Paper submitted within the scope of the Masters Thesis Master of Industrial Sciences GROUP T Leuven Engineering College

e 2009-2010

Design of an in-wheel kinetic energy recovery system for a kart

Fabrice Boon*, Jan Revyn*, Pierre Detr**, Marc Nelis**, Frederic Duflos, Kristof Goris
*Master student electromechanical engineering focus intelligent manufacturing, GROUP T Leuven Engineering College, Vesaliusstraat 13, 3000 Leuven **Automotive development, Campus Automobile, Route du Circuit 60, 4970 Francorchamps Unit energy, GROUP T Leuven Engineering College, Vesaliusstraat 13, 3000 Leuven, Kristof.Goris@groept.be

AbstractIs it possible to place in-wheel motors in the front wheels of a racing kart as part of a KERS1, how can this be done, what order of acceleration gain can be achieved and what is the total cost of converting a regular kart to a kart with an in-wheel KERS? To answer these questions, a prototype of a wheel rim and an in-wheel electromotor were developed and produced. A controller and energy source were also selected and the motor specifications will soon be checked against the predicted specifications. When looking at the conception, design and production phase of this project, one can conclude that it is possible to implement a KERS using in-wheel motors in the front wheels of a kart as described in this paper. In the speed range of 0 to 80 km/h, the designed prototype can accelerate 6,4% faster than a conventional kart and the conversion cost of a regular kart is approximately 3450 Euros.

of available space in the front section of a kart. It also revealed how a next-to-wheel placement of the motors in a KERS leads to mechanical complexity. This paper explains the development of a KERS with two in-wheel motors in order to reduce size and mechanical complexity. Section II explains the mechanical design of this prototype. Section III handles about the electrical aspects of this system. A short discussion about the finances of the project can be found in section IV and section V highlights two important extra considerations that have to be done when implementing an in-wheel KERS in a Formula One vehicle instead of in a kart. II. MECHANICAL DESIGN A. Demands Since front wheel rims of a conventional kart do not provide enough space to place an electromotor in (see Figure 1), a new wheel rim concept has to be made.

Index Terms In-wheel motor, kart, KERS (kinetic energy recovery system), motor design, wheel rim design, electronic differential, unsprung mass

I. INTRODUCTION The so called KERS is a recent automotive development that enables temporary storage of braking energy by means of a flywheel, batteries or supercapacitors. The stored energy is used for extra acceleration when desired. This system found its first application in some of 2009s Formula One vehicles. Research about implementation of this system in racing karts has been done as well. In 2009, on request of Campus Automobile, a thesis was written about a KERS with two electromotors positioned next to a karts front wheels [1]. Successful elaboration of this project pointed out the scarcity
1 Kinetic Energy Recovery System, a system storing and releasing braking energy

Fig. 1. Conventional front wheel rim of a kart with little inner space for inwheel motor placement

Requirements concerning the new wheel rim are the possibility of mounting original tires, the possibility of mounting the rim on an original kart without the requirement of heavy modifications, an adaptable distance between the front wheels and a reasonable production cost.

2 B. Description of the design In this section the final wheel rim design is explained together with the way of mounting the wheel rim onto the karts body. Earlier concepts in the design process that were considered but rejected are shown in a conceptual report (see Addendum A). The motor design of the customized electromotor that is developed for this application is elaborated further in paragraph III. Technical drawings of all designed parts can be found in Addendum B. Figure 2 illustrates a kart with adapted front wheel rims and custom made BLDC2 in-wheel outer rotor electromotors. It gives a first visual impression of what this thesis project is about.

groove M14 thread axle

groove

spacers

b
Fig. 4. Axle of the right front wheel (a) and view of the groove (b)

Fig. 2. Karts body with adapted wheel rims and in-wheel motors

Figure 3 shows a detailed view of both sides of an adapted front wheel.

nut cavity

Figure 4 also shows three spacers. Putting zero to three of these spacers on the axle, results in different distances between the front wheels of the kart with a range of 30 mm per wheel. A higher range would result in a design in which the axle would stick out from the wheel rim or in a smaller, less stable distance between the two used bearings in the motor (for bearing placement see further). A compromise is made between an acceptable distance between the bearings (47 mm) and an acceptable adjustablity of the distance between the front wheels (30 mm per wheel). The spacers on picture 4 are designed in such a way that they slide easily over the axle and that they avoid the stator of the motor from rotating. Figure 5 shows the stator of the in-wheel motor attached onto the axle (see paragraph III.E. for more information about the electrical design of this stator). Determining the fitting between stator and axle, is making a compromise between the ease of adjusting the distance between the front wheels, for which loose fittings are wanted, on the one hand and avoiding a variable airgap between the stator and the rotor, for which fixed fittings are desirable, on the other hand.

Fig. 3. Left and right side of a front wheel

Figure 4 shows the axle of the right front wheel. The part pictured in blue is based on the part of the original kart. The only adjustment is the groove indicated on the picture. This groove is required to avoid rotation of the motors stator due to the torque exerted by the rotor on the stator (see Figure 5). The axles dimensions and material are based on those of the original axle. This ensures the axle is stiff enough for this application and does not imply dimensional adaptations to the original part shown in Figure 4b. The end of the axle is M14 thread. This is dimensioned in such a way that the nut pictured on Figure 3 can be mounted in the cavity also indicated in the same figure.

