A Minor Project Report

On

ECO-KART STUDENT RACING VEHICLE

Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the award of the

Degree of

Bachelor of Technology

In

Mechanical Engineering

Submitted by

Arpit James (40215611116)

Abdullah (00116508217) Shahid Bashir Wani (75115611116)

Under the guidance of

Ms. Richa Jain (Assistant Professor)

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND AUTOMATION ENGINEERING

DR. AKHILESH DAS GUPTA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND

MANAGEMENT

Affiliated to GURU GOBING SINGH INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY

August – November, 2019

 CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION

We hereby declare that the work presented in this report entitled “ECO-KART
STUDENT RACING VEHICLE”, in fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the
degree of Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering, submitted in MAE
Department, ADGITM, affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New
Delhi, is an authentic record of our own work carried out during my degree under the
guidance of Ms. Richa Jain.

The work reported in this has not been submitted by any one of the undersigned for
award of any other degree or diploma.

Arpit James
(40215611116)

Date : Abdullah
Place : (00116508217)

Shahid Bashir Wani

(75115611116)

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Project work entitled “ECO-KART STUDENT RACING
VEHICLE” submitted by Arpit James in fulfillment of the award of Bachelor of
Technology Degree in Mechanical Engineering at ADGITM, New Delhi is an authentic
work carried out by them under my supervision and guidance. To the best of my
knowledge, the matter embodied in the project has not been submitted to any other
University / Institute for the award of any degree.

Date: Ms. Richa Jain

(Assistant Professor, MAE Deptt., ADGITM)

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Neeraj Kumar (HOD, MAE) and Ms. Richa Jain
(Assistant Professor, MAE), for their valuable guidance and timely suggestions during
the entire duration of my dissertation work, without which this work would not have been
possible. We specially acknowledge Dr. Sanjay Kumar (Director, ADGITM) for
generous support on our Project. We also like to convey our deep regards to all other
faculty members of MAE Department, who have bestowed their great effort and guidance
to appropriate times without which it would have been very difficult on our part to finish
this work. Finally, we like to thank our team captain, team vice-captain, team members
and friends for their effort and advice and pointing out our mistakes.

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 ABSTRACT

This report deals with the real life implementation to reduce the rapid increase in
pollution, due to Automotive Industry, and particularly, the Racing Industry. Today with
the growing population, the number of vehicles is growing drastically. This growth has
led to massive increase in air pollution. Around the globe, automobile sector is the major
contributor towards air pollution. Go-kart is a growing segment in the automobile sector.
In order to control air pollution through this growing segment, this paper aims towards
designing of an electric kart which is environment friendly as it causes no pollution.
Various sub-systems of the vehicle i.e. Chassis, Steering, Brakes & Power train were
designed and fabricated. The designs were continuously iterated in order to optimize the
performance along with adequate driver safety. The electric kart is motor and battery
operated. The designs aimed towards a lightweight and highly stable vehicle in order to
maximize the power to weight ratio. Reliability, durability, safety & comfort were the
key factors which were kept in mind while fabrication of the electric kart.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents Page Number
Candidate’s Declaration i
Certificate ii
Acknowledgement iii
Abstract iv
Table of Contents v
List of Figures vii
List of Tables viii

CHAPTER – 1 : INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE SURVEY

1.1 Brief Introduction 1
1.2 History 2
1.3 Literature Survey 3
1.4 Motivation & Motive 4
1.5 Organization of Training Report 4

CHAPTER – 2 : TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTED

2.1 Mechanical Implementation
2.1.1 Chassis 6
2.1.2 Braking System 9
2.1.3 Steering System 11
2.1.4 Transmission System 13
2.1.5 Tires 15
2.2 Electrical Implementation
2.2.1 Motor 16
2.2.2 Battery 18
2.2.3 Speed Controller 19
2.2.4 Battery Management System 21

CHAPTER – 3 : RESULT AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Vehicular Details
3.1.1 Material Details 26
3.1.2 Vehicle Stats 28
3.2 Calculations
3.2.1 Speed Calculations 28
3.2.2 Transmission Calculations 28
3.2.3 Steering Calculations 28
3.3.4 Braking Calculations 29
3.3.5 Battery Selection Calculations 29
3.3.6 Motor Specification Parameters 31
3.3 Design Results
3.3.1 Vehicle Design 32

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 3.3.2 Member Specifications 33
3.4 Analysis Results
3.4.1 Front Impact Analysis 39
3.4.2 Side Impact Analysis 40
3.4.3 Rear Impact Analysis 42
3.5 Discussion 44

CHAPTER – 4 : MERITS, DEMERITS AND APPLICATIONS

4.1 Merits 45
4.2 Demerits 47
4.3 Applications 47

CHAPTER – 5 : CONCLUSION 48

References 49

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 LIST OF FIGURES
Page No.
2.1 CAD Model of Chassis 6
2.2 AISI 1018 and AISI 4130 7

2.3 MIG Welding Process 7

2.4 A typical car disc brake 9
2.5 Master Cylinder Diagram 10
2.6 Brake Over Travel Switch 11
2.7 Schematic Representation of Correct Steering 12
2.8 Ackermann Principal of Steering 12

2.9 Transmission System of an average car 13

2.10 Chain Sprocket arrangement 14
2.11 Typical go-kart slick and wet tyres 16
2.12 Schematic Diagram of a Brushless DC Motor 17
2.13 48V 60Ah Rechargeable Li-ion Battery Pack 18
2.14 Types of Lithium Batteries 19

2.15 Speed Controller 20

2.16 Circuit Diagram of Battery Management System 21
2.17 Integrated Circuit for BMS 25
3.1 Isometric View of the Chassis 32
3.2 Design Meshing 33
3.3 Static Stress (Front Impact) 40

3.4 Static Displacment (Front Impact) 40

3.5 Static Stress (Side Impact) 42
3.6 Static Displacment (Side Impact) 42
3.7 Static Stress (Rear Impact) 43
3.8 Static Displacment (Rear Impact) 44

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 LIST OF TABLES
Page No.
2.1 Comparison between various Disc Brakes 10
3.1 Material Details 26
3.2 Vehicle Specification 26
3.3 Motor Test Parameters 33
3.4 Member Specifications 33
3.5 Fixture Details (Front Impact) 39
3.6 Load Details (Front Impact) 39
3.7 Reaction forces on the entire body (Front Impact) 39
3.8 Reaction Moments on the entire body (Front Impact) 39
3.9 Resultant Stress (Front Impact) 39
3.10 Resultant Displacement (Front Impact) 40
3.11 Fixture Details (Side Impact) 40
3.12 Load Details (Side Impact) 40
3.13 Reaction forces on the entire body (Side Impact) 40
3.14 Reaction Moments on the entire body (Side Impact) 41
3.15 Resultant Stress (Side Impact) 41
3.16 Resultant Displacement (Side Impact) 42
3.17 Fixture Details (Rear Impact) 42
3.18 Load Details (Rear Impact) 43
3.19 Reaction forces on the entire body (Rear Impact) 43
3.20 Reaction Moments on the entire body (Rear Impact) 43
3.21 Resultant Stress (Rear Impact) 43
3.22 Resultant Displacement (Rear Impact) 44

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 CHAPTER – 1
INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE SURVEY

1.1 Brief Introduction

Go-karting originated in early 1950’s in America and instantly became
popular, which lead to rapid spreading in other countries. Since then go-karts used
2-stroke & 4-stroke air-cooled engines which are operated on gasoline. There have
been many racing championship all over the world e.g.:- F1, GO-KARTING,
BAJA, MOTO RACCING, etc. since all the racing are carried on I.C. engine basis
there are many drawbacks such as use of petrol, maintenance of engine time-to-
time, change of engine oil, change of engine parts etc. hence the working of I.C.
engine does not contribute anything to the ecosystem, instead it harms the
ecosystem due to the smoke pollution. Due to research and development of various
appliances there is been harm to the ecosystem such as depletion of ozone layer
and global warming. Sometimes motor cycle engines are also used as a power unit
in go karts. The use of fossil fuels in go-karts not only adds to air pollution but also
leads to fast depletion of fossil fuels due to their excessive use and limited stocks.
The engines used have bad exhaust systems and are not even fully optimized to
decrease the emissions. Some go-kart engines even give out more emissions than a
passenger car. In order to tackle all these issues and keep our environment
pollution free and healthy, there is an urgent need to explore alternatives to fossil
fuels. Numerous efforts are being put forward to power the vehicles through bio-
diesel, ethanol, CNG, solar power, batteries. So, to prevent this situation we must
find the measures which are working effective. In order to explore opportunities
with an electric kart, we aimed to design a motor and battery-operated kart. The
major difference between an electric kart and a go-kart is only of the power source.
The static and dynamic behaviors of the go-karts were studied in order to eliminate
the other existing problems in a go-kart. The designs were iterated continuously in
order to maximize the performance the kart could pass through all the static and
dynamic tests put forward in order to prove its excellence.

