially low. With
an increase of the power in the load, a steady rise in the efficiency can be made out, due
to a very slow increase in the power demand of the signal circuit.

11
7. Measurements on the test-bike
The electric bike, as described in section 4, is equipped with a 38 V battery pack, an elec-
tric front wheel hub motor and a three-phase inverter. The battery pack and converter
are new and latter possesses additional features, in comparison to the replaced device.
The main improvement ofter the old controller is the ability to handle regenerative brak-
ing, which can be activated by slightly pushing the brake handle. At the present time, a
regulation of the electric braking force is not possible.
Both the permanent magnet synchronous machine and the converter, which are rated at
250 W and 36 V/50 A respectively, were manufactured by Golden Motor Technology. [9]
Before taking any measurements, the bicycle was set up with an amperemeter, voltmeter
and data logger. The current and voltage was measured on the DC-side of the converter
and the time interval between two data acquisitions was half a second. As the testpar-
cours, a part of Singsakerbakken, spanning a length of 90 m at a height difference of
approximately 6 m, which results in a slope of 6,7%, or alternatively an angle of 3,8◦ . The
total weight of the bike, rider and measurement equipment was 120 kg. 10 test runs were
carried out at different speed levels and the speed was held constant by regulating the
throttle. At the top of the hill, the power was cut in the same place at every run and the
bike was ridden back down.
The measurements on the first two runs are void, because the conductor was not properly
fitted in the clip-on amperemeter. The measurement data file was divided into 10 parts,
one for each run. This was done by evaluating the current. When the current reached
zero, bike and rider were assumed to be on top of the hill and hence a new run was begin-
ning. Afterwards, each run was split into 3 parts; zero-, positive- and negative current.
Parts with zero current were ignored, because the bike was at standstill or in no-load
operation. The data with positive and negative current was averaged in their respective
parts. This resulted in two averaged power measurements per run; regenerative and nor-
mal operation.
A major error source, next to faulty measuring on the first two runs, turned out to be
the calibration of the equipment. By evaluating the results, it became evident, that the
clip-on amperemeter was not correctly zero adjusted. This is partly corrected by adding
a correction current to each measurement. The correction current was found by looking
at the current when it should have been zero and adding this to all the measurements.
Further, the speed was hard to keep constant due to the low speed and a speed bump on
the road and the only speed measurement device was a bicycle speedometer, with limited
accuracy and no possibility for data logging. The results of the uphill ride using only the
motor are displayed in tab. 2.

12
 measurement avg. speed [km/h] avg. current [A] avg. voltage [A] avg. power
1 5 3.44 39.02 131.3
2 5 3.76 38.42 140.9
3 5 16.02 38.25 612.7
4 8 18.93 37.72 713.9
5 8 20.41 37.38 763.0
6 8 19.41 37.44 726.8
7 13-14 (max) 23.06 36.98 852.7
8 13-14 (max) 23.28 36.93 859.7
9 13-14 (max) 23.30 37.03 862.7
10 13-14 (max) 23.09 37.03 854.9

Table 2: Measurements on the uphill ride

The theoretically required power for riding up the test track, using eqs. (1) - (4) are
shown in tab. 3.

speed [km/h] slope [%] theoretical power requirement

5 6.7 122.2
8 6.7 197.6
14 6.7 351.4

Table 3: Theoretical power requirement at different cycling speed

The efficiency η of the drive system, consisting of the controller, PMSM and wheel, can
be estimated by dividing the theoretical mechanical power output Ptheo by the measured
power input Pmeasured (see tab. 4).

Ptheo
η= (14)
Pmeasured

speed [km/h] Ptheo [W] Pmeasured η [%]

5 122.2 610 20.0
8 197.6 740 26.7
14 351.4 850 41.3

Table 4: Estimation of drive system’s efficiency

It can be seen, that the system efficiency increases for a higher speed, mostly due to the
rise of the efficiency of the PMSM [10]. Since there is no detailed documentation on the
type and performance of the converter, no further conclusion can be drawn.