Fig. 5. Two views of the stator attached on the axle

In Figure 6 a spacer is slided over the axle. This ring makes contact with the stator and the inner ring of the bearing on the axle (see Figure 6b). The spacer is needed to avoid contact between the rotating outer ring of the bearing and the fixed stator. The outer diameter of this ring is dimensioned according to the design recommendations for SKF bearing spacers [2]. More information about the bearings used in this design is given in section II.C.1. A spacer tube is placed between the two bearings to obtain a fixed distance between the inner rings of these bearings (see Figure 7).

BLDC, BrushLess Direct Current

3 Figures 10 and 11 show the rotor mounted on all previously mentioned parts.

spacer

bearing connection rotor-bearings

Fig. 6. Spacer to avoid contact between rotating outer ring of bearing and stator (a) and view of bearing (b) Fig. 10. Visualisation of connection between rim/rotor and rotating outer rings of bearings

spacer tube

Fig. 7. Spacer tube obtaining fixed distance between inner rings of two bearings Fig. 11. Rotor placed on axle together with all previously mentioned parts

The rotor of the motor acts as part of the wheel rim and is pictured in Figure 8. It is composed of two welded parts made of low carbon steel (CS-1010 steel). A motivation for this material choice is given in paragraph III.D.1. This rotating part makes contact with the outer rings of two bearings as illustrated in Figure 10. Into the grooves 28 magnets are placed as pictured in Figure 9. More information on these magnets is given in section III.D.3.
groove weld connection

Another spacer is placed next to the left bearing (see Figure 12a) in order to avoid contact between the fixed nut (see Figure 12b) and the rotating outer ring of the left bearing. spacer fixed nut

left bearing

Fig. 12. Spacer to avoid contact between the self locking nut and the rotating outer ring of bearing (a). Self locking nut (b)

Fig. 8. Rotor composed of two welded parts, acting as part of a wheel rim

magnets

All the components discussed so far, are axially held together by the nut pictured in red. This is a M14 self locking nut that does not come off by vibrations when driving the kart. In order to make it possible to (dis)mount tires on this wheel rim, the rim is composed of two easily detachable main parts. One of those parts is the setup shown in Figure 12. The second part contains a hole for air flow and is attached to the first part as indicated in Figure 13. This figure pictures the entire wheel rim.
two wheel rim parts

Fig. 9. Rotor with magnets

air hole
Fig. 13. Both wheel rim parts mounted together

Since no inner tires3 are used for kart applications, a sealing ring between both main parts is required to avoid air leakage from the tire (see Figure 14). This sealing ring has standard dimensions [3]. The groove in the wheel rim part in which the sealing ring is positioned is calculated considering a compressed state of the ring.
sealing ring

Fig. 16. Single row deep groove ball bearing

Fig. 14. Sealing ring to avoid air leakage from the tire

The two main parts of the wheel rim are held together with five M6 bolts. Both of the parts contain five holes for air cooling of the windings on the stator (see Figure 15).

2) Bolts and nuts Five M6 bolts are used to hold the two main rim parts together (see Figure 17). M6 bolts with strength class 5.8 are able to carry dynamic axial loads of 2.5kN [4]. Five bolts can therefore carry up to 12,5kN dynamic load. Since the forces exerted on these bolts are only caused by the axial forces that the track exerts on the kart when cornering and the force needed to squeeze the sealing ring between both main rim parts, no further strength verifications are done for the bolts. Also the M14 nut (see Figure 12b) can carry loads of more than 10kN. 3) Weld connection The mechanical design of the in-wheel KERS is developed for karts with tubeless tires. Therefore, the two rotor parts (see Figure 8) are welded together by means of a continuous welding line. Spot welding is not possible because this would lead to air leakage from the karts tire. Additionally, spot welding would induce an unbalance in the rotor. In consultation with Campus Automobiles welding instructor it was decided that a continuous weld of 3mm is strong enough to carry the loads exerted on the rotor (gravitational force, acceleration force and torsion). A V-shaped welding groove is foreseen in both parts to be welded (see Addendum B). 4) Material choice As mentioned earlier, part 2 indicated in Figure 17 consists of two subparts that are welded together. Because the subpart where the magnets are placed in, which is preferably made of CS1010-steel (see section III.C.1), is to be welded together with the subpart containing the grooves (see Figure 17), this last subpart is also made of this type of steel. Part 1 indicated in Figure 17, the spacer tube between the bearings (see Figure 7), the spacers in Figures 6a and 12a and the spacers with groove (see Figure 4a) all are made of aluminum. This material is used because of its combination of relatively low weight (2,7 g/cm3), relatively high yield strength (200-600 MPa) and stiffness (E = 70 GPa), low price and machinability. For reasons mentioned earlier (see section II.B.) it is decided to produce the axle (see Figure 4a) from steel with dimensions based on the original karts axles. D. Vibration considerations 1) Centering of the two rim parts As shown in Figures 17 and 18, the two main rim parts are fixed to each other using five bolts. These bolts however do not guarantee an accurate alignment of part 1 with the axle. To avoid vibrations due to a possible unbalance in the rotor, part 1 and part 2 (see Figure 17) fit by means of a groove. The

cooling hole

bolt

Fig. 15. Holes for cooling and bolts to fasten the two main parts of the wheel rim

Mounting a tire on the rim can be done by successively unscrewing the five bolts, sliding the tire over the wheel rim part of Figure 14 and attaching the two rim parts together again. C. Strength considerations and material selection 1) Bearings The bearings are single row deep groove ball bearings from SKF (type 61903-2RS1) (see Figure 16). This type of bearings is eligible for the kart because they can handle loads in both radial as axial direction. Furthermore, they are suitable for high speeds, are robust in operation and require little maintenance. Lifetime calculations were executed to quantify the strength of the considered bearings (see Addendum C) [2][4]. A compromise is made between big bearing dimensions involving a high lifetime and little space for the stator of the motor on the one hand and small bearings involving a low lifetime and more space for the stator on the other hand. A life expectancy of approximately 10000 hours is obtained by using bearings with an outer diameter of 30 mm.