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1.2 History

Karting is form of racing in a small four-wheel vehicle known as a go kart.

In the beginning, the first-ever go kart was created in Los Angeles by Art Ingles in
1956. The first official organized race took place with several dozen home-built
machines in 1957 in the parking lot of the famed Rose Bowl in Pasadena,
California. Now, it has been estimated that over 1.6 billion people worldwide have
raced go karts. Ingles’ one-off two-stroke creation was the inspiration for Duffy
Livingstone and Roy Disbrow to start Go Kart Manufacturing, Co., Inc in 1958.
The pair created their own versions of the go kart and then found inexpensive
engines from the failed West Bend rotary lawn mower venture. Presently, karting
continues to grow, especially the form known as indoor karting.

Go Karts

The go karts used at Pole Position Raceway feature the latest state-of-the-
art technology. Our adult gokarts produce an incredible 18 horsepower and have
immediate throttle response. Simply put, they are the best indoor electric go
karts in the world, and you'll see why they represent the future of our sport. We
spent several million dollars on this technology because it offers the best
performance, produces no smelly fumes, and allows us to maintain the most-
consistent fleet of karts in the United States. We are able to electronically tune
each kart so that performance is nearly identical and measurable - something you
can't do with gas technology in the world of indoor karting. The end result at Pole
Position Raceway is an adrenaline-filled ride and the ultimate racing experience.

Race Track

The race tracks at Pole Position Raceway were created by a team of highly
trained professionals. The surface texture of Pole Position Raceway tracks is
somewhere in between the “slick tracks” and asphalt tracks of the past, as the goal
was to create a race track surface that is fun for an entry-level driver and yet
challenging for the seasoned professional. The race track design has received a
stamp of approval from NASCAR Champion Kurt Busch and Supercross
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 Champion Jeremy McGrath, along with NASCAR reporter Jamie Little and
freestyle motocross star Mike Metzger. Pole Position Raceway has taken this
surface preparation technique into some of the world’s largest karting venues,
using oversize buildings that are as large as 85,000 square feet. This allows for
race tracks that are wide, fast and require passing techniques.

1.3 Literature Survey

 Koustubh Hajare, Yuvraj Shet (2016) The drivers in these are very professionals
and accurate. They can drive it very fast. But there are also motor sports which do
not need professional drivers and need not much speed. The vehicles used are also
fewer amounts Such a motor sport is Go- Kart. They resemble to the formula one
car but it is not as fast as F1 and also cost is very less. The drivers in go-kart are
also not professionals.
 Ammar Qamar Ul Hasan (2015) A Go- kart is a small four wheeled vehicle. Go-
kart, by definition, has no suspension and no differential. 'Carting is commonly
perceived as the stepping stone to the higher and more expensive ranks of motor
sports. Kart racing is generally accepted as the most economic form of motor
sport available.
 Shubham Kolhe , Vrushabh U. Joijode (2016) A Go Cart also spelled as Go-Kart
is a four wheeled vehicle designed and meant for racing only. It is a small four
wheeler run by I.C Engine. It is a miniature of a racing car. This report documents
the process and methodology to produce a low cost go-kart.
 Kiral Lal, Abhishek O S,(2016) The chassis is an extremely imported element of
the kart, as it must provide, via flex, theequivalent of suspension to give good grip
at the front. Karts have no suspension, and are usually no bigger than is needed to
mount a seat for the driver.
 Prof. Alpesh V. Mehta, Mr.Nikunj (2011) The fiber to take load in the form of a
structural element, but the matrix phase only sustains small amount of applied
load. In addition, beside the matrix material is ductile; it also protects the
individual fibers from mechanical abrasion or chemical reaction with the
environment which will cause surface damage.

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1.4 Motivation
The motivation of the project came from the recent introduction of electric
vehicles in the automobile sector. A best example to this would be the TESLA
cars, which use state-of-the-art technology to achieve high efficiency and
performances, which has baffled us, as students, and the world. Therefore, we
wanted to develop a vehicle, with basic features, that would use electric energy as
a driving force and would also be able to handle the racing aspects, i.e., be able to
take part in racing events.
The other major reason was the increasing levels of fossil fuel powered
vehicles in the urban areas. The emissions from these vehicles cause severe health
related issues to the urban dwellers, especially for kids, pregnant women, sick and
the elderly. By promoting and accepting the use of electric vehicles, we aim to
inculcate modern technology in the automobile sector to reduce the carbon
emission and carbon footprint of the vehicle.

1.5 Organization of Report

The vehicle is being designed and analyzed to participate in the LPU-SAE Eco-
kart Championship 2020. The vehicle is being build by a team of 25+ students of
ADGITM, coming from all the academic sessions and from various departments.

The Project Report is divided into 4 sections, or chapters. These chapters are as
follows:
Chapter – 1 includes the Introduction and History of Go-Karts. It is followed by a
small Literature Survey and Motivation for the project.

Chapter – 2 deals with the Technical Implementations, i.e., mechanical and

electrical technologies used in making Battery Operated Go-Kart. It includes
Chassis, Transmission System, Braking System, Steering System & Tires.

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Chapter – 3 inculcates the Technical detail, Calculations, and Design and
Analysis Results of the various aspects of the Go-kart.

Chapter – 4 concludes the Project Report with its Merits, De-merits and
Applications, and final conclusion of the Project.

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 CHAPTER – 2
TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTED

2.1 Mechanical Implementation

2.1.1 Chassis

The chassis of a go-kart or also known as the go-kart frame is like a

foundation that attached to the axles and holds the engine of the go-kart.
It is crucial to have a good design of chassis that will it gives the go-kart
better traction for the driver to maneuver especially diving in corners at
high speeds. Hence, according to Walker (2005), the absence of
conventional suspension in go-kart compare to a normal vehicle requires
the chassis itself to be flexible as a replacement of the suspensions. Yet,
the go-kart chassis has to be rigid enough to withstand the strains it might
experience such as weight of the drivers. In addition, a good traction from
a proper design will also have less vibration which resulting a longer
chassis life span.

Figure 2.1 – CAD Model of Chassis

For who takes karting seriously, they need a chassis that are able to suit
different track conditions. Depending on the conditions of the track, a dry
track will require a stiffer chassis; whereas a wet track will require a
more flexible chassis. Therefore, there a chassis are designed to have
removal stiffening bars on the rear, front, and side of the go-kart that can

6
be removed or added depending on the track conditions.
There are four types of chassis which are caged, open, offset and straight
chassis. A caged chassis have a roll cage that surrounds and protect the
driver in an event of a roll-over. It usually used for karting on a dirt track
where the terrain mostly uneven. As for open, offset and straight chassis,
it does not have roll cage. Offset and straight chassis simply differentiate
from each other based on the different position of the driver.

