Power Management Strategy to Enhance Drive

Range of Electric Bicycle

Anilkumar G.S
M. Tech Power Systems
Eectrical and Electronics Engineering
College of engineering,Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala,India
Dr.Rajeev.T
Assosiate Professor
Eectrical and Electronics Engineering
College of engineering,Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala,India
Dr.Savier.J.S
Professor
Eectrical and Electronics Engineering
College of engineering,Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala,India

emission, global warming, and intensifying fuel cost and

scarcity of fossil fuels.
Abstract — In the area of transportation the Countries are
constantly looking forward to alternative energy management
strategies, to reduce the use of fossil fuels and to minimize
atmospheric pollution. Increasing number of conventional
vehicles leads to congested road traffic and increased fuel
consumption. An Electric vehicle, on the other hand provides an
efficient and eco-friendly transportation. The road congestion
can be minimized by the use of electric bicycles. Most of the
electric bicycles are powered by either lead acid batteries or Li-
ion batteries. Lead acid batteries have low cost but shorter life
time and require long charging durations. Li-ion batteries
exhibits better performance than lead acid batteries. They
required smaller charging time and have better life time when
compared with lead acid batteries. The main drawbacks of LI-
ion batteries are they have low power density, inability to deliver
rapid power discharge, requirement of long charging time,
frequent maintenance and replacement, and small life cycle.
Taking in to considerations of these factors the immediate
alternative is an ultra-capacitor. They have long life cycle, deep Fig.1 Electric bicycle drive system
discharge, instant charging and higher power density. The
emerging technologies in the development of ultra-capacitors
known as pseudo batteries like carbon nickel and carbon
nanotube supercapacitors exhibits very high pulse power and II. LITERATURE REVIEW
more energy density. So it becomes a better alternative in the
future. This paper proposes a hybrid system consists of Ultra
capacitor and battery, employed as a power source for electric The electric powered bicycles, electric bikes, hybrid
bicycle drive system with power management strategies for electric cars generally adopt regeneration due to braking and
enhancing the battery life and drive range of the bicycle. charges the inbuilt power storage device. A dc/dc buck/boost
converter is used for storing energy in ultra-capacitors by
Keywords— BLDC motor, Boost converter, Electric Bicycle, regenerative braking [2]. This method is suitable for electric
Supercapacitor, Power density. car and electric buses but not convenient for electric bicycles.
The batteries are also combined with the supercapacitors for
improving total performance with a coupled inductor based
I. INTRODUCTION soft switching bidirectional dc - dc converter. This control the
energy flow between the battery and the super capacitor
The fossil fuel availability is diminishing day by day and [3].The effective bi directional dc-dc converter using soft
its cost is also increasing. Also burning of hydro carbon fuels switching schemes involves complicated circuitry.
causes atmospheric pollution. Electric buses, electric cars,
A bicycle powered by battery and assisted by pedal is
electric bikes becomes alternatives of internal combustion
analysed for energy use in an urban track [4], but it focus on
engines. In electric vehicles the internal combustion engines
friction forces only and not considering the slope on roads.
are replaced by a battery and an electric motor. This eliminates
Hybridization of an electric scooter capable to increase the
greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions, which have adverse effect
power to maximum, compared to a conventional bike, by
on environment. An electric vehicle can store energy in the
approximately fifty percent with constant consumption of
form of electricity in its storage system during vehicle
fuel. It allows a pure electric mode gives a range of 10 to 20
braking. The bicycles requires less space than a conventional
km [5].It uses an internal combustion engine which produce
motor bike or an electric bike. Bicycle is a mode of
some atmospheric pollution. But it is not practical in a bicycle
transportation which ensure safety and less cost and ultimately
to improving its driving performance. A bicycle operated with
reduces the air pollution. They are compact in size and light in
an electric motor is suitable to reduce air pollution. Meanwhile
weight and gives a comfort riding. An electric bicycle drive
the motors with brush and commutator produce sparks and
system involves a brush less dc hub motor, acceleration
wearing of brushes. Thus it requiring maintenance very
controller and a power storage system as shown in figure 1.
frequently. Maintenance free BLDC motors are commonly
Transportation using electric vehicle eliminates green gas
used as the propulsion unit in electric bicycles. The design of