Inner tire, an inflatable rubber tube that fits inside the tire

5 dimensions and tolerances of this groove are detailed on the technical drawings in Addendum B. 3) Torsion resonance The torque delivered by BLDC electromotors is not perfectly constant. This phenomenon of harmoniously varying torque is referred to as torque ripple. The ripple is transmitted from the motors stator to the karts frame and can cause torsion resonance of the axle indicated in Figure 20. However, since the axle on which the torque variation is exerted has a small moment of inertia, this ripple does not lead to problems such as axle rupture. T
axle subjected to torque variation

groove for fitting axle part 2

part 1

Fig. 17. Fitting between the two main rim parts to avoid heavy vibrations due to rotor unbalance

goes into the groove

Fig. 20. Torque ripple transmitted from stator to karts frame

Fig. 18. Fitting between the two main rim parts to avoid heavy vibrations due to rotor unbalance (other view)

2) Consideration of resonance due to rotor unbalance In order to check whether or not an unbalance in the rotor can cause resonance of the kart, a simplified kart model is considered in which the body is replaced by two beams made of steel (see Figure 19a). By calculating the deflection of point A caused by the drivers mass (see Figure 19b), an approximation of the karts stiffness is achieved. This leads to a certain resonance frequency, to which the driver will be subjected (see Addendum D). The simplified system of Figure 19 has a resonance frequency of 98,5Hz. Since the wheels of the kart have a maximum angular speed of 2550rpm (maximum kart velocity is 120 km/h), an unbalance in the rotor is not able to cause resonance due to its frequency of 42,5Hz (= 2550rpm). From this point of view, balancing the wheel rims is not required. It does however have a positive influence on drive comfort and handling.

E. Manufacturing aspects The wheel rim and in-wheel motor consist of custom made parts and standard parts. The custom made parts are the parts shown in addendum B. Used standard parts are the bearings, bolts, washers, nuts, electric wire and magnets. Machinability of all custom made parts was taken into account from the beginning of the design phase. In that aspect, part 2 (see Figure 17) is made out of two initially separate parts that are welded together in a later stage of the manufacturing process (see Figure 8). Since this enables an electric wire to go through the entire part, it is possible to cut the grooves (see Figure 8) by means of electric discharge milling. The custom made parts have tolerances as shown on their technical drawings (see Addendum B). Determination of these tolerances is making a compromise between manufacturing costs and part accuracy. Important is to guarantee there is no contact between stator and rotor of the motor due to dimensional errors of the parts and to obtain the required fits (running fit, push fit). The fabrication of the custom made parts is done by specialized companies. The stator however is partly manufactured by the authors in order to get a better understanding of the manufacturing process of EDM. Figure 21 shows how the stator is produced.
stack of 100 laminates clamped together

drilling

placement clamping the two parts together

Fig. 19. Simplified car model from above (a) and from aside (b)

EDM wire cutting, followed by glueing

Fig. 21. Subsequent steps of the stators production

6 III. ELECTRICAL DESIGN In this section the motor design and choice of the energy source and controller are discussed. As indicated, some of the formulas for the motor design are based on previous work [7]. A. Motor selection As the dimensions of the motor should match the dimensions of the designed wheel rim (section II), a custom electromotor is developed. Due to the fact that no transmission is used, a specific torque/speed curve for the electromotor has to be obtained. The available motors on the market do not satisfy these requirements. The developed motor is a radial flux BLDC motor, because this type of motor has a high efficiency and power to size ratio and does not require a lot of maintenance compared to several other motor types [5]. A BLDC motor has a rotor with permanent magnets and a stator with windings. The brushes and commutator have been eliminated and the windings are connected to a controller, which replaces the function of the commutator and energizes the proper winding. Radial flux BLDC motors can work as outer rotor motors, where the rotor is situated on the outside of the stator [6]. As a result, the rotor of the motor can directly be used as wheel rim, which eliminates the need for a transmission between the rotor and the wheel. B. Energy source 1) Choice of energy source The contract giver4 demanded, if possible, to reuse supercapacitors from a previous project. The (dis)advantages of this technology were investigated in order to verify the suitability of these supercapacitors. Compared to electrochemical batteries the use of supercapacitors for the KERS of the kart offers these following advantages: Higher number of charge/discharge cycles Higher efficiency Higher specific power output5
Fig. 22. Two supercapacitors in series connected to the controllers of the left and right front wheel Table 1: Specification of the Maxwell BMOD0250 supercapacitor module

Parameter Capacity Voltage Max continuous current Max peak current for 20s Weight

Value 250F 16,2V 115A 200A 4450g

2) Maximum output current When the kart is driving, the electromotors are only used when accelerating and decelerating before and after a turn. One can assume that this always takes less than 20s. The motors can thus take advantage of the maximum peak current of 200A. 3) Configuration Two of these capacitors are placed in series (see Figure 22). A first reason is the higher voltage obtained compared to the use of only one capacitor, or the use of two capacitors in parallel rather than in series. This results in a lower current for the same power and thus less Joule losses in the motor, which increases efficiency. A second reason is that a cheaper controller can be used, since controllers with lower current limit are less expensive. Only two supercapacitors are used, because of limitations in price, weight and available space on the kart. In this configuration the two capacitors have enough energy to drive both motors at maximum power for 10s (see Addendum E).