Figure 2.2 – AISI 1018 and AISI 4130

In designing of chassis, material of chassis plays an important role as it
put constraints on machining, welding, weight, load bearing capacity and
stiffness. For Electric Go kart, we uses AISI 4130 because it fulfils our
important priority which is safety of rider with its good strength, after
that welding and good load bearing capacity augment its rank from other
materials. Only machining is somewhat difficult but with good
equipment’s it can be easily tackle out.

Figure 2.3 – MIG Welding Process

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At the time of designing of chassis, dimensions are preferred in such a
way that number of welded joints should be minimum. As it just
increases number of stress concentration areas and higher stress
concentration area result in failure of chassis. But joints should not that
much low that it compromises with safety, comfort and strength of rider
and kart. Machining should be carefully done as there is chance of
accidental injury. For better performances and strength, we prefer to use
Metal Inert Gas (MIG) Welding, as it is given more importance in a
competition.
In designing of frame we are much concerned towards reducing overall
weight of frame because higher weight just reduces speed, and with that
we have to think about size and safety from frame. As we lowers the size
of frame, safety and comfort of rider reduces. So appropriate size should
be chosen so that other accessories of kart can also easily assemble and
disassemble, ensure safety and comfort to the rider for that we uses 3 inch
clearance.
In designing of frame these safety measures should not be avoided:
 Use of seat belt. It must be properly attached to frame of kart and
totally cover rider. Test with safety belt should be perform to
ensure full safety.
 Fire wall must be use, as it reduces any accidental injury from
engine side to rider.
 2 kill switch plugs should we used at 2 locations. One near the
rider and other on Fire wall so that any other person can brake
circuit and reduces any chance of accident.
 Fire extinguisher must be provided near to rider.
 Helmet, driver suit and gloves must be wearied by rider to ensure
safety.
 Horn and indicators should be on kart, to prevent any accident and
lowers ambiguity between riders.

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 To assemble frame with chassis, use of welding, nut and bolts, fastener. It
is not much important with which process parts are assembled, but
important is how much factor of safety is taken with them.

2.1.2 Braking System

In selection of braking system, we have used Hydraulic Disc brakes in
our Go-Kart vehicle to decelerate or decrease the speed of a vehicle. By
stepping on the brake pedal, the brake pads compress against the rotor
attached to the wheel, which then forces the vehicle to slow down due to
friction.
A hydraulic circuit is designed in accordance with the vehicle weight,
vehicle length and top speed. For good handling brakes should be
consistent, use only a moderate amount of pedal force and should be free
of fade in its hardest use. The work a disc brake has to do and the heat it
has to dissipate during braking, are directly proportional to the weight of
the vehicle and its speed when the brake is operated. The hardest working
conditions occur with maximum load and maximum speed. Initially we
thought to install brakes on all the four wheels of kart but looking at the
weight distribution of our kart, being biased much on the rear side of the
cart carrying the motor and the batteries, we decide to install disc brakes
only on the rear wheels to save cost also.

Figure 2.4 – A typical car disc brake

A tandem master cylinder (along with a brake oil reservoir) connects to
the pedal through the pushrod. The master cylinder is connected to the
disc brake assembly fitted on the rear transmission shaft through brake

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lines. As the brakes are applied, the transmission shaft is being slowed
down (or) partially stopped and then the wheels are simultaneously
stopped.

Figure 2.5 – Master Cylinder Diagram

For the consideration of Braking system, a Market Survey was conducted
by our team, on the different samples. They are given as below:
Disc Outer Diameter in mm Thickness in mm
Pulsar 150 240 6
Pulsar 220 230 8
Apache 180 200 6
Table 2.1 – Comparison between various Disc Brakes
The reasons why Apache RTR 180 Disc brakes were chosen are:
 Thickness is not too high, i.e., 6mm.
 Outer Diameter is 200mm, which is in accordance with our design.
 We have floating type caliper in our design.

Brake fluid is a type of hydraulic fluid used in hydraulic brake and

hydraulic clutch applications in automobiles, motorcycles, light trucks,
and some bicycles. It is used to transfer force into pressure, and to
amplify braking force. It works because liquids are not appreciably
compressible.

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 In vehicles, generally two types of brake fluid are used, DOT3 and DOT4.
The basic difference between DOT3 and DOT4 is the boiling point. This
is the temperature under which the fluid evaporates and also how prone to
absorbing water it is. Both DOT3 and DOT4 are hygroscopic, meaning
they absorb water. Due to its lower boiling point, DOT3 is more prone to
water absorption.
We have considered DOT4 Brake Fluid also because:
 It is economical.
 It is easily available.
 Higher Boiling Point.
 Easily disposable as it is environment friendly.

The innovative part in braking system is the use of ‘Brake over Travel Kill
switch’ which automatically cuts off the current supply to motor in case
the braking system fails and there is an over travel in brake pedal. This
causes the vehicle to slowly decelerate even if brakes don’t work. A hand
brake has also been provided keeping in mind the safety prospective of the
driver.

Figure 2.6 – Brake Over Travel Switch

2.1.3 Steering System

The ackermann steering system or the steering knuckles system is where
the axles are mounted on knuckles out and away from the go kart. The
wheels rotate vertically around these pivots, and cause the wheels to turn.

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There is a relationship in the wheels movement to a turned center. There is
also a positioning system on the steering knuckles which is important for
steering. The positioning system is more important when applied to
heavier vehicles. For lighter vehicles, like go karts, the positioning is not
as important.

Figure 2.7 – Schematic Representation of Correct Steering

The intention of Ackermann geometry is to avoid the need for tyres to slip
sideways when following the path around a curve. The geometrical
solution to this is for all wheels to have their axles arranged as radii of
circles with a common centre point. As the rear wheels are fixed, this
centre point must be on a line extended from the rear axle. Intersecting the
axes of the front wheels on this line as well requires that the inside front
wheel be turned, when steering, through a greater angle than the outside
wheel.

Figure 2.8 – Ackermann Principal of Steering

Rather than the preceding "turntable" steering, where both front wheels

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 turned around a common pivot, each wheel gained its own pivot, close to
its own hub. While more complex, this arrangement enhances
controllability by avoiding large inputs from road surface variations being
applied to the end of a long lever arm, as well as greatly reducing the fore-
and-aft travel of the steered wheels. A linkage between these hubs pivots
the two wheels together, and by careful arrangement of the linkage
dimensions the Ackermann geometry could be approximated. This was
achieved by making the linkage not a simple parallelogram, but by making
the length of the track rod (the moving link between the hubs) shorter than
that of the axle, so that the steering arms of the hubs appeared to "toe out".
As the steering moved, the wheels turned according to Ackermann, with
the inner wheel turning further. If the track rod is placed ahead of the axle,
it should instead be longer in comparison, thus preserving this same "toe
out".

2.1.4 Transmission System

A transmission is a machine in a power transmission system, which
provides controlled application of the power. Often the
term transmission refers simply to the gearbox that uses gears and gear
trains to provide speed and torque conversions from a rotating power
source to another device.

Figure 2.9 – Transmission System of an average car

Most often, the power is conveyed by a roller chain, known as the drive
chain or transmission chain, passing over a sprocket gear, with the teeth of

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the gear meshing with the holes in the links of the chain. The gear is
turned, and this pulls the chain putting mechanical force into the system.

Figure 2.10 – Chain Sprocket arrangement

Like any method of power transmission, chain drives have advantages and
disadvantages. Advantages of chain will be discussed initially, and the
note will conclude with a discussion of chain disadvantages.

