Advance Development of PHEVs by Electromagnetic Brakes 2

This research paper outlines the advances in the application of electromagnetic brakes in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) to increase their efficiency. It discusses the mechanism of electromagnetic brakes, their advantages over conventional brakes, and how they convert energy lost during braking into usable electricity. The paper also highlights the limitations of battery-powered electric vehicles and the advantages of PHEVs. The research is based on qualitative analysis of data collected from secondary sources.

Advance Development Of PHEVs By Electromagnetic Brakes 1
ADVANCE DEVELOPMENT OF PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES BY
ELECTROMAGNETIC BRAKES
By Name
Course
Instructor
Institution
Location
Date

Advance Development Of PHEVs By Electromagnetic Brakes 2
ADVANCE DEVELOPMENT OF PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES (PHEVS)
BY ELECTROMAGNETIC BRAKES.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The ever developing technologies and constant emerging trends have seen the
emergence of PHEVs to be used all over the globe. The emergence of such plug-in electric
vehicles is among the efforts made in finding remedies in the ever rising costs of fuel. It is also
a major effort in reducing the harmful carbon emissions into the environment. Plug- in electric
vehicles generally has an electric motor and a battery for its operation. The adoption of plug-in
hybrid electric vehicles technology has largely been promoted because it has the ability of
influencing the utility industry in a time horizon of a period of less than twenty years. They also
have a gasoline tank as well as an internal combustion engine. The fuel cell vehicles are known
to use hydrogen as the major fuel in the production of the electricity. Such vehicles operate
almost exclusively on electricity until that moment that it almost runs out on battery. There have
been major developments and improvements as far as PHEVs are concerned in order to increase
its efficiency. Such improvements include the application of electromagnetic brakes in PHEVs.
An electromagnetic brake system operates by slowing or stopping motion of a vehicle through
an electromagnetic force in order to apply friction/ mechanical resistance.
Key Words: Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV), Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV),
Electromagnetic Brakes, Internal Combustion Engines (ICE).

Advance Development Of PHEVs By Electromagnetic Brakes 3
Introduction
Hybrid Electric Vehicles commonly known as HEV are energy efficient as opposed to
the conventional vehicles. This is due to the optimization of the operation of the engine as well
as the recovery of the kinetic energy during the process of the braking. These kind of vehicles
have options of the plug in that allows them to be operated on the mode of electricity only when
the range of the driving is between 30 to 60 km. The vehicles are taken for charging overnight
from the electric power grid where it is possible to have a generation of the energy from the
renewable sources including wind, nuclear and solar energy. The fuel cell vehicles are known to
use hydrogen as the major fuel in the production of the electricity. Where there is an established
connection to the power grid, the FCV can effectively provide source of electricity for
emergency use where they serve as the power buck up during the occurrence of the blackouts.
As a result of the production of hydrogen as well as its storage, the limitation in the technical
handling of the fuel at the current set up may not be available. These kinds of the vehicles are
likely to dominate the propulsion in the sector as time goes by.
The technology of the hybrid can be used almost in all kinds of the engines and fuels.
This implies that it is never a transition technology. The road map to this kind of the technology
is as illustrated in the figure below. Electromagnetic brakes uses electromagnetic force and it
does depend on friction to make the stop or slowing down. In the case of HEV as well as FCVs,
there is use of lots of electrical components including power electronics converters, electric
machines, sensors, ultra capacitors and finally the microcontrollers.
Other than the components that are used in the electrification, there are conventional
internal combustion systems of the engine, subsystems and finally the hydraulic systems. The
motor industry has witnessed several advances in the application of electromagnetic braking
that will guarantee unmatched instantaneous availability as well as full braking provided for the
vehicle. These advances also consider the vehicle speed. This research paper therefore outlines
these developments and ensures that they meet the required safety and environmental standards
as well efficiency and comfort to the user [2].
Research plan
In every engineering system, safety is usually regarded as one of the factors to be
considered on priority basis. Vehicles of all kinds whether electric or not will need to have
proper functioning systems of the brake to ensure that their motion are fully under the control
by the operator. This is a research work on the PHEVs electromagnetic brake system. The
research is to be carried out to determine the how effective electromagnetic brakes are and how
applicable they are to the PHEVs. The research plan will therefore assist us during the research
process as it will keep us focused on the PHEVs and the electromagnetic brake systems. The