However, the supercapacitors also have a number of disadvantages compared to electrochemical batteries: Lower energy density Lower voltage Higher self-discharge

Since these limitations are less critical for the KERS of the kart, the conclusion is made that supercapacitors are suitable for the application (see Addendum E). In this project supercapacitors from Maxwell are used (type BMOD0250) from which the main characteristics are given in Table 1.

4) Voltage drop When the capacitors release their energy, their voltage drops. With a lower voltage the motor cannot accelerate to its maximum angular velocity anymore. If, for instance, the two capacitors are only half charged, the voltage of the capacitors drops from 32V to 23V. This results in a drop of the maximum angular speed of the electromotors from 2130rpm (see section III.E.3) to 1500rpm, which corresponds to a speed drop for the kart from 100km/h to 70km/h. In this situation the electromotors are not able to provide an acceleration gain to the kart at speeds above 70km/h (see Addendum E).

4 5

Campus Automobile Spa-Francorchamps Specific power output, amount of power a component can deliver per kg

7 C. Controller 1) Choice of controller A controller from Kelly Controls is selected (type KBL72101). These controllers are relatively cheap and fit all the requirements. The controllers can handle the maximum peak current of 100A from the capacitors (see Table 2).
Table 2: Specification of the Kelly Controls KBL72101 controller

Parameter Input Voltage Output Voltage Max continuous current Max peak current for 1min Weight

Value 18V 90V 18V 90V 50A 100A 2270g

2) Number of poles In general terms, a higher number of poles creates a higher torque for the same current level, however at the cost of a lower space for each pole. Eventually, a point is reached where the spacing between rotor magnet poles becomes a significant percentage of the available space on the rotor and the torque no longer increases. The optimum number of magnet poles is a complex function of motor geometry and material properties [6]. In literature motors with 14 poles are common for high torque applications and therefore this number of poles is selected. 3) Magnets NdFeB7 magnets are among the strongest permanent magnets available on the market and are popular in high performance applications. The selected magnets have grade N42. The letter N means that the maximum operating temperature is 80C. The number 42 implies that the maximum energy product8 equals 42 MegaGauss Oersteds, which corresponds to 334kJ/m. Two magnets per pole are used in order to reduce the variation of the airgap and therefore increase efficiency. The magnets are placed side by side and slightly oblique (see Figure 23a).

2) Commutation Three bipolar hall sensors are used for the commutation. These hall sensors detect the position of the rotor magnets and based on this information the controller determines which coil needs to be energized. They are installed with a phase shift of 120 on the stator of each of the motors. 3) Regenerative braking The controller allows regenerative braking at all speeds. This means that the capacitors can still be charged when the back EMF6 generated by the motor is lower than the voltage of the capacitors. . 4) Temperature control A maximum operating temperature for the motor can be set. When this temperature is exceeded, the controller automatically shuts down the motor. In order to measure the temperature of the motor, a thermistor is used. The placement of this thermistor on the motor and the value of the shut down temperature is chosen so that each individual component of the motor never exceeds its maximum operating temperature. 5) Maximum number of poles The controller can handle a maximum of 40.000 electrical rpm. The maximum speed of the kart is 120km/h, which corresponds to a front wheel angular speed of 2550rpm. For this application the motors can have a maximum of 15 pole pairs (see Formula 1). =

groove

airgap

Fig. 23. Magnet placement (a) and grooves on rotors inner surface (b)

To be able to fit the magnets more easily during installation, grooves are made on the rotors inner surface (see Figure 23b). These grooves also ensure that the magnets stay in place during rotation of the motor. The magnets are glued to the rotors inner surface. For more information about this glue see Section III.E.1. By using magnets with a width of 10mm, a magnetic coverage of 85% is obtained (see Addendum F). In literature can be found that the magnetic coverage is usually situated between 65% and 85%. 4) Dimensions The rotors outer diameter equals the diameter of the wheel rim of 123mm. By increasing the airgap flux density , one can increase the force generated. This can be done by decreasing the effective airgap length , which takes the extra flux path distance over the slot into account. Manufacturing tolerances do not allow physical airgap lengths lower than
NdFeB, Neodymium-Iron-Boron Maximum energy product, a measurement for the maximum amount of energy stored in the magnet
8 7

(1)

= 15 D. Rotor design 1) Material The rotor is made from low carbon steel 1010 (CS 1010). It contains between 0,08% and 0,13% of carbon. Steel is a ferromagnetic material and is commonly used in motor construction [6]. Due to the low carbon content this type of steel has desirable magnetic properties.
6

EMF, electromotive force

8 approximately 0,3mm [6]. In addition, decreasing increases the undesirable cogging torque9. According to the manufacturing tolerances of the designed wheel rim, is set to 1mm. This results in equal to 5,6mm (see Formula 2). = , [] = , = , [] = , [] = , = = , = + (2)[7] = , [] = = = , = , . = (4)[7] . + = 0,0256 Knowing , the rotor back height can be calculated. According to Formula 5, should be at least 4,4mm. = , [] = . 2. (5)[7]

= 0,0056 The remanent magnetic flux density of the N42 grade permanent magnets equals 1.3T. As a result, the airgap flux density equals 0,6T (see Formula 3). = , [] = = , = (3)[7] 1 + . = 0,6 Saturation is a limitation occurring in ferromagnetic cores. Initially, as the current is increased the flux increases in proportion to it. At some point however, further increases in current lead to progressively smaller increases in magnetic flux. Eventually, the core can make no further contribution to magnetic flux growth and any increase thereafter is limited [8]. This is the reason why the thickness of the material between the rotors outer surface and the magnets must be sufficient. The purpose of the rotor back height (see Figure 24a) is to provide a return path for the flux from the magnets. The flux from one magnet splits equally and couples to the two adjacent magnets (See Figure 24b). For common electrical steels, hard saturation is reached at flux densities between 1.7T and 2.3T [6].
rotor back height