ADVANTAGES
1. Relatively inexpensive.
2. Virtually any length chain can be obtained (splicing).
3. Large selection of chain and sprockets, especially for #80 and
smaller chain.
4. Positive drive provides synchronization of two shafts
(Synchronous belts such as Poly Chain® also possess this
characteristic).
5. Bearing loads are generally lower than for belts (no slack side
tension).
6. Chain drives are 95-99% efficient (Poly Chain is 98-99%
efficient).
7. Tends to be self-cleaning.
8. Simplicity of design and selection of components.
9. Versatile - large variety of attachments can be adapted (a situation
difficult to handle with synchronous belts).
10. Breakable - splice capability allows for varying length and
installation on drives where endless chain cannot be installed.

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11. Due to chain's symmetric design characteristics, serpentine drives
are possible (serpentine drives are also possible using twin tooth
synchronous belts).
12. Fixed center drives can be "accommodated" by removing links to
take up chain slack (although this is not a recommended practice).
13. Chain tends to be fairly forgiving when misapplied and users are
willing to live with poor performance.
14. Chain drives seem to give the appearance that they will do the job -
i.e., steel is tough.
15. Chain offers higher HP capacities on smaller diameters.

DISADVANTAGES
1. Lubrication is critical - unlubricated drives can wear 300 times
faster than lubricated drives (difficult to properly re-lube chain).
2. The lubrication attracts dirt which leads to wear problems.
3. Life is usually low since an estimated 90-95% of chain drives are
improperly lubricated.
4. Frequent maintenance is required due to wear and stretch.
5. Necessary lubrication is messy (may be a problem in
food/beverage industry).
6. Alignment is important as it affects life and stability.
7. Chain drives are noisy (proportional to speed) due to metal-to-
metal contact.
8. Linear speed is limited to 3000 ft./min. for roller chain.
9. Vertical drives may present problems since less slack can be
permitted than in a horizontal drive in order to insure proper
chain/sprocket engagement.
10. Vertical "shaft" drives are generally discouraged.
11. Equipment damage can result upon chain failure due to steel
construction.
12. Available only in full box length increments except in rare cases.

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 13. Smooth speed transfer is not possible due to chordal action.
14. Backlash is significant - chain does not perform well on
applications requiring precision positioning.
2.1.5 Tires
Unlike vehicles tyres use on normal road to cater for different road
conditions, go-kart has specific tyres for dry or wet track so that drivers
can have maximum performances and grips from the tyres. Slick and wet
tyres are two main types tyres used in karting.
A slick tyre does not have grooves on the tyre. Slick tyre as shown in
Figure 2.11 in the following page is used when the track is dry.
On the other hand, wet tyres which are grooved are used in order to have
more grips when the track is slippery. Hence, for track conditions that are
in wet conditions, wet tyre as shown in Figure 2.11 will be employed.

Figure 2.12: Typical go-kart Slick and wet tyres. (Sava, 2010)

2.2 Electrical Implementation

2.2.1 Motor
A brushless DC motor consists of a rotor in form of a permanent magnet
and stator in form of polyphase armature windings. It differs from
conventional dc motor in such that it doesn’t contains brushes and the
commutation is done using electrically, using an electronic drive to feed
the stator windings. Basically, a BLDC motor can be constructed in two
ways- by placing the rotor outside the core and the windings in the core
and another by placing the windings outside the core. In the former
arrangement, the rotor magnets act as an insulator and reduce the rate of

16
heat dissipation from the motor and operates at low current. It is typically
used in fans. In the latter arrangement, the motor dissipates more heat,
thus causing an increase in its torque.

Figure 2.13 – Schematic Diagram of a Brushless DC Motor

Advantages of Brushless DC Motors:

1. Better speed versus torque characteristics
2. High dynamic response
3. High efficiency
4. Long operating life due to a lack of electrical and friction losses
5. Noiseless operation
6. Higher speed ranges

The cost of the Brushless DC Motor has declined since its presentation,
because of progressions in materials and design. This decrease in cost,
coupled with the numerous focal points it has over the Brush DC Motor,
makes the Brushless DC Motor a popular component in numerous
distinctive applications. Applications that use the BLDC Motor include,
yet are not constrained to :
1. Consumer electronics
2. Transport
3. Heating and ventilation
4. Industrial engineering
5. Model engineering

17
2.2.2 Battery

Figure 2.14 – 48V 60Ah Rechargeable Li-ion Battery Pack

A rechargeable battery, storage battery, secondary cell, or accumulator is a

type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and
recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or primary battery,
which is supplied fully charged and discarded after use. It is composed of
one or more electrochemical cells. The term "accumulator" is used as it
accumulates and stores energy through a reversible electrochemical
reaction. Rechargeable batteries are produced in many different shapes
and sizes, ranging from button cells to megawatt systems connected to
stabilize an electrical distribution network. Several different combinations
of electrode materials and electrolytes are used, including lead–acid,
nickel–cadmium (NiCd), nickel–metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-
ion), and lithium-ion polymer (Li-ion polymer). Rechargeable batteries
typically initially cost more than disposable batteries, but have a much
lower total cost of ownership and environmental impact, as they can be
recharged inexpensively many times before they need replacing. Some
rechargeable battery types are available in the same sizes and voltages as
disposable types, and can be used interchangeably with them.

18
 Figure 2.15 – Types of Lithium Batteries

2.2.3 Speed Controller

Speed control of BLDC motor is essential for making the motor work at
desired rate. Speed of a brushless dc motor can be controlled by
controlling the input dc voltage. The higher the voltage, more is the speed.
When motor works in normal mode or runs below rated speed, input
voltage of armature is changed through PWM model. When motor is
operated above rated speed, the flux is weakened by means of advancing
the exiting current. The speed control can be closed loop or open loop
speed control. Open Loop Speed Control – It involves simply controlling
the dc voltage applied to motor terminals by chopping the dc voltage.
However, this results in some form of current limiting. Closed Loop Speed
control – It involves controlling the input supply voltage through the speed
feedback from the motor. Thus, the supply voltage is controlled depending
on the error signal. The closed loop speed control consists of three basic

19
components. A PWM circuit to generate the required PWM pulses. It can
be either a microcontroller or a timer IC. A sensing device to sense the
actual motor speed. It can be a hall effect sensor, an infrared sensor or an
optical encoder. A motor drive to control the motor operation. This
technique of changing the supply voltage based on the error signal can be
either through PID controlling technique or using fuzzy logic.

Figure 2.16 – Speed Controller (48V)

The motor operation is controlled using an optocoupler and MOSFET

arrangement, where input DC power is controlled through pwm technique
from microcontroller. As the motor rotates, the infrared led present at its
shaft gets illuminated with white light due to presence of white spot on its
shaft and reflects the infrared light. The photodiode receives this infrared
light and undergoes change in its resistance, thus causing a change in
supply voltage to the connected transistor and a pulse is given to the
microcontroller to generate the number of rotations per minute. This speed
is displayed on the LCD.The required speed is entered in the keypad
interfaced to the Microcontroller. The difference between the sensed speed
and the desired speed is the error signal and the microcontroller generate
the pwm signal as per the error signal, based on the fuzzy logic to give the
dc power input to the motor.Thus, using closed loop control, the speed of
the brushless dc motor can be controlled and it can be made to rotate at
any desired speed.

20
2.2.4 Battery Management System

A battery management system (BMS) is any electronic system that

manages a rechargeable battery (cell or battery pack), such as by
protecting the battery from operating outside its safe operating area,
monitoring its state, calculating secondary data, reporting that data,
controlling its environment, authenticating it and / or balancing it.

A battery pack built together with a battery management system with an

external communication data bus is a smart battery pack. A smart battery
pack must be charged by a smart battery charger.