XXX-X-XXXX-XXXX-X/XX/$XX.00 ©20XX IEEE

a permanent magnet BLDC axial field motor drive for an
electrically driven bicycle is presented in [6]. Its controller
design involves transistors which are less efficient than Metal
oxide semiconductor field effect transistors.
A pedal assisted brush less generator and a brush less dc
motor fitted in the rear wheel of a bicycle constitutes a series
hybrid bicycle. In a series hybrid electric bicycle the cyclist
applies mechanical power to a generator that converts the
power in electric power. This power can be stored in the
battery pack or drive the motor [7]. In this case the battery
takes long duration for its charging. The generator must
require higher capacity than traction motor. Also there is some
strain while pedalling. To overcome this the command of the
cyclist is interpreted by an algorithm and provide a smooth
ride which gives natural feelings [8].However the long
charging time requirement of batteries is still become a
problem. The energy management of a series hybrid electric
bicycle were reported in [9].Here the heart beat rate of the
cyclist is considered for optimize the generator efficiency. But
it is not a constant parameter and then the controller tuning
will not be accurate.
On this basis an ultra-capacitor powered drive system can be
developed to meet requirements during starting and hill
climbing. The problem of limited running range of electric
bicycle can be solved by using a battery ultra-capacitor
combination. This paper proposes an efficient power
management scheme for an electric bicycle, incorporating an
ultra-capacitor /Li-ion battery driven hybrid system.
III. DRIVE SYSTEM FOR ELECTRIC BICYCLE
also maintained during hill climbing. This will diminish the
discharging of ultra-capacitor and also provide the sufficient
power to the drive. The combined power is fed to the motor
controller through a dc/dc boost regulator. A dc to ac
converter is used to drive the brushless dc motor. A switch
control circuit is provided for producing the required
switching sequence. When the drive is in steady state the
control circuit check the voltage level of the ultra-capacitor
and allowed it to discharge to the motor if UC voltage is
above minimum set value. Otherwise the battery is allowed
to charge the capacitors and drive the motor simultaneously.
A. Power storage system
The power storage system consists of Li-ion batteries and
Ultra-capacitors. Li-ion batteries have higher energy density
and low memory effect. It has long life cycle than lead acid
battery. Super capacitors have high capacitance in Farad
range, but voltage is less than ten volts. In series connection
there exists a problem of the voltage imbalance between the
cells due to the variation in the capacitance in the individual
cells, hence equalization circuits required. Supercapacitors
have a much better life than batteries. The capacitance can be
calculated as follows.
𝐴
𝐶𝑢𝑐 = 𝜖 𝑝 (1)
𝑑𝑝
Where
ϵ = dielectric permittivity.
𝐴𝑝 = plate area in m2
𝑑𝑝 = distance between plates.
The energy stored in UC
1
𝑈𝑐 = 𝐶𝑉 2 (2)
2

