Lightweight Electric/Hybrid Vehicle Design

0.1 Preface
Introduction
Introduction xi
This book differs from other automotive engineering texts in that it covers a technology that is still
very much in the emerging stages, and will be particularly valuable for design courses, and projects,
within engineering degree studies. Whereas other works cover established automotive disciplines,
this book focuses on the design stages, still in process for electric vehicles, and thus draws on a
somewhat tentative source of references rather than a list of the known major works in the subject.
The choice of design theory is also somewhat selective, coming from the considerable volume of
works the disciplines of which are combining to make the production electric vehicle possible.
0.1.1 BIBLIOGRAPHIC SOURCES
Electrical propulsion systems date back virtually to the time of Faraday and a substantial body of
literature exists in the library of the Institution of Electrical Engineers from which it is safe only to
consider a small amount in relation to current road vehicle developments. Similarly a considerable
quantity of works are available on aerospace structural design which can be found in the library of
the Royal Aeronautical Society, and on automotive systems developments within the library of
the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. With the massive recent step-changes in capital investment,
first in the build-up to battery-electric vehicle development, then in the switch to hybrid drive
engineering, and finally the move to fuel-cell development – it would be dangerous to predict an
established EV technology at this stage.
A good deal of further reading has been added to the bibliographies of references at the ends of
each chapter. This is intended to be a source of publications that might help readers look for wider
background, while examining the changes of direction that EV designers are making at this formative
stage of the industry. The final chapter also lists publications which seem to be likely sources of
design calculations pertinent in designing for minimum weight and has a table of nomenclature
for the principal parameters, with corresponding symbol notation used in the design calculations
within the text of the chapters.
0.1.2 CONTEXT AND STRUCTURE
The current period of EV development could be seen as dating from a decade or so before the
publication of Scott Cronk’s pivotal work published by the Society of Automotive Engineers in
1995, Building the E-motive Industry. As well as pulling together the various strings of earlier EV
development, the book takes a very broad-brush view of the many different factors likely to affect