Figure 2.17 – Circuit Diagram of Battery Management System

Functions of the Batter Management System are as follows:

Monitor

A BMS may monitor the state of the battery as represented by various

items, such as:

 Voltage: total voltage, voltages of individual cells, minimum and

maximum cell voltage or voltage of
 Temperature: average temperature, coolant intake temperature, coolant
output temperature, or temperatures of individual cells

21
 State of charge (SOC) or depth of discharge (DOD), to indicate the charge
level of the battery
 State of health (SOH), a variously-defined measurement of the remaining
capacity of the battery as % of the original capacity
 State of power (SOP), the amount of power available for a defined time
interval given the current power usage, temperature and other conditions
 State of Safety (SOS)
 Coolant flow: for air or fluid cooled batteries
 Current: current in or out of the battery

Electric Vehicle Systems: Energy Recovery

 The BMS will also control the recharging of the battery by redirecting the
recovered energy (i.e.- from regenerative braking) back into the battery
pack (typically composed of a few batteries, each composed of a few
cells).

Computation

Additionally, a BMS may calculate values based on the above items, such
as:

 Maximum charge current as a charge current limit (CCL)

 Maximum discharge current as a discharge current limit (DCL)
 Energy [kWh] delivered since last charge or charge cycle
 Internal impedance of a cell (to determine open circuit voltage)
 Charge [Ah] delivered or stored (sometimes this feature is called Coulomb
counter)
 Total energy delivered since first use
 Total operating time since first use
 Total number of cycles

Communication

22
 The central controller of a BMS communicates internally with its
hardware operating at a cell level, or externally with high level hardware
such as laptops or an HMI.

High level external communication are simple and use several methods:

 Different types of serial communications.

 CAN bus communications, commonly used in automotive environments.
 DC-BUS - Serial communication over power-line
 Different types of Wireless communications.

Low voltage centralized BMSs mostly do not have any internal

communications. They measure cell voltage by resistance divide.

Distributed or modular BMSs must use some low level internal cell-
controller (Modular architecture) or controller-controller (Distributed
architecture) communication. These types of communications are difficult,
especially for high voltage systems. The problem is voltage shift between
cells. The first cell ground signal may be hundreds of volts higher than the
other cell ground signal. Apart from software protocols, there are two
known ways of hardware communication for voltage shifting
systems, Optical-isolator and wireless communication. Another restriction
for internal communications is the maximum number of cells. For modular
architecture most hardware is limited to maximum 255 nodes. For high
voltage systems the seeking time of all cells is another restriction, limiting
minimum bus speeds and losing some hardware options. Cost of modular
systems is important, because it may be comparable to the cell
price. Combination of hardware and software restrictions results to be a
few options for internal communication:

 Isolated serial communications

 wireless serial communications

Protection

23
 A BMS may protect its battery by preventing it from operating outside
its safe operating area, such as:

 Over-current (may be different in charging and discharging modes)

 Over-voltage (during charging)
 Under-voltage (during discharging), especially important for lead–
acid and Li-ion cells
 Over-temperature
 Under-temperature
 Over-pressure (NiMH batteries)
 Ground fault or leakage current detection (system monitoring that the high
voltage battery is electrically disconnected from any conductive object
touchable to use like vehicle body)

The BMS may prevent operation outside the battery's safe operating area
by:

 Including an internal switch (such as a relay or solid state device) which is

opened if the battery is operated outside its safe operating area
 Requesting the devices to which the battery is connected to reduce or even
terminate using the battery.
 Actively controlling the environment, such as through heaters, fans, air
conditioning or liquid cooling

Battery connection to load circuit

A BMS may also feature a precharge system allowing a safe way to

connect the battery to different loads and eliminating the excessive inrush
currents to load capacitors.

The connection to loads is normally controlled through electromagnetic

relays called contactors. The precharge circuit can be either power
resistors connected in series with the loads until the capacitors are
charged. Alternatively, a switched mode power supply connected in

24
 parallel to loads can be used to charge the voltage of the load circuit up to
a level close enough to battery voltage in order to allow closing the
contactors between battery and load circuit. A BMS may have a circuit
that can check whether a relay is already closed before precharging (due to
welding for example) to prevent inrush currents to occur.

Optimization

In order to maximize the battery's capacity, and to prevent localized

under-charging or over-charging, the BMS may actively ensure that all the
cells that compose the battery are kept at the same voltage or State of
Charge, through balancing. The BMS can balance the cells by:

 Wasting energy from the most charged cells by connecting them to

a load (such as through passive regulators)
 Shuffling energy from the most charged cells to the least charged cells
(balancers)
 Reducing the charging current to a sufficiently low level that will not
damage fully charged cells, while less charged cells may continue to
charge (does not apply to Lithium chemistry cells)
 Modular charging

Figure 2.18 – Integrated Circuit for BMS

25
 CHAPTER – 3
RESULTS
3.1 Vehicle Stats
3.1.1 Material Details
Material used for Chassis : AISI 4130
Table 3.1 – Material Details
Property Value Units
Elastic Modulus 2.05e+11 N/m2
Poisson’s Ratio 0.29
Shear Modulus 8e+10 N/m2
Mass Density 7870 Kg/m3
Tensile Strength 420000000 N/m2
Yield Strength 350000000 N/m2
Thermal Expansion Coefficient 1.17e-05 /K
Thermal Conductivity 51.9 W/(m-K)
Specific Heat 486 J/(kg-K)
Table 3.1 – Material Details
3.1.2 Vehicle Specifications
Table 3.2 – Vehicle Specifications
Property Value Units
Vehicle Basic Specifications
Length 60 Inches
Width 43 Inches
Height 45 Inches
Tire Radius 5.5 Inches
Mass of the vehicle 160 kg
Transmission Specification
Gear Ratio 2.25
Coefficient of rolling friction 0.015
Efficiency of Transmission 85%

26
 Motor Specifications
Rated Torque of Motor 9.6 N-m
Rotational Velocity of Motor 3000±100 /s
Motor Diameter 170 mm
Motor length 235 mm
Shaft length 50 mm
Shaft Diameter 20 mm
No Load Current 6 A
Rated Current 67 A
Peak Current 100 A
Voltage 48 V
Rated Power 3000 W
Motor Weight 14 Kg
Braking Specifications
Radius of Master Cylinder 0.01 m
Radius of Brake caliper piston 25.4×10-3 m
No. of Caliper Piston 2
Coefficient of friction in brake pads 0.3
Effective Brake Disc radius 0.09 m
Battery Specifications
Battery Capacity 60 Ah
Nominal Voltage 48.1 V
Energy 2886 Wh
Maximum Charge Current 18 A
Constant Discharge Current 60 A
Battery Dimensions 290×290×200 mm
Single cell Voltage 3.7 V
Single cell capacity 2.4 Ah
Weight 16 Kg
Table 3.2 – Vehicle Specifications

27
3.2 Calculations
3.2.1 Speed Calculation
𝑧𝑔
Gear Ratio = = 2.25
𝑧𝑝

𝑇𝑦𝑟𝑒 𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 × 𝑅𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦

Speed of the vehicle, v =
168 ×𝐺𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜
5.5 × 3000
v = = 43.65 miles per hour
168 ×2.25
v = 43.65 × 1.609 = 70.24 km/hr
v ≈ 70 km/hr or 19.44 m/s

3.2.2 Transmission calculation

Rolling resistance = Weight × Coefficient of friction
1
&, Air resistance = k × A × v2 or × Cd × ρ × A × v2
2
1
∴ k = × Cd × ρ N-h2/m2-km2
2

With careful analysis and calculations, the value of k is

k = 0.031 Nm-1s2 (as assumed for average designed cars)

∴ R = Rolling resistance + Air resistance

= (1569.6 N × 0.015) + [0.031 × (0.508 × 1.1684) × (70)2]
= 23.949 N + 90.15 N = 114.109 N
The efficiency of transmission was assumed to be 85%, i.e.