Fig.2 Block diagram representation of drive system

Fig.3. Equivalent circuit of a super capacitor
Block diagram representation of an ultra-capacitor powered
drive system (UCPDS) for electric bicycle is shown in figure The equivalent circuit of super capacitor is shown in figure 3.
2. The ac/dc converter block shown outside of the dashed box Where
is used for external charging of the ultra-capacitor (UC) and 𝑵𝒔 𝑸𝑻 𝒅 𝟐𝑵𝒆 𝑵𝒔 𝑹𝑻 𝑸𝑻
𝑽𝑻 = + 𝒂𝒓 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒉[ ] (3)
battery. External charging facility is provided when the 𝑵𝒑 𝑵𝒆 𝜺𝜺𝟎 𝑨𝒊 𝑭 𝑵𝒑 𝑵𝒆 𝟐 𝑨𝒊 √𝟖𝑹𝑻𝜺𝜺𝟎 𝑪
electric bicycle is at rest. The ac/dc converter is mainly a
controlled rectifier and is disconnected from the rest of the 𝒊 = 𝒊𝒔𝒄 (𝟏 − 𝒖(𝒕)) + 𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇𝒅𝒊𝒔 𝒖(𝒕) (4)
circuit when the ride is started. A dc/dc boost regulator is
inserted between the ultra- capacitor and external charger to The output voltage 𝑽𝒔𝒄 is given by stern equation.
avoid over loading of the charging circuit. The switch S 𝐍𝐬 𝐐𝐓 𝐝 𝟐𝐍𝐞 𝐍𝐬 𝐑𝐓 𝐐𝐓
connect or disconnect the external charging circuit from the 𝐕𝐬𝐜 = + 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐡−𝟏 [ ]𝑹𝒔𝒄. 𝒊𝒔𝒄 (5)
𝐍𝐩 𝐍𝐞 𝛆𝛆𝟎 𝐀 𝐢 𝐅 𝐍𝐩 𝐍𝐞 𝟐 𝐀 𝐢 √𝟖𝐑𝐓𝛆𝛆𝟎 𝐂
on board system. The ultra- capacitor have higher power Where 𝑄𝑇 = ∫ 𝑖𝑠𝑐 𝑑𝑡 : The electric charge of super
density and is capable to deliver large amount of power. At capacitor.
the same time battery is also connected in parallel with the
supercapacitor to meet the load torque demand at starting. When 𝑖𝑠𝑐 = 0: The electric charge is due to self-discharge.
The switches S1 and S2 are operated for connecting both So, 𝑄𝑇 = ∫ 𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓𝑑𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑡 (6)
ultra-capacitor and battery in parallel. The same conditions is

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The state of charge (SOC) of the supercapacitor is given by C. DC-DC Converter
equation (7). State of charge is expressed as a value between
0 and 100%.A fully charged supercapacitor have 100% SOC Figure.4 shows a schematic diagram of a boost converter.
and it is 0% for a fully discharged super capacitor. When the main switch turned on, inductor current rises to the
𝒕
maximum value and energy is stored in the inductor.
𝑸𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 −∫𝟎 𝒊(𝝉) 𝒅𝝉 When the switch is turned off, the polarity of the e mf induced
𝑺𝒐𝑪 = 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟎 (7)
𝑸𝑻 in the inductor reverses as it cannot the change the direction
of current instantaneously and hence the diode is forward
Another important parameter is the equivalent series biased.
resistance (ESR). ESR represents the internal resistance of
the super capacitor. It is very low compared to an ordinary
capacitor. Generally its value is between 0.001 ohm and
0.005 ohm. It is seen that ageing increase the ESR and
reduces the storage ability of supercapacitor. Design of ultra-
capacitor bank as follows.

