First Progress Update

On 22 and 23 May, all universities were required to present their current progress to the PGMC2012 Technical Committee. This first progress update presentation was held at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC), in conjunction with the Automotive Safety Week 2012: Southeast Asia (ASW2012: SEA). This first ever ASW: SEA was hosted by Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) in association with Global New Car Assessment Performance (NCAP) Annual Meeting.

The progress report consists of a 35-minute presentation and a 10-minute Q&A session. The logbooks were also checked during this presentation. UKM's ICE Terminator gave their account on Wednesday 23^rd May. The scopes covered by this progress report include:

1. Planned schedule and status
2. Update and technical progress on electric car conversion
• EV development and strategy
• Battery management
• Electric motor control technology
• Thermal  management
3. Status update on website, marketing and sponsorship
4. Financial status - expenditure as well as other source of income

Dr. Wan Faizal started the presentation. He is backed up by Dr. Rizauddin, Zulkhairi, Yushaizad and Hanief who all presented their own tasks.

Afterwards, we checked out the cars that were on display, on top of PROTON's own Saga EV.

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Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles (EVs) are propelled by an electric motor (or motors) normally powered by rechargeable battery packs. Electric motors have several advantages over internal combustion engines (ICEs):

• Energy efficient. Electric motors convert 75% of the electrical energy from the batteries to mechanical energy to move the wheel. Most internal combustion engines only convert 20% of it chemical energy to power up the wheel.
• Environmentally friendly. Electric vehicles emit no pollution nor greenhouse gases.
• Quiter. EVs also run more quietly than their combustion-powered counterparts.
• More reliability. Electric motors have fewer moving parts compared to ICEs. And they don't need fluids such as engine oil or anti-freeze.

Besides electric cars, electric motors have also been used for the propulsion of trains, lorries, aeroplanes, boats, motorcycles and scooters, and spacecrafts.

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Evaluation Criteria

The criteria that are being evaluated in PGMC2012 are:

ON-TRACK

Farthest Distance (300 points)
The farthest distance travel measured in laps and flag stations passed.

Quarter Mile Acceleration (150 points)
The fastest time in minutes and seconds to travel the Quarter Mile Distance.

Fastest Time for 2-Laps (200 points)
The shortest time in minutes and seconds to complete the full 2 laps of SIC.

V-Max (150 points)
The highest speed in km/h during the Fastest Time for 2-Laps event.

ENGINEERING

Technical Presentation (30 points)

• Must cover the concept, functionality and Control System Strategy
• Value adding features that will be useful and convenient for EV users and potential buyers
• Technical features – conventional technical features that are smartly applied and refined to gain competitive advantages during the PGMC 2012 events
• New technology features – novel technological features that are applied and refined to gain competitive advantages during the PGMC 2012 events
• Algorithm strategy – application and refinement of algorithm strategy that enables competitive advantages during the PGMC 2012 events
• Management – application of project management tool

Best Engineered EV (40 points)

• Depth of engineering analysis
• Specs, Features, Vehicle Build, Systems, Performance;
• Workmanship Quality – neat wiring, ducting and wire harness, firm electrical connection, neat soldering;
• Component Layout – well planned, neat and balanced distribution;
• Equipment Functionality – application of measurement, diagnostic, monitoring system, cooling system;
• Safety and Protection System – auto cut off, fire detection system, fire suppression system;
• Labelling – warning labels for high voltage, high current, etc.

Innovation (20 points)

• New technology
• Improvement Features
• Innovative
• Uniqueness of ideas

Research & Development (20 points)

• Build up stages,
• New and Future Improvement in R&D and EV related programs

IDENTITY

Pit Display (30 points)

• Pit Display tidiness, portfolio presentation;
• Project report or progress documentation;
• Arrangement within the pit area

Team Identity (10 points)

• Image and identity – uniform, banner, poster and other medium of presentation;
• Creative representation of graphic, element and characteristic;
• Banners, posters, garment and other medium of presentation;
• Team work

Exterior & Interior (10 points)

• Aesthetics
• Theme – representation of images, identity and colour that communicate the team philosophy;
• Exterior –clean, presentable graphic, colour, arrangement with safety consideration;
• Interior – cleanliness, tidiness, equipment arrangement with safety consideration;
• Creativity, Innovative and Uniqueness of ideas;
• Tidiness

