Design of a hybrid propulsion system for a three wheeled bicycle

Abstract

Purpose

Velomobiles or bicycles cars are human-powered vehicles, enclosed for improving aerodynamic performance and protection from weather and collisions. The purpose of this paper is to design and develop a three-wheeled velomobile equipped with a hybrid human-electric propulsion system.

Design/methodology/approach

The mechanical layout has been developed in order to improve safety, a CAD code has been used for the design and the dynamic performances have been studied by means of specific multi-body codes. The electric propulsion system has been designed both with analytical and FEM methods.

Findings

A special three-wheeled tilting vehicle layout equipped with a four-bar linkage connection has been developed. A particular synchronous reluctance machine has been developed, which is very suitable for human-electric hybrid propulsion. A MATLAB code for integrated mechanical and electrical analysis has been developed.

Originality/value

A new kind of light vehicle has been conceived. A new synchronous reluctance machine with high efficiency has been developed. A performance analysis in electric, human and hybrid working modes has been presented, which takes into account the specific features of both the electric motor and the pedaling legs. A prototype of the vehicle has been built.

Citation

Cossalter, V., Doria, A., Ferrari, M., Giolo, E., Bianchi, N., Martignoni, C. and Bovi, F. (2015), "Design of a hybrid propulsion system for a three wheeled bicycle", COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering, Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 189-209. https://doi.org/10.1108/COMPEL-11-2013-0372