Advance Development Of PHEVs By Electromagnetic Brakes 4
research will also detail on how the how the brake system will be useful in in improving
electricity regeneration.
Research hypothesis
The emergence of electromagnetic brakes in PHEVs is a development that is intended to be
used so as to make improvements on the braking system and ability. As opposed to the common
conventional brakes currently being used in most vehicles, they have a trend to cause drag and
wear. In such situations, when the vehicle is moving at a high speed, it is notable to provide the
required force for braking and this therefore results to braking problems. In order to avoid such
disadvantages and problems, there is need to adopt the electromagnetic braking system which
has proved to be simple and an efficient mechanism for braking [3].
Outline of research methods
This research work has mainly focused on carrying out a qualitative analysis on how there have
been several advances and developments in the in the electromagnetic braking system of plug-in
electric vehicles. The research also focuses on how the outlined developments have been of
importance in such vehicles.in order to achieve such qualitative analysis, there was need to
collect, analyze and carefully interpret data collected from several secondary sources. Such data
gives clear meaning and description of how the electromagnetic brake system operates in
PHEVs.
Figure 1: Proposed research methodology[1]
This research work is also established on some grounded theory. This type of
qualitative analysis involves an inductive type of research that is grounded on observation of

Advance Development Of PHEVs By Electromagnetic Brakes 5
data where it is developed. It also involves using several sources of data that include
quantitative data, observations and review of records [4]. An initial analysis for carrying
evaluation of the operational success of different technologies was carried out. The evaluation
was in regard to the energy cycle of the vehicle. Several commercial vehicles were considered
for the study in a bid to design an efficient braking system that would prove safe and applicable
to all.
An electromagnetic brake system makes use of magnetic force in order to engage the brake. The
power that is needed to brake the vehicle occurs through manual transmission. The system has a
disc that has a connection to a shaft as well as the electromagnet attached to the frame.
Application of electrical energy to the coil results to the development of a magnetic field. The
magnetic field is established across the framework due to the current that is flows through the
coil. This makes the framework become engrossed towards the coil. Due to the attraction, a
torque is developed which ultimately brings the motor vehicle to a rest or slows motion
according to the driver’s desire.
The use electromagnetic braking in PHEVs is useful since it does convert most of the
energy that is lost during braking into electricity that is usable which is further stored in
batteries. Given that PHEVs have an electric motor that helps in supplementing the power of the
engine; it is possible to use engines that are smaller in size. This will help in increasing the fuel
efficiency of the car. This does not compromise the car’s performance. A PHEV carries out
regenerative energy recovery that is grounded on attributes of the vehicle. The recovery process
results to improved performance, reliability and efficiency at minimal additional cost.
Most common PHEVs are built on the basis of speed. Many of these cars have witnessed up to a
speed of more than 200 miles per hour or even race cars that cover 440 yards in less than 8
seconds. With such great speeds, it is recommended to have proper braking systems for such
vehicles. The mechanism of electromagnetic brake system has proved efficient due to the time it
takes to stop a car that is moving at a certain speed. A much enhanced version of
electromagnetic brake system is able to perform an energy recovery technique which will the
make the vehicle slow down.
Literature review
The vehicles which are equipped with the conventional internal combustion engines
commonly known as ICE have been in use for more than 100 years. As the population of the
world is increasing, the demand for the vehicles to be used for personal use has dramatically
increased in the past few years. This trend has actually intensified with the catching up of the
developing countries including China and Mexico. As the use of the personal vehicles increase,
the rate of emission of the carbon particles into the atmosphere also increases.

