National Projects
Polish solutions for electric drive in wheels (4WHED)
Title:
Polish solutions for electric drive in wheels (4WHED)
Acronym:
4WHED
Name of the programme: Targeted Grants
Co-financing for Łukasiewicz-GIT from the funds of the Łukasiewicz Centre: PLN 715,500.00
Total value of the project: PLN 3,721,125.00
Start: 01.06.2021 / End: 31.05.2024
Consortium:
- Łukasiewicz Research Network – Upper Silesian Institute of Technology [Leader]
- Łukasiewicz Research Network – Kraków Institute of Technology
Project Manager:
Piotr Dukalski, BEng, MSc
Tel.: 32 258 20 41 ext. 34
E-mail: piotr.dukalski@git.lukasiewicz.gov.pl
Objective:
The drive of the car with motors installed in the wheels must guarantee not only the safety of passengers, but also the replacement of the mechanical differential system, and dynamic operation. However, a technical problem in the presented directional drive system is the need for very dynamic control of the entire power range of each drive motor. The development and testing of such a drive in road conditions and using a dynamometer will be a breakthrough step in the implementation of a very future-oriented product and technology by Łukasiewicz-GIT.
The second very important challenge that will be taken up is the development of technology for making motor components, especially those cast from aluminium alloy. These components are related to the cooling system, and form the supporting structure of the motor, equipped with a labyrinthine cooling liquid flow system and components constituting the rotor.
Currently, for the prototyping of motors dedicated to the wheel hub, Łukasiewicz Research Network – Upper Silesian Institute of Technology uses complicated and expensive machining, which is associated with very high material costs (up to 80% of waste of expensive aluminium alloy used in aviation), very high production costs due to the machining time – even a few days per 1 component and long occupation of machine park stations.
As part of the planned works, the technology of quick production of castings similar to end components requiring low-waste processing will be developed. In this way, the costs of designing and prototyping motors for the customer’s application requirements will be significantly lower.
The developed technology will be used to make other variants of components in order to optimise the motor design.
Motors built in the wheel hubs of electric cars must provide very high operating parameters in relation to their weight. Due to the size limitations, the motor must be characterised by a very compact structure, in which each component is designed not only in terms of generating the required torque, but also in terms of weight, strength, and the ability to conduct and dissipate heat. Multi-variant prototyping will allow for the selection of the appropriate structure of cast components and the selection of the appropriate aluminium alloy, which will have to be characterised not only by good thermal conductivity, but also by very good strength and the possibility of using it in the casting technology under development.
The result of the project will be solutions allowing Łukasiewicz-GIT to design, prototype, and implement very modern drives for use in wheel hubs of electric vehicles. The proposed technology and technical solutions will constitute a comprehensive solution that arouses increasing interest in various industries.
