IcoGarage Ltd.

2010-04-22T05:08:00.000-07:00

New Logo

2010-04-16T04:58:00.000-07:00

My tutor seems to think that this design gets the job done. Tell us what you think.

The Boy from Limerick

2010-04-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

Check this chap out, interesting. Also he lives down in Limerick it might be worth taking a trip down to have a chat with him and have a look at his car if he lets us.

http://www.youtube.com/user/pooey1911#p/u/27/6SAtDzFfrWU

The thing about turning the motor into a shunt motor by applying a shunt field to it is quite interesting although I've no idea what that means but it could be that having the motor operate as a shunt could give you the option of a climbing gear and then switching it back to the compound for acceleration.

Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland

2010-03-29T14:53:00.000-07:00

SEAI -

I think we should go to the energy show on the 14th and 15th, maybe go to one of the seminars aswell.

Also check out the grants section, I think we might be eligible for one.

Zibo Super Motor Co., Ltd. - dc motor, charger, controller

2010-03-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

Zibo Super Motor Co., Ltd. - dc motor, charger, controller

Chinese company that sells a lot of motors and a few controllers.

EV Components

2010-03-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

EV Components

This is an american site that sells all the components necessary for the EVs.
Very useful for price ranges of whats on the market.

Check it out.

2010-03-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

or then there is this

2010-03-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

Personally I think I prefer the other one.

logo design

2010-03-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

Heres a draft of the logo I'm working on. What do you think?

Electric Vehicle News

2010-03-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

This is a handy site to keep an eye on whats new with EVs.
From The latest technology to what the big manufacturers are doing.

Check it out.

Electric Vehicle News

2010-03-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

Calculations

2010-03-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some maths things to work out how far Ben's car will go.

I have estimated the weight of the car at 1090kg.
This the weight with the internal combustion engine and associated systems still attached. When that is removed and batteries etc. installed it will be considerably heavier, however for the purposes of an estimate the original weights work fine.

The first thing to do is work out the Drag Force. This is the basically the external forces acting on the car that absorb more energy. So that is wind resistance and tyre drag.

First you've got the drag coefficient and for Ben's car that is 0.4
The drag coefficient is to do with the aerodynamics of the car body, wind resistance really

Then you've got the frontal area of the car which is 2.11m squared.
The frontal area will increase the wind resistance as it has a larger area to act on.

Next is the vehicle mass which is 1090kg and that is equal to 10682N
N stands for Newtons. We'll come back to the mass later.

Now to calculate the Drag Force we use the following equation.

F_Drag = Cd x A x V2
V2 is supposed to be V squared

F_Drag just means Drag Force

Cd is the drag coefficient which is 0.4

A is the frontal area which is 2.11m2

V is the speed in meters per second

So we need to calculate the speed we are traveling at. Lets say we will be traveling at an average speed like 56km/hr (this equation can be used for any vehicle weight traveling at any speed, you just have to change the values)

Convert 56km/hr to meters per second(m/s)

to do this

56 x 1000/3600 = 15.56 m/s

15.56=V

Now input all the values into the equation

F_Drag = Cd x A x V2

F_Drag = 0.4 x 2.11 x 15.56squared = 203.4N this is the total air drag force acting against Ben's car as it travels at 56km/hr.

One more thing we have to add the tyre drag into the equation and generally tyre drag is about 1.3% of the vehicles weigth which is 10682N

so.... 10682 x 1.3/100 = 138.9N

138.9 + 203.4 = 547.6N this is the total drag force that acts against the car as it travels at 56km/hr.

Now to find out the amoun of power it is going to take to move the car, we will calculate this in watts or w. We use the equation
Power = Force x Speed or P = F_Drag x V

so...P = 547.6 x 15.56 = 8520.6w
547.6 is the drag force and 15.56 is the speed in meters per second

To find out what horse power this is 1hp = 746w
so... 8520.6/746 = 11.42hp

Now to calculate the energy consumption rate if the car is travelling at 56km/hr

so.... 8520.6/56 = 152wh/Km this is the amount of energy consumed per km.

Now how will this affect our range, it all depends on what type of battery pack we work with.
Hypothetically we will say that we will have a 144 voly system. That will be 12, 12 volt batteries rated at 150Ah wired in series to give you 144 volts of energy. A 12 volt battery rated at 150Ah will give you 1800 watts of energy. You multiply 12 x 150 to obatin the wattage of the battery.
So the packs energy will be 1800 x 12 = 21600w or 21.6Kw

However lead acid batteries should only be discharged to 50% of their capacity to avoid damaging them so this gives us an actual battery pack of 10.8Kw

So to calculate the range we will have if we were to drive at a constant speed of 56km/hr on a flat road we simply divide the packs capacity by the consumption rate which is 152wh/km

so.... 10800/152 = 71km will be the range of this car, of course in reality the car weigth will be greater and there will be other influencing factors such as climbing inclines and driving at lower speeds, the stop start driving style of town driving, this will all lead to a lesser range. However these are the kind of equations we will be working with initially to determine the needs of our car. There is also a mathematical modeling program called MATLAB that we should get a copy of. It makes the calculations a hell of lot easier, quicker and more accurate.