13
 measurement avg. current [A] avg. voltage [A] avg. power
1 -0.25 41.40 -10.2
2 -0.47 40.69 -19.1
3 -1.81 40.51 -73.2
4 -1.42 40.17 -57.1
5 -2.72 40.10 -108.9
6 -1.82 39.87 -72.4
7 -1.7 39.81 -67.5
8 -1.98 39.75 -78.7
9 -1.19 39.89 -47.3
10 -2.26 39.92 -90.1

Table 5: Measurements on the downhill ride with regenerative braking

The regenerative brake was tested with variable speed. This was accomplished by pedaling
downhill while braking. The braking torque of the motor seemed to be constant and
therefore, the mechanical power is proportional to the speed. Assuming a charge/discharge
utilisation ratio of the battery of 0.8 and calculating the mean electric power of the
regenerative brake to 74.4 W, the power gain by using recuperation is 59,5 W per testride.
This increases the range of the bike on the uphill track at 5 km/h by

59, 5 W
Range increase: · 100% = 9.8%, (15)
610 W
respectively 8% at 8 km/h and 7% at maximum speed. It has to be noted, that this is
an upper limit for the possible savings, as a normal bicycle ride contains much shorter
braking phases.

8. Conclusion
In the present miniproject, an electric bicycle was studied and its performance on a test
track measured. As the bike was equipped with a new converter with the ability of
regenerative braking, special attention was laid into the calculation of the possible saving
of energy. The measurement data shows, that even with very good conditions, i.e. long
braking phases, a range increase of less than 10 percent can be achieved.
The major part part of the miniproject concerned the design and soldering of a converter
for an electric bike. Due to the limited time frame, instead of a three phase inverter, a step
down converter for powering up a stationary DC machine was built. The measurements on
the converter show, that it fulfills the voltage step-down characterstic neatly, as expected
from the theory. The voltage dividing potentiometer allows the adjustment of the duty
cycle between 0 and 0.87; therefore, connected to a 24 V source, a voltage range of 0 V up
to 20.7 V can be covered.
Equipped with a soft-start mechanism, a smooth starting up of the DC machine can be
ensured. Due to supply bottleneck, the desired overvoltage protection circuit could not
be implemented.
Possible future improvements on the converter include an investigtion on how to increase
the maximum duty cycle over 0.86, the implementation of the overvoltage protection
mentioned above and an implementation of a snubber circuit to improve the switching
characteristic. In addition, a speed limiter, that is necessary in an electric bike according
to the norwegian safety regulations presented in section 3, cannot be implemented by

14
simply controlling the voltage, as the load dependence cannot be taken into acount that
way, could be implemented in an improved design.

15
A. Appendix

Brand: Paravlux
Motor Gear Box
Volts: 24 Lbs/Ins: 3.5
Amps: 3.8 A Cmkp: 4
H.P. 1/15 RPM: 780
Watt: 50 Ratio: 5
RPM: 4000 Res.Sd: 1.s/149335/9H
Rating: Cont.

Table 6: Rating plate of the DC machines

D Vo [V] Isignal [mA] Iin,power [mA] η [%]

0 0 8.7 0 0
0.1 2.64 12.8 4.8 10.9
0.2 4.8 14.7 10.5 23.6
0.3 7.4 16.5 19.6 37.3
0.4 9.5 17.9 28.8 46.2
0.5 11.8 19.4 40.2 54.6
0.6 14.2 21.0 54.1 61.7
0.7 16.4 22.4 68.1 67.5
0.8 18.9 24.0 85.7 73.2
0.86 20.6 25.0 98.1 77.0

Table 7: Measurement data for RL = 200 Ω

D Vo [V] Isignal [mA] Iin,power [mA] η [%]

0 0 8.6 0 0
0.1 1.7 12.7 30 15.6
0.2 3.9 14.3 94 30.6
0.3 6.6 17.3 200 42.9
0.4 8.7 18.7 290 52.1
0.5 11.3 20.4 420 61.4
0.6 13.7 21.9 550 69.3
0.7 15.9 23.1 670 76.8
0.8 18.6 24.2 840 84.2
0.86 20.2 24.8 940 88.9

Table 8: Measurement data for RL = 20 Ω

16
 duty cycle D=0.1
40

35

30

25
voltage [V]

