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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