ReVolt's Zinc Air batteries

2010-03-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

Reenergizing battery technology

The metal-air battery, which boasts high energy density and low production cost, is not a new concept in the portable power market, but today’s metal-air batteries are primary (non-rechargeable) and used almost exclusively for low power applications, e.g hearing aids.

The issues

The barriers to successful commercialization of metal-air batteries can be summed up as follows:

ㆍ They can't deliver sufficient power
ㆍ They lose a lot of power very quickly
ㆍ The cell dry out, becoming useless after only a few months
ㆍ There is no satisfactory way to recharge them

Alternative solutions, like non-electrical refill batteries, are not at all suited to portable devices and/or their space- and power-hungry peripherals.

The solution

It would be difficult to overestimate the impact of ReVolt Technology's breakthrough achievement in developing a metal-air battery that overcomes all of the above barriers to deliver:

ㆍ POWER: ReVolt's new technology has a theoretical potential of up to 4 times the energy density of Lithium-Ion
batteries at a comparable or lower production cost.

ㆍ LIFETIME: Extended battery life due to stable reaction zone, low rates of dry-out and flooding, and no pressure
build-up problems.

ㆍ RECHARGEABILITY: Controlled deposition with no short-circuit, high mechanical stability.

ㆍ COMPACT SIZE: No need for bulky peripherals such as cooling fans or temperature control systems.

If what these guys say is true then the battery tech is swiftly catching up on the internal combustion engine in terms of range and top speeds. I think we should consider the lithium battery a dead end. Although good they are just not good enough, as evidenced by the conversation that me and Gahan had with Justin from the RSA.(Sound man) He was going on about a Ford transit that had been purchased by the ESB from Smiths Electric Vehicles in England. The lithium battery pack weighed about half a ton which made it so that the passenger capacity of the van was only two men before it was over the legal weight limit for the chasis(the given average for a man is 75kg). A van with that kind of carrying capacity is useless really. We need to think about trying to get our hands on some of these batteries. I know we're only four boys from Wicklow/Dublin/Mayo but sure fuck it who's going to stop us

Business Name

2010-03-10T07:53:00.000-08:00

Alright Boys,

I'm trying to come up with a name for this business as I am designing the identity for college. At the minute I'm throwing around the names

Switch
Chameleon
Neo
Volition - it means free will which is important because this identity is all about a choice people have never had before

I would appreciate your opinion on the above names and also any suggestions that you would like to volunteer. When thinking of a name its important to remember what we are about. That is giving people a more environmental transport option, saving people money and giving people a choice that they have never had before.

2010-03-10T06:13:00.000-08:00

Me and Chris talked about our first conversion being called something like 'Chameleon'. So I mocked up what a van might look like with a potential logo might look like on it. Now im not the dab hand at PhotoShop like Chris or Rob but i did this as like a guideline for what i think the vibe could be for the logo, something two tone with neutral colours like the ones used in our business cards. Feedback would be appreciated.

The one to watch

2010-03-10T06:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.gizmag.com/byd-e6/13864/

Above is a link to an article about the Chinese electric car built by BYD called the E6. This thing apparently gets almost 200km between charges. And the asking price is cheaper than what the other manufacturers are asking for their cars. This thing has the best technology on the market in terms of batteries and performance, I predict its going to kill everybody elses electric vehicles. This is definitely something we should watch. Also see if anybody can find detailed information about those batteries and what other types of technology they are using.

Van Specifications

2010-03-10T04:16:00.000-08:00

FORD TRANSIT

It's hard to find a better word to describe the Ford Transit than "professional." Everything about this van screams smart, practical, and functional. You'll be hard pressed to find a more right-sized work van for your small business, and the dual sliding doors and over 135 cu. ft of customizable cargo space prove that you can't be "professional" without being able to adapt to whatever the day throws at you.

So why not adapt a Ford Transit to meet all of your environmental and economic concerns? Retrofitting a Ford Transit gives you a 100% electric work horse that's capable of 60+ miles on a single 8-hour charge and drastically reducing (or eliminating) your gas and maintenance expenses. Doesn't something this professional deserve a promotion?

PERFORMANCE

Speed
Up to 65 mph
Range
Up to 60 miles (120 miles with optional Li Ion Battery System)
Charge Time
8 hours (110-120V or 220-240V)
Cycle Life
800 Charges with AGM Battery System (2500+ Full Charges with Li Ion Battery System)
LCD Screen
Vehicle operations monitor - power consumption, cell's level of charge, battery charge, drive time, distance traveled, miles remaining and average speed.

POWERTRAIN

Electric Motor
3 phase, brushless A/C motor - 50 KW (65hp)
Batteries
96 V AGM Battery System or (optional 10 pack Lithium Ion Battery System)
Charger
110 V or 220 V
Battery Management System
Proprietary GGT design for Li Ion Battery System

CHASSIS

Brakes
Front disc brakes and rear drum
Suspension
Stablitrack electronic stability control system
Steering:
Rack and pinion
Tires
Front and rear 215/70 R 16

WEIGHTS & DIMENSIONS

Weight
3360 lbs
Height
79.3 inches
Width
70.7 inches
Length
180.7 inches
Payload
1541 lbs
GVWR
5000 lbs

*Mileage vary depending upon speed, driving style, load, terrain, temperature and other factors.

All specifications subject to change without notice