𝟎.𝟓𝐂𝐕𝟎 𝟐
Ampere hour, Ah = (8)
𝟑𝟔𝟎𝟎𝐕𝐛
Where Fig.4. Schematic diagram of a boost converter
C = Capacitance in farads
𝑉0 = final value of capacitance voltage
𝑉𝑏 = Initial value of capacitance voltage When the switch is turned off, the polarity of the e mf induced
Energy density in the inductor reverses as it cannot the change the direction
𝟎.𝟓𝐂𝐕 𝟐 of current instantaneously and hence the freewheeling diode
𝑊ℎ /𝑘𝑔 = (9) is forward biased. As a result, the inductor discharges and the
𝟑𝟔𝟎𝟎
Cold cranking ampere (CCA) energy stored in it are transferred to the load and the inductor
current decays. Hence, this converter produces an output
𝐶(𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥−𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛) greater than the input voltage. The large time constant
CCA = (10)
𝑇+𝐶.𝐸𝑆𝑅 compared to switching period ensures a constant output
voltage.
𝐂.(𝐕𝒃 −𝐕𝟎 )
Discharge time, t = (11) IV. DESIGN AND ANALYSIS
𝑰
B. Brushless dc motor A.Selection of BLDCM
The selection of the motor is based on the drive power
BLDC motors (BLDCM) are the most efficient of all requirement. The complete power required to drive the
electric motors. This is due to the use of PMs for excitation, bicycle is the sum of the power to overcome the aerodynamic
which does not consume electricity. The absence of drag, the power required to overcome the frictional losses and
mechanical switches and brushes reduce losses due to the power to overcome slops. They are represented
mechanical friction and therefore have greater efficiency. The 𝑎𝑠 𝑃𝑡, 𝑃𝑑, 𝑃𝑓, 𝑃𝑔 respectively.
BLDC motor can be controlled easily, since the control
variables are easily accessible and constant during motor
Total power required = 𝑃𝑑 + 𝑃𝑓 + 𝑃𝑔 (13)
operation. The high energy density magnets (rare earth
magnets) has made it more efficient. It has high torque, and Where 𝑃𝑑 = power to overcome air drag
light weight. The torque of the BLDC motor is mainly
𝑃𝑓 = power to overcome rolling friction
influenced by the back EMF. Ideally, BLDC motors have
trapezoidal stator back EMF waveform that interacts with 𝑃𝑔 = power to overcome grading.
rectangular stator currents, which provide a theoretically Neglecting 𝑃𝑑
constant torque. However, in practice, there is a torque ripple, 𝑃𝑓 = 9.81 ∗ 𝑀 ∗ 𝑅𝑐 ∗ 𝑉𝑔
mainly due to the imperfections of the EMF wave and the 𝑃𝑔 = 9.81 ∗ 𝑅𝑐 ∗ 𝑀 ∗ 𝑉𝑔 ∗ 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
ripple of switching. Where M = mass in kg
The modelling of a BLDC motor can be developed in the 𝑅𝑐= Rolling coefficient
same way as a three-phase synchronous machine. The voltage θ = slope
balance equation for a BLDCM is shown below. 𝑉𝑔 = speed in m/s

𝑉𝑎1 𝑖𝑎 𝐿1 𝑀1 𝑀1 𝑖𝑎 𝑒𝑎
B.Deign of ultracapacitor bank
[𝑉𝑏1]= 𝑅𝑠1 [𝑖𝑏 ]+[𝑀1 𝐿1 𝑀1 ] P [ 𝑖𝑏 ] +[ 𝑒𝑏 ] (12)
𝑒𝑐 Design of ultra-capacitor bank is based on equations (8), (9),
𝑉𝑐1 𝑖𝑐 𝑀1 𝑀1 𝐿1 𝑖𝑐
(10), (11) and selected 10 Nos of 500F, 2.7V. This ultra-
capacitor bank can deliver power output for 4.02 minutes.
Let 𝑅𝑠 be the stator phase winding resistance,𝐿𝑎𝑎 = 𝐿𝑏𝑏 =
𝐿𝑐𝑐 = 𝐿 , stands for the stator phase self-inductance, and
The ultra-capacitor bank is the main power source and a
𝐿𝑎𝑏 = 𝐿𝑎𝑐 = 𝐿𝑏𝑐 = 𝑀 stand for stator mutual inductance. rechargeable Li-ion battery is also provided on board.

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C.Design of DC/DC Converter
The parameters of the dc-dc boost converter can be obtained
using the following equations.
𝑉𝑖𝑛
𝐷𝑢𝑡𝑦 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝐷 = 1− 𝑉𝑜
(14)
𝑉0
𝑅𝑜 = 𝐼0
(15)

𝐷𝐼0
𝐶 = (16)
𝐹𝑠.∆𝑉0

𝐷𝑉𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝐿 = 𝐹𝑠.∆𝐼0
(17)

