A Japanese prototype electric vehicle (EV) with motors in its wheels has an extended driving range 30 percent longer than other mass-produced EVs, due in part to engineering plastics.
The SIM-WIL EV from SIM-Drive Corp. of Kawasaki City, Japan, contains almost 50 new technologies from several companies, including DuPont Performance Polymers. SIM-Drive says a unique in-wheel motor system and extensive use of lightweight materials, including high-performance polymers, allow the car to travel 218 miles on a single charge.
Plastics help the SIM-WIL prototype electric vehicle, which has motors in its wheels, travel 218 miles on a single charge, or 30 percent farther than current mass-produced EVs. (Source: DuPont Performance Polymers)
Most EVs house a single motor under the hood, but the SIM-WIL has four motors -- one in the hub of each wheel. Each delivers 65kW of power, giving the car a total output of 260kW, according to the company.
Eight different DuPont materials are used in the EV, including plastics, film, paper, and paint. The key material is DuPont's Zytel HTN polyphthalamide (PPA), which is used in the car's in-wheel motor bobbins. It is stronger, lighter, and more cost-effective than the poly-phenylene sulfide it replaces.
The materials were developed in a collaboration between SIM-Drive and the DuPont Japan Innovation Center in Nagoya. They were chosen for their light weight, their reliability, their performance, their looks, and their ability to increase passenger space.
We've reported before on DuPont's innovation in several areas of plastics development, including bioplastics. Plastics and composites are playing a bigger role in automotive manufacturing, especially among EVs, because of their light weight and their ability to help automaker meet aggressive federal fuel consumption standards.
But lightweighting isn't all that plastics can do for EVs. Performance and reliability are equally important. "Especially in electric vehicle (EV) applications, these high temperature, chemically resistant products and electrical insulation materials contribute to increased EV system reliability and performance under severe conditions such as wide ranging temperatures and high voltage," Tomoyuki Shinkai, operating officer and general manager of the vehicle development co-ordination division at SIM-Drive, said in a DuPont press release.
DuPont's Kapton polyimide film was used in the EV's indicator lights to make the SIM-DRIVE lighter than EVs currently on the road. Kapton is used in high-reliability applications such as the Mars Curiosity rover and mobile computing devices. In the SIM-WIL, it makes the lighting component 80 percent lighter by eliminating the need for a circuit board.
The SIM-WIL EV has sportscar-like acceleration (0-60mph in 5.4 seconds) and a top speed of 110mph. By incorporating as many components as possible within the car's frame, its design aims to maximize interior space. Production models are expected some time in 2014 and are expected to sell for around $32,000.
The key material in the SIM-WIL's in-wheel motors, DuPont's Zytel HTN polyphthalamide (PPA), is used in the motor bobbins shown here. The material is stronger, lighter, and more cost-effective than what it replaces. (Source: DuPont Performance Polymers)
Was this article about the car or about Dupont plastics? I find it hard to believe that we got nothing about the battery or electronics on this car. So many new technologies and all we get is plastics talk.
Motor in wheel is certainly an interesting idea (and an obvious one; it's been done before).
The statement "30 percent farther than other mass-produced EVs" is clearly not true. A cynic might say there isn't any such thing as a mass-produced EV, but if you assume that this means "not a concept car" and "not a limited production hand-built car" (like the Tesla Roadster) but rather something built in to a factory with the hope that it would sell in the thousands (like the Leaf) then clearly the Tesla model S qualifies, and that has a range around 300 miles.
Ann, one of the major drawbacks of any EV is its less mileage. So any innovation, which can increase the mileage, may get more appreciated from both market and customer side. But am not getting how its possible to deploy one- one motor for each wheel
according to Lotus, the unsprung weight consequences of hub electric motors is not as great as one would think. From Vehicle Dynamics International's 2011 Annual Showcase:
Thinking about this, the idea of a plastic body for a car with hundreds of watt of energy flowing through it is very smart. I've shocked myself touching the body of a normal auto when static electricity had built up, and it was not fun. Amplify that by a factor of, oh, maybe 200 to 400, and wow! the advantage of using non-conductive parts begins to sound really intelligent. So I'm all in favor of it.
The unsprung weight of the car due to motors in the wheels would certainly reduce its handling capability. And I'd sure hate to hit a big pothole; you'd be out shopping for a new tire and wheel immediately, as soon as your teeth stopped rattling.
The range sounds almost too good- I wonder if it's anywhere near that far at freeway speeds.
But why do they insist on making these things look dorky? Did someone pass a law against making them look like a Tesla?
Ann, I have a feeling we'll look back at this period as an explosion of innovation in the auto industry. I would guess a lot of the technology that's getting developed to support hybrids and EVs will also be handy when used to meet the higher mpg standards in conventional autos.
abq-engineer, thanks for that link. What fun! It sounds like a very similar design concept to the SIM-WIL. Of course, as the article points out, it weighed a lot because of the 1.8 tonnes (metric tons, or 1.984 US short tons) of batteries needed.
While I would agree that there is indeed some ICE legacy to the single motor design direction there are other considerations.
Placing the motors in the wheels increases the unsprung mass of the vehicle and this has an adverse effect on the performance of the suspension. Typically both ride and handling charateristics deteriorate when the ratio of unsprung to sprung mass increases. For the locomotives in your example, traveling on a smooth rail this is farless of an issue.
One possiblity is placing the motor very near the wheel with a short drive shaft. Yes the complexity of the sytem increases, but it may still be better than the centrally located motor without the drawbacks of placing the mass outboard of the suspension.
I have to say, that I have heard of this design approach before (motors in wheels) but not sure if it was ever on a vehicle intended for production. Makes perfect sense, though. No more drive shaft tunnel or heavy gearbox and differential. I'll bet it's low maintenance as well. Total cost of ownership/operation is probably pretty good when compared to gasoline and hybrid models.
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