ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Dr.Y.P.Obulesh
Professor
School of Electrical Engineering, VIT Vellore
 IC Engine based Vehicles
Almost all the conventional vehicles are IC engine based vehicles.
The important two main parts of the conventional vehicles are:

 Combustion chamber:- Combustion is a reaction between the fuel and the air
that releases heat and combustion products
 IC engine: The heat is converted to mechanical power by an engine

Definition of automobile: Motorized vehicle consisting of four or more wheels

and powered by an internal engine. Automobiles are used to transport people
and goods from one place to another place
Why IC engine based vehicles need
to be phased out?
 Social and environmental issues of IC engine
based vehicles

• The large number of automobiles in use

around the world has caused and continues to
cause serious problems for the environment
and human life.
• The vast majority of fuels used for
transportation are liquid fuels originating from
Hydrocarbons.
Sales of Conventional cars
 IC engine based vehicles causes ………

• Air pollution, global warming, and the rapid

depletion of the Earth’s petroleum resources
are now problems of paramount concern
 Air Pollution
• At present, all vehicles rely on the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels to
derive the energy necessary for vehicle propulsion.
• Combustion is a reaction between the fuel and the air that releases heat
and combustion products. The heat is converted to mechanical power by
an engine and the combustion products are released into the atmosphere.
• A hydrocarbon is a chemical compound with molecules made up of
carbon and hydrogen atoms.
• Ideally, the combustion of a hydrocarbon yields only carbon dioxide and
water, which do not harm the environment.
• Indeed, green plants “digest” carbon dioxide by photosynthesis. Carbon
dioxide is a necessary ingredient in vegetal life.
• Animals do not suffer from breathing carbon dioxide unless its
concentration in air is such that oxygen is almost absent.
• Actually, the combustion of hydrocarbon fuel in combustion engines is
never ideal.
• Besides carbon dioxide and water, the combustion products contain a
certain amount of nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxides (CO), and
unburned hydrocarbons (HC), all of which are toxic to human health.
 Nitrogen Oxides
• Theoretically, nitrogen is an inert gas. However, the high temperatures and
pressures in engines create favorable conditions for the formation of
nitrogen oxides.
• Nitrogen oxides (NOx) result from the reaction between nitrogen in the air
and oxygen.
• Temperature is the most important parameter in nitrogen oxide
formation.
• The most commonly found nitrogen oxide is Nitric oxide (NO), although
small amounts of Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and traces of nitrous oxide (N2O)
are also present.
• Nitrogen dioxide is partly responsible for smog; its brownish colour makes
smog visible.
• It also reacts with atmospheric water to form Nitric acid (HNO3), which
dilutes in rain. This phenomenon is referred to as “acid rain” and is
responsible for the destruction of forests in industrialized countries.
• Acid rain also contributes to the degradation of historical monuments
made of marble.
 Carbon Monoxide
• Carbon monoxide results from the incomplete combustion of
hydrocarbons due to a lack of oxygen.
• It is a poison to human and animal beings that breathe it. Once
carbon monoxide reaches the blood cells, it fixes to the hemoglobin
• thus diminishing the quantity of oxygen that reaches the organs and
reducing the physical and mental abilities of affected living beings.
• Dizziness is the first symptom of carbon monoxide poisoning, which
can rapidly lead to death.
• Carbon monoxide binds more strongly to hemoglobin than oxygen.
The bonds are so strong that normal body functions cannot break
them.
• Persons intoxicated by carbon monoxide must be treated in
pressurized chambers, where the pressure makes the carbon
monoxide–hemoglobin bonds easier to break.
 Unburned Hydrocarbons

• Unburned hydrocarbons are a result of the incomplete

combustion of hydrocarbons. Depending on their
nature, unburned hydrocarbons may be harmful to
living beings.
• Some of these unburned hydrocarbons may be direct
poisons or carcinogenic chemicals such as benzene, or
others.
• Unburned hydrocarbons are also responsible for smog:
• thus causing them to age prematurely or to die.
Toddlers, older people, and asthmatic humans suffer
greatly
 Other Pollutants
• Impurities in fuels result in the emission of pollutants. The major impurity is
sulfur, which is mostly found in diesel and jet fuel and also in gasoline and
natural gas.
• The combustion of sulfur (or sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide)
with oxygen releases sulfur oxides (SOx). Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is the major
product of this combustion.
• Upon contact with air, it forms sulfur trioxide, which later reacts with water
to form sulfuric acid, a major component of acid rain.
• It should be noted that sulfur oxide emissions originate from transportation
sources, but also largely from the combustion of coal in power plants and
steel factories
• Petroleum companies add chemical compounds to their fuels in order to
improve the performance or lifetime of engines.
• Tetraethyl lead, often referred to simply as “lead,” was used for better
engine performance.
• combustion of this chemical releases lead metal, which is responsible for a
neurological disease called “saturnism.” Its use is now forbidden in most
developed countries and it has been replaced by other chemicals
 Global Warming
• Global warming is a result of the “greenhouse effect” induced by the presence
of carbon dioxide and other gases, such as methane, in the atmosphere.
• These gases trap the Sun’s infrared radiation reflected by the ground, thus
retaining the energy in the atmosphere and increasing the temperature. An
increased Earth temperature results in major ecological damages to its
ecosystems and in many natural disasters that affect human populations.
• the disappearance of some endangered species is a concern because it
destabilizes the natural resources that feed some populations. There are also
concerns about the migration of some species from warm seas to previously
colder northern seas, where they can potentially destroy indigenous species
and the economies that live off those species.
• Natural disasters command our attention more than ecological disasters
because of the amplitude of the damage they cause. Global warming is
believed to have induced meteorological phenomena which disturbs the
South-Pacific region and regularly causes tornadoes, inundations, and dryness.
• The melting of the polar icecaps, another major result of global warming,
raises the sea level which can affect coastal regions, and sometimes of entire
countries
 In 2017, the Indian
government announced the
No new gasoline “ambition, that by 2030, all
or diesel vehicles vehicles sold in India may be
India
by 2030 electric-powered.” The energy
(if economical) department’s plan will depend on
the costs of electric cars falling far
enough to make it economical.
Do you know?