Instrumental Modeling and Simulation of Electric and Solar Vehicles

This article presents a method to determine the mathematical model of a solar electric vehicle, which is used as a basis for the development of an instrumental simulator where Newton's equations of force and motion are used, and the mathematical behavior of the energy of the elements that compose and interconnect the vehicle: batteries, solar cells, motors, speed reducers, electronic circuits, and electrical accessories. The way to use the simulator consists of inserting the vehicle parameters into a program made in LabVIEW™, select a speed-time cycle, and run the tests. The simulator has the capacity to save and retrieve the inserted data and the results of the tests performed. To validate the simulator, results were compared with those specified by 20 commercial electric vehicles, three of which employ solar cells. The simulations present the results of the WLTP (Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure, actual European cycle) or EPA (Environmental Protection Agency, actual American cycle) tests. Despite not having all the input data of each vehicle, it is possible to verify the simulator reliability, since the values obtained in the runs were an approach to those specified by the manufacturers, with differences up to 5%.