𝜂𝑡 = 0.85
𝑅𝑣
Required Power at wheel, Pw =
3600
114.109 × 70
= = 2.219 kW
3600
𝑃𝑤
Required Power at engine, Pe = = 2.615 kW
𝜂𝑡

Now, Torque at wheel, when the motor is at peak torque,

𝜏𝑤 = Rated Torque of motor × Eff. of Transmission × Gear Ratio
𝜏𝑤 = 9.6 N-m × 0.85 × 2.25 = 18.36 N-m

28
 18.36
Now, Tractive effort at wheel = = 131.422 N
0.1397

3.2.3 Steering calculation

Length of the wheel base = 110cm
Length of the track width = 91cm
Turning Radius = 200cm
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒
Therefore, tan θ = 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ
𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 − 2

110 110
tan θ = 91 =
200 − 2 154.5

110
θ = tan-1 (154.5) = 35.449˚
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒
And, tan φ = 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ
𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 +
2

110 110
tan φ = 91 =
200 + 245.5
2
110
φ = tan-1 (245.5) = 24.135˚

𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒
Now, Ackermann’s angle = tan-1 ( 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒 )
tan φ
− 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ

110
= tan-1 ( 110 )
tan(24.135°)
− 91
110
= tan-1 ( 154.5) = 35.44˚
35.44˚
Therefore, Ackermann percentage = × 100 = 99.9746%
35.449˚

3.2.4 Braking calculation

 Gross weight of vehicle
w = Weight of the vehicle (with load conditions) in kg
m = 160 kg × 9.81 ms-2 = 1569.6 N

29
 Brake Line pressure
Pedal ratio is 4:1
Assume Normal force applied on the pedal is 350N
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠
P = , or
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟
𝑃𝑒𝑑𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 × 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑑𝑎𝑙
P =
𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟
4 ×350
P = 𝜋 2
= 17.8253 MPa
×(0.01)
4

 Clamping Force
Cf = brake line pressure × (No. of caliper piston × Area of piston)
𝜋
= 17.8253 × 2 × × (25.4 × 10-3)2 = 18064.48 N
4
 Rotating Force
Rf = Cf × No. of caliper piston × coeff. of friction of brake pads
= 18064.48 N × 2 × 0.3 = 10838.688 N
 Braking Torque
𝜏 = Rotating force × effective disc radius
= 10838.688 N × 0.09 m = 975.48 N-m
 Braking Force
𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑞𝑢𝑒
Fb = × 0.8
𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠
975.48
= × 0.8 = 6982.6677 × 0.8 = 5586.084 N
0.1397
 Deceleration
Fb = − (weight of the vehicle × acceleration of the vehicle)
− 𝐹𝑏 − (5586.084)
a = = = −34.913 ms-2
𝑚 160
 Stopping Distance
Initial Velocity of the vehicle = 19.44 ms-1
Final Velocity of the vehicle = 0 ms-1
Using the equation : v2 – u2 = 2 × a × ds

30
 We get, ds = 5.412 m

3.2.5 Battery Selection Calculation

 Charging Time
Battery Capacity = 60 Ah
Charging current should be ideally 10% of the Battery Capacity
rating
10
Charging current for 60 Ah battery = 60 × = 6A
100
𝐵𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝐴ℎ
Charging Time of Battery = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡

𝐴ℎ 60
= = = 10 hours
𝐴 6
In practical case, 40% of loss occurs,
40
Therefore, Battery Capacity used in losses = 60 × = 24 Ah
100
Hence, Total Battery Capacity = 60 + 24 = 84 Ah
𝐴ℎ 84
Charging time of battery = = = 14 hours
𝐴 6
 Discharge time
𝐵𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡
Discharge Time of Battery = Battery Capacity ×
𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡
48.1
= 60 × = 2.88 hours
1000
40
Considering maximum loss at 40% = 2.88 × = 1.152 hours.
100
3.2.6 Motor Performance Parameter
Table 3.3 – Motor Test Parameters
Sr. Voltage (V) Current Speed Torque Power
No (A) (RPM) (Nm) (W)
1 50.5 4.5 2580 0.2 35.7
2 50 7.5 2574 0.9 197
3 49.5 15.8 2569 1.57 543
4 49 20.9 2562 2.63 750
5 48.5 26.7 2558 3.32 1078
6 48 35.8 2551 4.19 1435
7 47.5 43.8 2543 5.29 1750

31
 8 47 57.2 2539 6.77 2290
9 46.5 64.5 2533 7.86 2566
10 46 73.7 2530 8.53 2870
11 45.5 82 2524 9.6 3100

Table 3.3 – Motor Test Parameters

The Speed vs. Torque graph below shows the plots of the Current (Blue),
Speed (Red), Voltage (Green), Power (Purple) and Efficiency (Orange) of
the 48V Motor.

3.3 Designing Results

3.3.1 Vehicle Design
The Designing process of the Go-kart Chassis was conducted on DS
SolidWorks 2016 CAD Software. The Material of the Chassis is AISI 4130.

Figure 3.2 – Isometric View of the Chassis

32
 Figure 3.3 – Design Meshing

Object name Mesh

State Solved
Physics Preferences Mechanical
Relevance 100
Relevance center Fine
Element size Default
Nodes 555
Elements 500
Mesh matric None
Table 3.4 – Mesh information - Details

3.3.2 Member Specification

The member specifications, i.e., length, sectional area, volume, mass density,
mass and weight are given in the following Table 3.5.
Table 3.5 - Member Specifications
Document Name and
Formulation Properties
Reference
Beam-1(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(5)[4]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:94.1282mm
Beam –
Volume:1.1275e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.088509kg
Weight:0.867389N
Beam-2(Trim/Extend34) Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:384.496mm
Beam –
Volume:4.53139e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.355714kg
Weight:3.486N

33
 Beam-3(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(48)[5]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:1130.3mm
Beam –
Volume:0.00013522m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:1.06148kg
Weight:10.4025N
Beam-4(Trim/Extend16[1]) Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:238.93mm
Beam –
Volume:2.8453e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.223356kg
Weight:2.18889N
Beam-5(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(5)[1]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:428.286mm
Beam –
Volume:5.12117e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.402012kg
Weight:3.93972N
Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
Beam-6(Trim/Extend33[1]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:599.996mm
Beam –
Volume:6.83221e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.536329kg
Weight:5.25602N
Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
Beam-7(Round pipe
Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
PART2(48)[13])
Length:32.6135mm
Beam –
Volume:3.66055e-06m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.0287353kg
Weight:0.281606N
Beam-8(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(48)[9]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:348.787mm
Beam –
Volume:4.1726e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.327549kg
Weight:3.20998N

34
Beam-9(Trim/Extend16[2]) Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:267.151mm
Beam –
Volume:3.13177e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.245844kg
Weight:2.40927N
Beam-10(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(5)[5]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:428.284mm
Beam –
Volume:5.12132e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.402023kg
Weight:3.93983N
Beam-11(Trim/Extend40) Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:406.981mm
Beam –
Volume:4.85508e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.381124kg
Weight:3.73502N
Beam-12(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(48)[17]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:521.37mm
Beam –
Volume:6.23771e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.48966kg
Weight:4.79867N
Beam-13(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(5)[6]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:548.442mm
Beam –
Volume:6.56423e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.515292kg
Weight:5.04986N
Beam-14(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(48)[8]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:348.759mm
Beam –
Volume:4.17227e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.327523kg
Weight:3.20973N
Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
Beam-15(Trim/Extend18)
Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:263.061mm
Beam –
Volume:3.00122e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.235596kg
Weight:2.30884N

35
 Beam-16(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(5)[7]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:388.23mm
Beam –
Volume:4.6244e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.363015kg
Weight:3.55755N
Beam-17(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(48)[10]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:251.266mm
Beam –
Volume:2.94147e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.230906kg
Weight:2.26288N
Beam-18(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(48)[12]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:87.298mm
Beam –
Volume:1.02021e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.0800865kg
Weight:0.784848N
Beam-19(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(5)[10]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:359.271mm
Beam –
Volume:4.24916e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.333559kg
Weight:3.26888N
Beam-20(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(5)[8]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:601.563mm
Beam –
Volume:7.17644e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.56335kg
Weight:5.52083N
Beam-21(Trim/Extend38) Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:47.3599mm
Beam –
Volume:5.33562e-06m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.0418846kg
Weight:0.410469N
Beam-22(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(48)[15]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:87.3038mm
Beam –
Volume:1.02027e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.0800913kg
Weight:0.784895N

