Chevrolet Volt Drive Simulation

let's take a look at how the Volt's revolutionary electric drive system works we'll start with the vehicle and at the heart of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is the battery the vehicle is built around a large and very capable traction battery we use DC cables to transfer the power from the battery to the power inverter the power inverter then converts this DC energy from the battery to AC through the AC cables and sends that power right into the drive unit next the drive unit drives the vehicle through the half shafts and out to the wheels the engine which is coupled to the front end of the drive unit holds nine point three gallons of 93 octane fuel in the fuel tank for extended range driving now let's fly into the drive unit and take a look at what's inside you see the large traction motor on the left the generator is to the right of that and the gear reduction is shown down to the half shafts the engine is to the right in the background inside the electric motor is a planetary gearset there are also three hydraulically actuated clutches two inside the traction motor and one inside the generator the speed of the motor generator and the engine of the Volt is shown at the right of the screen listed as mg and E with the vehicle speed shown above the first thing we're going to do is apply the clutch that holds the ring gear still what this does is it allows the traction motor to have a 7 to 1 gear reduction so as we start driving up to a speed of 30 miles per hours an example of low-speed driving the traction motor is providing all the power to the wheels through the 7 to 1 gear reduction as we accelerate further we'll go up to 70 miles per hour as an example of high speed driving we're pulling all the energy from the battery in order to drive the vehicle at this 70 mile per hour speed you can see the motor speed climb to the 71-year gear reduction the motor speed is running about 6,500 rpm and while that provides great dynamics for an electric vehicle the promise of the Chevrolet Volt is an electric vehicle that can go further and do so as efficiently as possible and to meet that challenge we've patented the idea of a 2 motor easy drive here's how it works so what's going to happen in the two motor Evy Drive is we connect the generator to the ring gear through that clutch and then release the clutch that held the ring gear still now the generator can actually operate as a motor turning the ring gear it's going to come up in speed and the motor speed is going to come down to about thirty to fifty rpm the generator is at about 1500 rpm here the motor and the generator operate together more efficiently than the motor alone and have the ability to drive the vehicle at speeds up to 100 miles per hour when the battery charge is depleted then the volts 100% electric operation is over until the car can be plugged in again to recharge it the Volt can continue driving an extended range operation using fuel in its tank and the engine as its source of energy at low speed the Volt uses a combination of one motor electric operation and series operation here we're going to hold the ring gear with a clutch and the vehicle launches into electric mode Dan the generator is hooked up with the engine the engine kicks on and operates with one motor driving the vehicle the key thing happening in this configuration is the engine is only connected with a generator a process that is great at lower speeds during stop-and-go city driving with the engine turning on and off for driving and accelerating on the highway the system pulls power from the battery so for example when accelerating up to 70 miles per hour the engine and generator will come up in speed in order to maintain the average power of the vehicle and with just a little pull from the battery during these driving events the experience feels very electrified even when driving an extended-range mode to get the most efficiency at highway speeds we're going to go from this series configuration to a combined two motor driving mode the first thing that happens is the clutch to the engine is released the generator is hooked up to the rain gear and the ring is released you will notice speeds dropping on the motor while going up on the generator once the generator and engine synchronize they can be connected and we've achieved a combined two motor driving operation this entire process is done without the driver really knowing any of it happens while offering 10 to 15% improvements in efficiency on the highway the motor operates on power from the generator and the engine turns both the generator and the ring gear the speed of the engine is still independent of the speed of the wheels though so it can be adjusted automatically to the optimum speed for the most efficient operation for driving up a small grade like a freeway overpass or Hill the generator and engine speed will increase while the motor speed will decrease in this case the battery will provide some of the added power is needed well you can continue to drive the Volt smoothly on the road with 4 modes of operation volts electric drive is truly an innovative system that delivers electric performance and outstanding efficiency

Channel: The Quintek Group

Views: 291,270

Keywords: quintek, the quintek group, animation, michigan art studio, volt, autoshow, 3D, motion graphics, after effects, maya, automotive

Id: AX5ZwzNwTc4

Length: 5min 59sec (359 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 13 2011

Reddit Comments

[u/CWarder]

DC cables? Pretty sure theyre just cables

[u/bbqroast]

Have to wonder what they'd have if they took out the engine, generator, fuel tank and spent the money on more batteries...

[u/civil_liberty]

A different approach. Outdated now but still interesting https://youtu.be/-lYDYTE0T1k

[u/HAHA_goats]

That's neat as hell. Too bad it'll be impossible to repair and maintain beyond warranty.