= 0,0044 Using the free finite element software package for magnetic simulations FEMM, a view of the magnetic flux through the motor is obtained (see Addendum G). From this simulation it is determined that the maximum flux density in the rotor back height equals 2,2T, which is smaller than the upper hard saturation limit of 2,3T. Based on Formula 6, the rotors inner diameter equals 104,2mm. = , [] = , [] = , = , [] = , = , [] = , = 2. 2. (6)[7] = 0,1042 E. Stator design 1) Material For the stator electrical steel is used. This steel type contains a small percentage of silicon, which is a semiconductor. The presence of silicon increases the resistivity of the steel, thereby reducing eddy current losses. Eddy current losses are caused by induced electric currents within the ferromagnetic material under time-varying excitation. These induced eddy currents circulate within the material, dissipating power due to the resistivity of the material. It is common to build the stator using laminations of materials. These thin sheets of material are glued together. The glue forms a resistive layer between the laminations. Although glues specially developed for this application are available, for practical reasons Pattex Contact glue is used. This glue has the following desirable properties:

pole pitch

Fig. 24. Rotor back height and pole pitch (a) and magnetic flux lines through rotor back height (b)

The pole pitch is the distance between two successive poles (see Figure 24a). For a saturation flux density of 1.7T, equals 25,6mm (see Formula 4).
9 Cogging torque, the torque due to the interaction between the permanent magnets and the stators teeth [6]

9 Well suited for steal to steal contact Maximum operation temperature of 110C High resistance to moisture this tooth equals 1,9T. This value lies between the upper and lower saturation limit. The end of a tooth, which is adjacent to the airgap, is called the pole shoe. The pole shoe is larger than the tooth. This results in a lower flux density in the airgap. The resistance for the magnetic flux through the airgap is therefore reduced [9]. The value of the shoe tips depends on the permeability of the ferromagnetic material composing the shoes and teeth. Similarly as with the rotor back height and the stator teeth, the pole shoe should not become saturated. Using FEMM, the shape and dimensions of the shoes are optimized. The magnetic flux density in the shoes is the highest when a shoe is situated between two poles (see Figure 25b). This shoe position is thus critical for the analysis. As indicated in Addendum G, the maximum flux density through the shoe equals 1.6T, which is smaller than the lower hard saturation limit of 1.7T. The inner stator diameter must be large enough, to be able to incorporate the required bearings. For the selected bearings a of 45mm is used. When winding the stator with emailed copper wire10, the insulating coating on the wire can be damaged by sharp edges on the stator. This is why a sheet of fiberglass is applied between the teeth of the stator. The sheet prevents the wire to come in direct contact with the stator. 3) Windings In Addendum H the torque constant of the motor is determined. This is the ratio of the torque over the current (see Formula 10). The optimal for the KERS of the kart equals 0,145 . This results in a maximum motor speed of 223 rad/s or 2130rpm, which corresponds to a kart speed of 100km/h. = , [ ] = = , [] = , = = 0,145 (9)[7]

By stacking these laminations together, the resistivity of the material is dramatically increased in the direction of the stack [6]. Since nonconductive material is also nonmagnetic, it is necessary to orient the lamination edges parallel to the desired flow of flux. It can be shown that eddy current loss in laminated material is proportional to the square of the lamination thickness. Thus thin laminations are required for lower loss operation [6]. Laminations with a thickness of 0,35mm are used. 2) Dimensions According to Formula 7 the stators outer diameter equals 102,2mm. = , [] = , = , = 2. (7)[7] = 0,1022 In literature a stator with 12 teeth in combination with a rotor with 14 poles is a common configuration for high torque applications and is therefore selected. The tooth width must be large enough, so that they are not saturated when the magnetic flux passes through them (see Figure 25a). Based on Formula 8, should be at least 7,9mm. = , [] = . . (8)[7] .

= 0,0079

b
Fig. 25. Magnetic flux lines in the teeth (a) and the pole shoe (b)

Increasing in order to obtain a higher maximum motor speed, is not suitable. This is because the KERS of the kart is mostly used at speeds below 100km/h. By selecting a higher , the maximum speed decreases, however the maximum torque increases (see Addendum H). The motor produces 14,5Nm of torque if the maximum current of 100A, delivered by the supercapacitors, flows through the stators windings (see Formula 10).

Using FEMM, the maximum flux density through the teeth is determined. The maximum flux density in a tooth is the highest when the center of the tooth is aligned with the center of a magnet, this tooth position is thus critical for the analysis. As indicated in Addendum G, the maximum flux density in
10

Emailed copper wire, a wire with an insulating coating

10 = = , = = = = (10) = . = 14,5 For a compact motor design, a high surface current loading (S) is desirable [7]. The windings of each phase are distributed in a number of slots. Since the EMFs in different slots are not in phase, their phasor sum is less than their numerical sum. This reduction factor is what is called winding factor . Most of the three-phase machines have winding factor value between 0.85 and 0.95 [10]. We suppose a of 0,9. The machine active length is determined (see Figure 26). This is the length of the stators teeth. Increasing increases the generated force [6]. The additional length of the copper windings that reach out of the stator (see Figure 5) should be taken into consideration when determining the available space inside the wheel rim. The maximum that can be achieved is 40mm. According to Formula 12 the total number of wires in the motor equals 202. = = [ ] = , = 3. (12)[7] . . . = 202 Based on Formula 13 the number of windings per tooth equals 17. = = = = (13)[7]