Advance Development Of PHEVs By Electromagnetic Brakes 6
Figure 2: Roadmap to eco car[5]
The result is the greenhouse effect which almost translating to global warming at the same rate.
Tensions in parts of the world as a result of the energy crisis have been witnessed. The
organizations and government agencies have developed some of the strict measures which are
meant to regulate the use of the fossil fuel and consequently control the emission of the carbon
particles into the atmosphere. The adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles technology has
largely been promoted because it has the ability of influencing the utility industry in a time
horizon of a period of less than twenty years. As pointed out by authors Lei, Chow and Preetika,
these vehicles combine both electrical power and gasoline so that it can propel the vehicle. With
the increasing prices of oil, PHEVs have become the latest acquisitions. These vehicles help
reduce the chance of environmental pollution by a greater percentage [7].
Battery powered electric vehicles have been one of the proposed solutions in handling
the crisis of energy as well as the global warming. It is important to note that the problems
including short driving range, long term for charging which is also known as refueling, reduced
space for the passengers and cargo are some of the limitation of the battery powered Electric
Vehicles. The development of these vehicles was meant to effectively overcome the demerits of
the vehicles of the ICE as well as pure battery-powered electric vehicles with similar
problems. The vehicles of the HEV use the ICE on board to assist in the conversion of the
energy from the gasoline on board or even diesel to the mechanical energy system.

Advance Development Of PHEVs By Electromagnetic Brakes 7
Figure 3: HEV characteristics [3]
This mechanical energy is used in the driving of the electric motor in the case of the
series of HEV. Also they assist in driving the wheel together with the electric motor. Such on
board electric motors usually serve s the device in the efficiency optimization in the case of the
ICER. They can be used in the kinetic energy recovery during the processes of braking. This
implies that the ICE can be stopped when the entire system of the vehicle is at a stop. There
might be significant reduction in maintenance practices carried out on different parts of the
vehicle such as repairs of exhausts, replacement of brakes and changes of oil as a result of the
optimized ICE operation. Vehicle stability control (VSC) and antilock braking (ABs) in the
vehicle control has become more flexible and easier to control due to the onboard electric
motor. The electricity generation for use in the fuel cells vehicles from hydrogen is done by the
fuel cells. The generated electricity by the FCVs is stored in ultra-capacitors or battery pack
which is the energy storage devices or be used to drive the vehicle. The process does not
produce pollutants as the generation of electricity by the fuel cells is by chemical reactions
which do not involve burning of the fuels. Water is the byproduct which results from the
operation of fuel cell of hydrogen.
Despite of the numerous advantages of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) it has some
disadvantages which include concerns on warranty and reliability resulting from insufficient
electrician in the car shops; power converters, motors and systems for energy storage
introduction has become more costly; high voltage introduction in the system is a threat to
safety; and the high-frequency high -current switching also causes electromagnetic interference

Advance Development Of PHEVs By Electromagnetic Brakes 8
in the system of electric powertrain. The factors in FCV are storage, transportation and
production issues of hydrogen, the fuel cells are also expensive, and issues of the life cycle of
the fuel cells.
A common advantage of PHEVs is their ability to use electromagnetic braking systems.
In an article titled ‘an insight in the automotive electromagnetic braking systems’ Ershani and
Sharhk discuss the mechanism of electromagnetic brakes. They narrate how the developments
have occurred down the years from where they were initially experimented. Their study proves
that electromagnetic brakes develop a negative energy flow that is twice the power of any
combustion engine. The statement is proven by scholars Bhatta and Thomas in their research
work ‘automotive electromagnetic brake systems’. They also tend to prove that electromagnetic
brakes is close to three times stronger and more efficient that the normal friction brake systems.
While carrying research work on the regenerative brakes systems, Arthur and Walsh
pointed out how electromagnetic brake system can be enhanced through regenerative brakes.
This is because the kinetic energy is transformed to either a form that can be used directly or
that is stored until its need arises. This energy recovery mechanism will therefore stop or slow
the moving vehicle. The mechanism reduces wastage of the kinetic energy [8]. The overall
efficiency of the vehicle is improved and the life span of the braking system is also increased
since they do not wear out quickly.

Advance Development Of PHEVs By Electromagnetic Brakes 9
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