20
drain-source voltage
15
PWM-Signal
10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
time [µs]

Figure 9: VDS and PWM-Signal for D = 0.1

duty cycle D=0.2

40

35

30

25
voltage [V]

20
drain-source voltage
15
PWM-signal
10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
time [µs]

Figure 10: VDS and PWM-Signal for D = 0.2

17
 duty cycle D=0.5
40

35

30

25
voltage [V]

20
drain-source voltage
15
PWM-Signal
10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
time [µs]

Figure 11: VDS and PWM-Signal for D = 0.5

duty cycle D=0.86

40

35

30

25
voltage [V]

20
drain-source voltage
15
PWM-Signal
10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
time [µs]

Figure 12: VDS and PWM-Signal for D = 0.86

18
 +15V +24V

Figure 13: Layout of the buck converter in Eagle

C3 R3 R4
100
3.3µ 47k IC1 R1
R2 1 12
M
2

+I1 VCC 1k
3 D2_IN4002
10k 2 14
-I1 VREF
1

D1_IN4002
16 13
+I2 OUTC
15 8
-I2 C1

19
GND 3 9
COMP E1 IC2
4 11 1 7
DTC C2 IN VB
C2
5 10 3 8
CT E2 GND HO
RT1
2

Osci.

1µ
3 6 7 4 6
RT GND DT/(INV)SD VS
5k
1

TL494BD 2 5
VDD LO
CT FAN73832
RT2 R6 R5 C1
180k Q1_IRF540A
0.01µ 22k
4.7k
1µ
GND GND GND GND
References
[1] Braess/Seiffert; Vieweg Handbuch Kraftfahrzeugtechnik ; 5th ed.; VIEWEG, 2007.
[2] Extra Energy; Pedelec Electric Bikes ; http://www.nycewheels.com/bike-info.html,
06.10.2010.
[3] Bike Europe; EPAC Standard Document for e-Bikes ; http://www.bike-
eu.com/news/3376/epac-standard-document-for-e-bikes-now-available.html,
06.10.10.
[4] J. David Goodman; An Electric Boost for Bicyclists ;
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/business/global/01ebike.html, 31.01.2010.
[5] Texas Instruments; Designing Switching Voltage Regulators With the TL494 ;
http://focus.ti.com/lit/an/slva001d/slva001d.pdf; Application Report, Feb. 2005.
[6] Texas Instruments; TL494 Pulse-width-modulation control circuits datasheet;
http://focus.ti.com/lit/ds/slvs074e/slvs074e.pdf; Feb. 2005.
[7] Ogden Bolton Jr.; Electrical Bike patent ; http://www.google.com/patents?id=DIVIAAAAEBAJ,
06.10.10.
[8] Hosea W. Libbey; Electrical Bike patent ; http://www.google.com/patents?id=ZiZEAAAAEBAJ,
06.10.10.
[9] Golden Motor Technology Co Ltd ; http://www.goldenmotor.com, 24.10.10.
[10] Golden Motor Technology Co Ltd ; http://www.goldenmotor.com/hubmotors/Mini%20Front%203
25.10.10.
[11] MNS POWER; How much power & Amps can I generate using my
body ; http://www.pedalpowergenerator.com/how-to-build-a-bicyle-generator-free-
power.html, 05.10.10.
[12] Samferdselsdepartementet; Forskrift om krav til sykkel ;
http://www.lovdata.no/cgi-wift/ldles?doc=/sf/sf/sf-19900219-0119.html, 05.10.10.
[13] Samferdselsdepartementet; Forskrift om tekniske krav og godkjenning av kjøretøy,
deler og utstyr ; http://www.lovdata.no/cgi-wift/ldles?doc=/sf/sf/sf-19941004-
0918.html, 05.10.10.
[14] Canada Science and Technology Museum; Baron von Drais’ Bicycle ;
http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/collection/cycles2.cfm, 06.10.10.
[15] Fairchild Semiconductor; FAN73832 Half-Bridge Gate-Drive IC datasheet;
http://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/FA%2FFAN73832.pdf; Feb. 2007.

20