17 In Addendum J, the diameter of the emailed copper wire is determined. The total available area for this wire, visible in Figure 27, equals 120mm.

available area machine active length

Fig. 26. Machine active length

To avoid the demagnetization of the permanent magnets, the current loading must always be smaller than the maximum allowed current loading [7]. This is because if the external magnetic field opposes that developed by the magnets and drives the operating point into the third quadrant past coercivity, it is possible to irreversibly demagnetize the magnet [6]. for N42 grade NdFeB magnets equals 225kA/m (see Addendum I) and equals 62kA/m (see Formula 11). = , [ ] = , [] = , = = , = , [] = , 3 2. = . 2 2 . . . . = 62 / Since is smaller than , the magnets are not demagnetized by the external magnetic field. (11)[7]

Fig. 27. Available area for wire

Because of the empty space between the wires and the space required for the winding process, only about 60% of the area can be used by the windings. This is called the fill factor. Therefore, only 72mm is available for the wire itself. To obtain the area of the cross section of one wire, this area is divided by the number of wires. The diameter of one wire equals 2,32mm. However, because a wire with this diameter is not flexible enough, it is difficult to wind around the teeth of the stator without damaging the teeth or the insulating coating of the wire. Instead, multiple smaller wires in parallel are used. Furthermore, due to the skin effect11, wires with smaller diameters can have a higher current density. This allows a higher current to flow through the same area. Wires with a diameter of 0,85mm are used. By placing seven of these wires in parallel, the maximum allowed current through the motor equals 180A (see Addendum J).

11 Skin effect, the tendency of an alternating electric current to distribute itself within a conductor so that the current density near the surface of the conductor is greater than at its core

11 Because the maximum current through the motor equals 100A, a lower number of wires in parallel could be used. However, by using more wires in parallel, the resistivity of the wires drops and the motor dissipates less heat, which increases efficiency. The motor is winded in abBCcaABbcC configuration: The number of letters equals the number of teeth The letter A corresponds to the first phase The letter B corresponds to the second phase The letter C corresponds to the third phase Uppercase means wind in clockwise direction Lowercase means wind in counterclockwise direction

Fig. 30. Simplified equivalent scheme of one phase

Due to the commutation, the current is always divided over two phases. At any time, the currents in two of the phases are equal in magnitude and the current in the third phase is zero. This means that only two phases are contributing to torque production at any one time [6]. Formula 14 gives the back EMF as function of the angular speed (see Figure 31). = , [] = = , = , [ ] () = . (14) 35,0 30,0 25,0 20,0 15,0 10,0 5,0 0,0 0 500 1000 1500 2000 Rpm
Fig. 31. Back EMF in function of the angular speed

As shown in Figure 28, the three phases are connected in Y. This is because with all else being equal, ohmic losses are 50% greater in than in Y connection. However, Y connections require 1,5 times more magnetic material [11]. F. Performance Figure 28 shows the electrical scheme of the energy source, the controller and the motor.

Fig. 28. Electrical scheme of energy source, controller and motor

With: = = = Figure 29 represents the equivalent scheme of one phase of the circuit.

Fig. 29. Equivalent scheme of one phase

One can see that at the maximum speed of the electromotors of 2130rpm, the back EMF equals the voltage across the capacitors, which is 32,4V. At this point there is no potential difference across the windings, so no current flows through them. This means that the motor produces no torque and is not able to accelerate anymore. The motor has reached its maximum angular speed, which is called the no load speed. In reality there is always a small potential difference across the windings because of the friction losses in the motor. A small current flows through the windings. This produces a small torque, which is just enough to overcome the friction losses so that the angular speed of the motor remains constant. If the angular speed of the motor is higher than 2130rpm, the back EMF of the motor is higher than the voltage of the capacitors. In that case, the motor acts as a generator and the capacitors are charged. If the back EMF is lower than the voltage of the capacitors, they would normally not be charged. The controller however, allows generative braking even when the back EMF generated by the motor is lower than the voltage of the capacitors. This is achieved by means of power electronics in the controller. According to Formula 15, the theoretical line current through the motor is calculated. This is the current that flows through two phases of the motor, without limitation by the

For the motor performance calculations, a simplified scheme is used. As shown in Figure 30, this scheme does not take the inductance of the motor into account.

Back EMF (V)

12 controller (see Figure 32). The RMS12 value for the current equals the maximum amplitude of 100A, because the controller uses square waves. The resistance of one phase equals 32m (see Addendum K). = , [] = , , = , [] , = , = , () = 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 500 1000 1500 2000 Rpm Theoretical line current Actual line current
Fig. 32. Line current in function of the angular speed

The electrical power, theoretical mechanical power and Joule losses shown in Figure 34 are given by Formulas 17, 18 and 19 respectively. The theoretical mechanical power only takes the Joule heating into consideration. The actual mechanical power is lower due to iron losses, magnetic losses and friction losses. = , [] , = , [] = , [] Pelec () = , (). , () (17) Pmech ,theo = . ,
2 PJoule = 2. , . ,

( ()) (15) 2. ,

Current (A)

(18) (19)

3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 0 500 1000 1500 2000 Rpm Electrical power Theoretical mechanical power Joule losses
Fig. 34. Power in function of the angular speed

