An insight into motor and battery selections for three-wheeler electric vehicle

Three-wheelers are the most common mode of public transport used for last mile commute in several countries. Three-wheeler EVs are becoming popular nowadays, but there are no guidelines or standards to arrive at the motor and battery specifications. In this paper, an attempt is made to fill this gap by simulating a three-wheeler EV with all possible parameters to calculate the torque and power requirements of the motor and also the battery capacity. Because of its high efficiency and availability, most of the three-wheeler EVs are driven by permanent magnet brushless dc (PM BLDC) motors. Lead acid and lithium-ion batteries can be used to power these EVs. A methodology to arrive at the motor and battery specifications of a typical three-wheeler EV for the selected drive cycle is given for the cases of direct drive and geared drive. Simulations have been carried out after considering for the continuous and short time loadings of the drive in conformity with the RMS and peak rating of the EV drive motor. A detailed comparison between the lead acid and lithium-ion batteries powered three-wheeler EVs has been brought out.