36
 Beam-23(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(48)[11]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:251.221mm
Beam –
Volume:2.94114e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.230879kg
Weight:2.26262N
Beam-24(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(21)[1]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:663.213mm
Beam –
Volume:7.93414e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.62283kg
Weight:6.10374N
Beam-25(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(5)[16]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:388.236mm
Beam –
Volume:4.62477e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.363044kg
Weight:3.55783N
Beam-26(Trim/Extend33[2]) Section Standard-
Section Area: 1.25509e-05m^2
Length:19.7712mm
Beam –
Volume:2.35634e-07m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.00184973kg
Weight:0.0181273N
Beam-27(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(5)[9]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:548.442mm
Beam –
Volume:6.56423e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.515292kg
Weight:5.04986N
Beam-28(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(48)[2]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:540.31mm
Beam –
Volume:6.29847e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.49443kg
Weight:4.84541N
Beam-29(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(5)[13]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:260.743mm
Beam –
Volume:3.10267e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.24356kg
Weight:2.38689N

37
 Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
Beam-30(Trim/Extend39)
Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:54.9788mm
Beam –
Volume:6.4135e-06m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.050346kg
Weight:0.493391N
Beam-31(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(5)[2]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:94.1282mm
Beam –
Volume:1.1275e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.088509kg
Weight:0.867389N
Section Standard-
Beam-32(Trim/Extend35) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:537.82mm
Beam –
Volume:6.1021e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.479015kg
Weight:4.69434N
Beam-33(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(48)[1]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:403.149mm
Beam –
Volume:4.81596e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.378053kg
Weight:3.70492N
Beam-34(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(48)[14]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:32.6205mm
Beam –
Volume:3.66127e-06m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.0287409kg
Weight:0.281661N
Beam-35(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(21)[2]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:663.36mm
Beam –
Volume:7.9359e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.622968kg
Weight:6.10509N
Beam-36(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(5)[3]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:251.827mm
Beam –
Volume:3.01265e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.236493kg
Weight:2.31764N

38
 Beam-37(Round pipe Section Standard-custom/round pipe/Part2
PART2(48)[16]) Section Area: 0.000119632m^2
Length:521.476mm
Beam –
Volume:6.23879e-05m^3
Uniform C/S
Mass Density:7850kg/m^3
Mass:0.489745kg
Weight:4.7995N
Table 3.5 : Member Specifications

3.4 Analysis Results

3.4.1 Front Impact Analysis

Fixture name Fixture Image Fixture Details

Entities: 5 Joint(s)
Type: Fixed Geometry

Fixed-1

Table 3.6 And 3.7 – Fixture Details and Load Details (Front Impact)

Load name Load Image Load Details

Entities: 1 plane(s), 2 Beam (s)
Reference: Right Plane
Type: Apply force
Values: ---, ---, 5000 N
Force-1 Moments: ---, ---, --- N.m

Table 3.8 - Reaction forces on the entire body (Front Impact)

Selection set Units Sum X Sum Y Sum Z Resultant
Entire Model N -10000 7.45058e-08 -3.24249e-05 10000

Table 3.9 - Reaction Moments on the entire body (Front Impact)

Selection set Units Sum X Sum Y Sum Z Resultant
Entire Model N.m 0.0617005 0.530568 -2.85297 2.90255

39
 Table 3.10 - Resultant Stress (Front Impact)
Name Type Min Max
Stress1 Upper bound axial and 0.000e+00 N/m^2 8.016e+08 N/m^2
bending Element: 24 Element: 173

Figure 3.4 – Static Stress (Front Impact)

Table 3.11 - Resultant Displacement (Front Impact)

Name Type Min Max
Displacement1 URES: Resultant 0.000e+00 mm 1.167e+01 mm
Displacement Node: 26 Node: 192

Figure 3.5 – Static Displacment (Front Impact)

3.4.2 Side Impact Analysis

Fixture name Fixture Image Fixture Details

40
 Fixture name Fixture Image Fixture Details
Entities: 4 Joint(s)
Type: Fixed Geometry

Fixed-1

Table 3.12 And 3.13 – Fixture Details and Load Details (Side Impact)

Load name Load Image Load Details

Entities: 1 plane(s), 1
Beam (s)
Reference: Front Plane
Type: Apply force
Force-1 Values: ---, ---, -2500 N
Moments: ---, ---, --- N-m

Table 3.14 - Reaction forces on the entire body (Side Impact)

Selection set Units Sum X Sum Y Sum Z Resultant
Entire Model N -4.76837e-07 3.72529e-09 2500 2500

Table 3.15 - Reaction Moments on the entire body (Side Impact)

Selection set Units Sum X Sum Y Sum Z Resultant
Entire Model N.m -0.591889 0.547346 0.027681 0.806651

Table 3.15 - Resultant Stress (Side Impact)

Name Type Min Max
Stress1 Upper bound axial and 0.000e+00 N/m^2 1.118e+08 N/m^2
bending Element: 303 Element: 460

41
Name Type Min Max

Figure 3.6 – Static Stress (Side Impact)

Table 3.17 – Resultant Displacement (Side Impact)

Name Type Min Max

Displacement1 URES: Resultant 0.000e+00 mm 9.866e-01 mm
Displacement Node: 212 Node: 444

Figure 3.7 – Static Displacment (Side Impact)

3.4.3 Rear Impact Analysis

Fixture name Fixture Image Fixture Details

Entities: 7 Joint(s)
Type: Fixed Geometry

Fixed-1

Table 3.18 – Fixture Details (Rear Impact)

42
 Table 3.19 – Load Details (Rear Impact)

Load name Load Image Load Details

Entities: 1 plane(s), 1
Beam (s)
Reference: Right Plane
Type: Apply force
Force-1 Values: ---, ---, -5000 N
Moments: ---, ---, --- N.m

Table 3.20 - Reaction forces on the entire body (Rear Impact)

Selection set Units Sum X Sum Y Sum Z Resultant
Entire Model N 5000 -5.96046e-08 0 5000

Table 3.21 - Reaction Moments on the entire body (Rear Impact)

Selection set Units Sum X Sum Y Sum Z Resultant
Entire Model N.m -0.00226346 -0.340323 -1.41813 1.45839

Table 3.22 - Resultant Stress (Rear Impact)

Name Type Min Max
Stress1 Upper bound axial and 0.000e+00 N/m^2 2.321e+08 N/m^2
bending Element: 147 Element: 32

Figure 3.8 – Static Stress (Rear Impact)

43
 Table 3.23 – Resultant Displacement (Rear Impact)

Name Type Min Max

Displacement1 URES: Resultant 0.000e+00 mm 2.206e+00 mm
Displacement Node: 153 Node: 66

Figure 3.9 – Static Displacment (Rear Impact)

3.5 Discussion
The above section concludes the calculations, design and analysis results
of the vehicle. This is only a theoretical calculations, the fabrication of the chassis
will begin after calculating the error found in the actual designing of the vehicle.

Further, the use of the material AISI 4130 over the material AISI 1018 for
the construction of chassis was considered because AISI 4130 has more strength
than AISI 1018.
By comparison, 1018 is a much more forgiving material to work with.
Though the chassis is much more likely to suffer failures on 4130 assemblies
caused by the combination of work-hardening and heat affected zone
embrittlement where normalization of the weldment is not completed after all the
fabrication is done including any drilling or tapping, we chose 4130 because we
can be sure of the welds that they are made uniform and strong, and with even
heat distribution, as proper guidance from faculty and various welding experts
will be taken, as it is our first priority.