As mentioned in the section III.C.1, the controller limits the current to 100A. For this reason the actual line current curve is flattened (see Figure 32). Between 0rpm and 1700rpm the current is limited to 100A by the controller. At speeds above 1700rpm, the current is lower than 100A and is not longer limited by the controller. In order to limit the current through the motor, the controller adapts the line voltage, as shown in Figure 33 (see Formula 16). At speeds above 1700rpm, the line voltage equals the source voltage. , = , [] , = , [] , = () + , (). 2. , (16) 35,0 30,0 25,0 20,0 15,0 10,0 5,0 0,0 0 500 1000 1500 2000 Rpm
Fig. 33. Line voltage in function of the angular speed

The maximal electrical and theoretical mechanical power are reached at 1700rpm and equal 3240W and 2610W respectively. The maximal Joule heating occurs between 0rpm and 1700rpm and equals 630W. Based on Formula 20, the theoretical torque of the motor is calculated (see Figure 35). The theoretical torque is based on the theoretical mechanical power and is thus lower than the actual torque. = , [] () = Pmech ,theo () (20)

12 RMS, root mean square, a statical measure of the magnitude of a varying quantity

Voltage (V)

Power (W)

13 20,0 15,0 10,0 5,0 0,0 0 500 1000 1500 2000 Rpm
Fig. 35. Theoretical torque in function of the angular speed

V. CONSIDERATIONS WHEN USING THE DESIGN FOR FORMULA

ONE VEHICLE

Torque (Nm)

Between 0rpm and 1700rpm, the motor can deliver a constant torque of 14,5Nm. According to Formula 21, the theoretical efficiency of the motor is calculated. This theoretical efficiency only takes the Joule heating into account. = , % = , . 100 (21)

In this paper the design of an in-wheel motor is made for a kart. The mechanical concept and the motors design method could also be used to implement in-wheel motors in a Formula One vehicle. However, a kart can be seen as a simplified version of a Formula One vehicle. Two important simplifications in a kart are the absence of suspension and the absence of a differential. The aim of this paragraph is to explain what extra considerations have to be taken into account when implementing the developed design in a Formula One vehicle. 1) Electronic differential To keep the complexity of a kart limited, there is no mechanical differential. This means that on a kart, which has rear wheel drive, one rear tire must slide while cornering. This is achieved by designing the chassis so that the inner rear tire lifts up slightly when the kart turns. This allows this tire to slide or lift off the ground completely [12]. The KERS of the kart drives the front wheels, which do not lift up when cornering. If the KERS is used in corners, the two front wheels have the same angular speed. This means that the inner wheel causes drag, this can result in unpredictable handling, damage to tires and roads, strain on (or possible failure of) the entire drivetrain. A solution for this problem is the implementation of an electronic differential. An electronic differential uses the vehicle speed and steering angle as input variables and calculates the required inner and outer wheel speeds. In a straight trajectory, the two wheels rotate at exactly the same speed. When the vehicle arrives at the beginning of a corner, the driver applies a steering angle on the wheels. The electronic differential acts immediately on the two motors, reducing the speed of the inner wheel and increasing the speed of the outer wheel [13]. However, to reduce the complexity of the design of the KERS for a kart, an electronic differential is not implemented. To overcome this absence the KERS of the kart is only used at the end of a corner, where the difference between inner and outer front wheel speed is relatively low. Regenerative braking should only occur before a corner and not in the corner. While cornering, the front wheels are not driven, but can rotate freely. This means that the front wheels can rotate at different speeds and do not cause damage or affect the karts handling. This design of a KERS for a kart could be transposed to a Formula One vehicle. In this case the ability to use the KERS in corners could potentially have great benefits, for instance when overtaking other vehicles. Hence it is worth to take a look at the implementation of such a system in a Formula One vehicle.

The maximum electrical power is reached at 1700rpm and goes together with an efficiency of 81%. When the KERS of the kart is used and the capacitors are fully charged, the two motors produce a constant torque of 29Nm between 0rpm and 1700rpm (see Figure 35). This translates in an acceleration force from the front wheels to the ground of 232N, which is a gain in acceleration force of 22% over a kart without the KERS. If the extra weight of 22kg of the KERS is taken into consideration, a kart with KERS can accelerate 6,4% faster from 0km/h to 80km/h, compared to a kart without KERS. Between 80km/h and 100km/h the gain in acceleration decreases linearly (see Addendum L).

IV. FINANCES The cost of this research is approximately 1300 Euros (see Addendum M). This amount covers the production of one adapted wheel rim with one custom made in-wheel electromotor and the purchase of one controller and the needed components to test the motor. The selected supercapacitors are reused from a previous project at Campus Automobile and are therefore not included in this price. The price of one KERS including two in-wheel motor rims, two controllers and two supercapacitor modules is 3450 Euros. However, the cost of this conversion kit will lower as the size of the production badge raises. Since the price of an average racing kart is 3000 Euros, a prototype kart with in-wheel KERS will cost 2,15 times the price of an unmodified kart. See Addendum M for financial details about machining costs of the KERS parts and other purchased equipment.

14 Figure 36 illustrates a Formula One vehicle, equipped with an in-wheel KERS, taking a corner. 2
2

= . 2 +

(27)

According to Formula 28 and 29 the angular speed of each wheel equals: = = = = (28) (29)

Fig. 36. Overview of the vehicle in a corner

According to Formula 22 the radius of the curve depends on the wheelbase and the steering angle: = = = = (22) With the vehicle speed, the angular speed of the vehicle is calculated (see Formula 23): = = = (23)

By substituting Formula 24, 25, 26 and 27 in Formula 28 and 29, the angular speed of each front wheel is obtained: . 2 + + 2 2 2 2
2

. 2

(30)

. 2 +

. 2

(31)

When the vehicle takes a corner, the electronic differential calculates the right angular speed of each front wheel by using two variables: the steering angle and the speed of the vehicle. 2) Unsprung mass Implementing motors in the wheels of a Formula One vehicle results in a higher unsprung mass. This has an undesirable influence on drive performance. To explain this a quarter car model of a suspended Formula One car is considered (see Figure 37) [14].