PROMOTIONAL JUDGING

Sponsorship (10 points)

• Sponsorship Value – tangible and intangible value obtained by the team through sponsorship
• Media Usage – types of media and marketing approach used by the team
• ROI to sponsors – tangible and intangible return on investment to sponsors

Marketing (10 points)

• Promotional Activities
• Audience Reach – estimated number of audiences, relevance and market penetration (local, regional or global)

Website (20 points)

• Website design and appearance
• Number of visitors/hits
• Content – information, quality
• Creativity

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HPEVS - Induction Motor

The motor with its custom built mounting

With gearbox attached

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Engine

The original I.C.E. will be replaced by the electric motor

The electric motor + its motor controller

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Briefing at SIC

On 19 April, teams were invited to go to the Sepang International Circuit, where the challenge will be conducted in October.

The activities held there include:

1. General and Safety Briefing for SIC Track – Mr. Spencer & Mr. Richard Yong, SIC
2. SIC Track Tour by bus
3. Briefing on batteries by Mr. Seok Min Kim, V-ENS (M) Sdn. Bhd
4. Briefing on telemetric technology system by Mr. Andy Wong, Amtel Holding
5. Briefing on motor controller by Mr. Peter Christie, DB Capital Sdn. Bhd
6. Distribution of motor and batteries to participating teams

Briefing sessions

Track tour

Getting motor and batteries

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Challenge Guidelines

What are the normal aspects that should be considered when we are going to purchase a car? The usual FAQs would include the maximum speed, fuel consumption, initial and maintenance cost and brand. Some people prefer to choose a car by its physical look. For this Proton Green Mobility Challenge, there are guidelines that needed to be followed by the participants, which includes:-

1. Electric vehicles development and strategy
Participating teams modify and develop the conventional Proton Saga provided by the organiser into an electric vehicle based on the requirements and specification of PGMC2012.
2. Battery Management System (BMS)
Participating teams optimally use the batteries provided by the organiser throughout the development stages and sanctioned events of PGMC2012. This requirement emphasizes the needs to prolong the life and performance the batteries even after repeated charge and discharge cycles. BMS design is to ensure the battery always in safe condition, event during catastrophe circumstances
3. Electric Motor Control Technology
Participating teams develop the control system strategy that efficiently uses electrical energy from the supplied battery for powering the electric vehicle throughout the events
4. Thermal management
Participating teams design and develop a dedicated cooling system to transfer heat away from the electric motor, controller and battery throughout the event

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Program Outline

BACKGROUND
As fossil fuel resources are decreasing and environmental pollution is worsening day by day, a quest for a sustainable alternative source of energy for vehicles is apparently necessary. In the shorter term, hybrid powered vehicles with internal combustion engine (ICE) and battery are seen to be the option during this fuel transition period. The longer term will see the widespread use of electric vehicles (EV) which will be the transportation of choice in 20 to 30 years time.

The Centre for Automotive Research (CAR) at the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment (FKAB), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia has a wide pool of expertise in automotive engineering that caters the needs of the current research in the field of automotive.

PROTON Green Mobility Challenge 2012 (PGMC 2012) will be one of ideal platforms for the centre to investigate new technologies on electric vehicle and later on to impart the technical knowledge to students and staff. This challenge will surely give us a flavour of a real life pressures that come with the drive to complete the project with whatever resources available within stipulated duration. Active involvement of researchers, technicians and students in this competition is expected to cultivate strong interests in the automotive field, particularly in e-mobility field.

CONCEPT
The main concepts of our EV are power-saving, user-friendly and aesthetic exterior and interior design based on local tastes. These concepts are detailed out below:

• Optimised battery management for different power requirement in different driving conditions
• Energy management based on road profile monitoring using GPS
• Thermal management
• Phase-change material (PCM) for battery cooling mechanism
• Air cooling for motor
• Efficient control strategy and switching technique for motor controller to reduce heat generation
• Efficient motor control strategies for different driving conditions
• Efficient control strategy and switching technique for motor controller to optimize torque and power
• Power regeneration from braking
• Driver-friendly interface
• Customisable driving mode to suit individual driving patterns
• Meter on dashboard to display total voltage, current flow, remaining energy, estimated time left for driving etc.
• Digital user interface in Bahasa Melayu as an option for Malaysian market
• Exterior and interior lift according to localized tastes– batik etc

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