44
 CHAPTER – 4
MERITS, DEMERITS AND APPLICATIONS
4.1 Merits
1. Better Acceleration:
An electrically powered cart has quicker acceleration. That’s because the
torque is higher in an electric motor than a gas-fuelled engine and
certainly miles faster than a pedal-powered vehicle. The result is a better
racing vehicle and more fun for kids driving this toy.
2. Environment Friendly
Electric motors are smoke and exhaust-free. This means they do not
pollute like gas-powered vehicle engines. It is better for the environment
and also healthier for people with allergies, respiratory problems, and
smoke/exhaust sensitivities. Further, because they do not pollute, electric-
powered vehicles can be run on indoor tracks making them a year-round
recreational toy. Emissions from fuel-powered engines are carcinogenic so
they pose an environmental and a human health risk as well.
3. Economy
Most electric engines — once charged — can run for at least twenty
minutes on the track before requiring recharging. Gas-powered vehicles
run on costly fuel. Recharging takes only half an hour. It is also possible to
switch batteries quickly and easily so you can continue to use the kart
while the other battery is charging. Comparatively maintenance costs are
quite low.
4. Safety
Electric powered engines run cool. This means there is a lot less danger of
heat burns or fires in this engine than in a gas-powered vehicle. Gas-
powered karts have been known to spark gas tanks or explode on impact
causing serious fires. In addition, no type of building ventilation is
required to run electric-powered vehicles indoors.
With electric-powered vehicles, there is no need to have fuel stored on the

45
 premises. This is a definite safety factor as exploding storage tanks can
cause loss of life and level a business establishment in mere minutes.
In electric-powered karts, all mechanical components are completely
covered. In fuel-powered vehicles (ATV or go-kart), the drivers can burn
their arms on the motor side. Scarves can get caught in the transmission
gears. Accidents or fires often occur during refueling because fumes can
come into contact with the very hot tank.
Because they are lighter, it is easier for a gas-powered kart to flip on the
track.
5. Easy to Control
In an electric go-kart for kids, the mechanism used to release and raise the
body, the transmission, batteries, motor, and controller are all easy to get
at. The electric-powered vehicle is thus easier to control.
6. Acceleration
Acceleration is usually better than conventional petrol engine karts and the
speed is sufficient for use on most kart circuits. Torque in electric motors
are usually greater than that of a petrol engine equivalent.
7. Low Maintenance
Electric go-karts are low maintenance, requiring only that the lead-
acid batteries of the karts to be plugged into an array of chargers after each
run. Since they are pollution-free and emit no smoke, the racetracks can be
indoors in controlled environments. Most fully charged electric karts
powered by lead-acid batteries can run a maximum of 30 minutes before
performance is affected. An alternative is lithium polymer or lithium
ion batteries, which last longer and offer higher performance.
8. Non-flammable
Electric go-karts do not have fuel tanks or other flammable materials
which can prove to be safer in case of an accident. However, batteries
(especially lithium polymer batteries) can still catch fire or explode if
severely damaged during such accident.

46
4.2 Demerits
1. Cost
The batteries that power electric go-karts are not as cheap as pedal go-
karts.
2. Inconvenience
Someone must be available to charge batteries. If batteries are switched
someone has to be available to make the switches. This is both a cost and
an inconvenience.
3. Ventilation
Since electric engines generate a lot of heat, proper ventilation is crucial.
Otherwise, the engine will burn out.

4. High Operating Maintenance

Despite having a lower maintenance, electric go-karts often have higher
operating and maintenance costs, as batteries and electric motors are
typically more expensive than that of conventional engine, especially
those powered by lithium batteries.

5. Battery Life
Electric go-karts powered by lead-acid batteries are low-powered and have
a very short battery life; these go-karts can only run a maximum of 20 or
30 minutes before performance is affected, thus making it unsuitable for
use in more serious racing. Because of this, a more expensive lithium
batteries are commonly used for professional electric kart racing.

4.3 Application
Besides traditional kart racing, many commercial enterprises offer karts for rent,
often called "recreational" or "concession" karts. The tracks can be indoor or
outdoor. Karts are rented by sessions (usually from 10 to 30 minutes). They use
sturdy chassis complete with dedicated bodywork, providing driver safety.

47
 CHAPTER – 5
CONCLUSION

The progress that the electric vehicle industry has seen in recent years is not only
extremely welcomed, but highly necessary in light of the increasing global greenhouse
gas levels. The benefits of electric vehicles far surpass the costs. The biggest obstacle to
the widespread adoption of electric-powered transportation is cost related, as gasoline and
the vehicles that run on it are readily available, convenient, and less costly. We hope that
this project will prove the above said facts and make a small change in the Automobile
and Racing Industry This is a small project, far from the comparison to ones made by
MNCs, but this little effort will add up for a good cause and influence other engineers
and yet to be engineers. We also hope that over the course of the next decade
technological advancements and policy changes will help ease the transition
from traditional fuel-powered vehicles. Additionally, the realization and success of this
industry relies heavily on the global population, and it is our hope that through mass
marketing and environmental education programs people will feel incentivized and
empowered to drive an electric-powered vehicle. Each person can make a difference, so
go electric and help make a difference!

48
 REFERENCES
 DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF COST EFFECTIVE ELECTRIC GO KART -
Prof. Ambeprasad Kushwaha & Prof. Avinash Chavan (Professor, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, University of Mumbai S.J.C.E.M., Vevoor, Palghar (E),
Palghar, Maharashtra 401404.) and Tapeshwar A. Das, Shubham S. Kenjale, Jay A.
Patel, Pradeep R. Prajapati(Students, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Mumbai S.J.C.E.M., Vevoor, Palghar (E), Palghar, Maharashtra
401404.) [IRJET e-ISSN: 2395-0056 Volume: 05 Issue: 04 | Apr-2018 www.irjet.net p-
ISSN: 2395-0072]
 Development of Electric Kart (2016-28-0149) - Published 02/01/2016 by Hemant
Pratap Singh, Pulkit Sagar, and Kartikey Singh (Gautam Buddha University)
CITATION: Singh, H., Sagar, P., and Singh, K., "Development of Electric Kart,"
SAE Technical Paper 2016-28-0149, 2016, doi:10.4271/2016-28-0149.
 DYNAMICS OF AN ELECTRIC KART by Nipun Jalhotra, Shivam Setia, Rahul
Sharma, Himanshu Singh (Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of
Engineering Studies, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, India.)
[IJREAS VOLUME 5, ISSUE 7 (July, 2015) (ISSN 2249-3905)]
 Braking System of Electric Go-Kart by Masood M (Professor and Director R&D,
Mechanical Department, Lords Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Hyderabad), Md Feroz Ahmed (Assistant Professor of Mechanical Department,
Lords Institute of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad), Mohd Sohail, Syed
Sajjad, Shadab Ahmed, Syed Faraaz (Students of Mechanical Department, Lords
Institute of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad) [Volume 5 Issue II, February
2017 IC Value: 45.98 ISSN: 2321-965]
 Tune to Win – Carrell Smith; AERO PUBLISHERS, INC., 329 We.t Aviation Road,
Fallbrook, CA 92028 (LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, CATALOG CARD NO.: 78-
73549, ISBN 0-87938-071-3)
 Race Car Vehicle Dynamics – William F. Milliken & Douglas L. Milliken (ISBN 1-
56091-526-9)
 Battery Management System - Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_management_system)

49
 Transmission System – Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_(mechanics))
 Advantages of Chain Sproket Transmission System - GatesFacts™ Technical
Information Library Gates Compass™ Power Transmission CD-ROM version 1.2
The Gates Rubber Company Denver, Colorado USA
(https://ww2.gates.com/IF/facts/documents/Gf000202.pdf)

50