Based on Formula 24 and 25 the distance from the center of the turn to the left and right front wheel is calculated: 2 2
2

2 + +

(24)

2 +

(25)

Formula 26 and 27 give the speed of each front wheel: = = =

Fig. 37. Quarter car model

= . 2 + +

(26)

Using the conventional techniques described in [15][16], following equations are obtained describing the dynamics of this model:

15 VI. CONCLUSION In this paper is shown how a KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) for a kart can obtain a lower mechanical complexity and leads to less space occupied on the front area of a kart if two electromotors are placed inside the front wheels instead of next to the wheel. This is done by the design and manufacturing of an adapted wheel rim. A customized BLDC (BrushLess DC) motor intended to be placed inside this adapted wheel rim is developed and is being produced. A controller is selected. For energy storage two supercapacitor modules are used. A kart containing this in-wheel KERS accelerates approximately 6,4 percent faster in a speed range of 0 to 80 km/h. Between 80 and 100 km/h this percentage decreases quasi linearly. The cost of the entire KERS prototype is 3450 Euros. Subsequent to the development and production phase of the KERS, the specifications of the BLDC in-wheel motor will be tested against the predictions by means of a test bench available at Campus Automobile. Possible improvements of the KERS are either reducing its cost by bigger production amounts or by achievement of better accelerations. This can be done by further optimization of the electromotor. To end with, it is explained in this paper that implementing the designed KERS for a kart cannot directly be integrated into a formula one vehicle because of the need for an electronic differential on the one hand and the problems a high unsprung mass can cause on the other hand. ACKNOWLEDGMENT We want to thank Pierre Detr and Marc Nelis from Campus Automobile for their help and for shearing their knowledge in automotive technology and their experience in project engineering. Thanks also to Campus Automobile for their financial support. We also thank Frederic Duflos and Kristof Goris for their support and guidance during this thesis project. For reviewing this paper prior to publication, we want to thank Tiene Nobels and Cdric Boon. Finally we want to say thank you to our parents for being supportive throughout this entire thesis project and for giving us all the means needed to succeed in this education. REFERENCES
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Cattry Cyrille, Conception et realization dun systme mcanique de recuperation de lnergie de freinage sur un kart, 2009 Hoofdcatalogus SKF, SKF, 2006 Andr Chevalier, Guide du dessinateur industrial, Edition electronique 2004 D. Muhs, H. Wittel, M. Becker, D. Jannasch, J. Voiek, Roloff & Matek, Academic Service, 2005 Mehrdad Ehsani, Yimin Gao, Sebastien E. Gay, Ali Emadi, Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric and Fuel Cell Vehicles, CRC PressLLC, 2005 Duane C. Hanselman, Brushless Permanent-Magnet Motor Design, McGraw-Hill,Inc, 1994 Y.K. Chin, W.M. Arshad, T. Bckstrm and C. Sadarangani, Design of a Compact BLDC motor for Transient Applications, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Department of Electrical Engineering Magnetic properties of materials: http://info.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Workshop/advice/coils/mu/, March 2010 J.H.J. Boekema, A.M.C.J. Cramer, R.H. Dijken, H.J. Nanninga, Aandrijfsystemen Elektrische aandrijvingen voor HTO, HBuitgevers, 2007

+ + = Where: = = = = = In the Laplace domain, this can be written as follows: 2 + + = + + + + = + +

2

+ 1 =

From these equations an expression for the response of the car body due to an acceleration of the road can be determined. After conversion to the frequency domain the following expression for the gain between road acceleration and sprung mass acceleration is obtained (see Addendum N):
= + 4 + + 2 + + 3 +

By evaluating the real and imaginary parts of the numerators and denominators and by taking the square root of the sum of the squares of the real and imaginary parts [14], the graph shown in Figure 38 can be drawn (see Addendum O). The red, green and blue graphs represent respectively the gains for an unsprung mass of 40 kg, 80 kg and 120 kg. This visualization shows that the bigger the unsprung mass, the more the second resonance frequency of the system shifts to the left. Since it is easier to isolate high-frequency vibrations in a car, a lighter unsprung mass is desirable [14]. The use of in-wheel motors results in a higher unsprung mass which therefore results in less isolation of the wheel-hop resonant frequency and hence relatively poor driving comfort.

[8] [9] Fig. 38. Response gain of car body for 3 different unsprung masses

16
[10] Saadat Hadi, Power Systems Analysis, McGraw-Hill Primis Custom Publishing, 2002 [11] J.R. Hendershot Jr, T.J.E. Miller, Design of Brushless PermanentMagnet Motors, Magna Physics Publishing, 1994 [12] Bob Bondurant, Ross Bentley, Bob Bondurant on Race Kart Driving, MBI Publishing Company, 2002 [13] K. Hartani, M. Bourahla, Y. Miloud and M. Sekkour , Direct torque control of an electronic differential for electric vehicle with separate wheel drives [14] Thomas D. Gillespie, Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics, SAE International, 1992 [15] J. P. den Hartog, Mechanical Vibrations, McGraw-Hill, 1984 [16] S.Graham Kelly, Mechanical Vibrations, McGraw-Hill, 1996