D.Selection of DC/AC Converter

A DC/AC converter for 24 V BLDCM with 21 V output and Fig.5. Schematic diagram of power sharing system
having current rating of 12A is selected for the drive.
V. POWER CONTROL MANAGEMENT
The power control scheme is shown in figure 5.When hill
climbing or starting is required the Hill switch is turned on.
Then both the battery and ultra- capacitor connected in
parallel and provide power. Both S1 and S2 switched on for
this purpose. During normal running the battery charge the
capacitor and at the same time supply power to the motor (S1
and S3 on and S2 off). These actions are decided by the
control circuit as per the state of charge limit for ultra-
capacitor set as previously. After charging the ultra-capacitor,
battery is disconnected and UC is connected to the motor
drive controller. When lower limit of capacitor voltage is
reached it is disconnected from the DC bus and again charged
from the battery. The control algorithm is described in
figure.6.
VI. SIMULATION

The ultra-capacitor powered drive system is simulated using

MATLAB Simulink. The simulation time was set to 20
seconds. The drive output is obtained from a BLDM. The
simulation parameters of brush less dc motor is shown in
table I. The permanent magnet BLDCM is supplied from a
three phase inverter. The gate terminals of the bridge is
energized by hall signals from position sensors of the motor.

The output of the motor is speed and torque. The speed output
wave form is shown in figure 7 and torque output wave form
is shown in figure 8. The ripples in the torque is produced due
to electronic commutation. It is due to the inductance of the
motor which distorts the motor input current. Hence the Fig.6.Flow chart of power sharing system.
commutation ripples exist in the output torque.

The output of dc-dc boost regulator is shown in figure 9. The

control signals are shown in figure 10. This control the power
management in the drive system. Initially the ultra-capacitor
is connected to the DC bus. When Hill switch is operated,
gate pulse of battery connect switch tends to high (logic 1),
and it is turned on. The battery is connected to the DC bus
and power is delivered from both battery and ultra-capacitor.
Whenever the Hill switch is logic 1 the battery and UC
connected to the DC bus, provided that the Ultra capacitor
voltage must be greater than or equal to its lower limit SOC. Fig.7. Speed output of BLDCM

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TABLE I. BLDCM PARAMETERS

Hub motor
Type
250 Watts
Out Put power
21V 3ph
Terminal Voltage
300 rpm
Speed
Y- connected
Stator winding
0.7 ohm
Stator resistance Line-Line
2.1 milli Henry
Stator inductance Line - Line
Fig.10. Control signals for power management circuit
0.0875
Flux linkage
0.00022kg.m2 If the capacitor voltage is equal or less than lower voltage
Inertia constant limit of UC, the ultra-capacitor disconnected from the DC bus
0001 N m s and battery is connected. Same time the battery charges the
Damping coefficient
4
UC through a boost converter. The switching sequence is
Pole pairs shown in table II.

Three ideal switch blocks are used for this operation with
very high snubber resistance and infinite snubber
In order to avoid sudden short circuit among both power capacitance. The ultra-capacitor characteristics during this
sources the ultra- capacitor is connected to a dc-dc converter operation is shown in figure 11.
and its output is connected to the DC bus. The hill switch is
actually a push to on switch which can be operated during
starting and up grading a slope where large power is required.
Another operation involves charging and discharging of
TABLE II. SWITCHING SEQUENCE FOR POWER MANAGEMMENT
ultra-capacitor. A lower limit and upper limit is sets as state
of charge. Status S1 S2 S3
𝑉𝑢𝑐 < = 𝑉𝐿𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 on off on
𝑉𝑢𝑐 >= 𝑉𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 off on off
Grading and starting on on off

Fig.8. Output Torque of BLDCM

Fig.11. UC characteristics during drive operation

Fig.9. Output of boost converter

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 VII. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Fig.12. Hardware set up for UCPDS
The experiment is conducted with a 250 Watts rear wheel hub
brush less dc motor, is selected as per equation (13). An ultra-
capacitor bank consists of 10 numbers 500F, 2.7V super
capacitors. These are connected in series and to avoid over
charging, Zener diodes of 2.4 V is connected across each
capacitor. An inverter controller unit is used to drive the
BLDCM. The series connected UC bank and 24 V Li-ion
battery bank is main power sources to the inverter. The
hardware implementation is shown in figure 12.The UC bank
is connected to the inverter through a dc-dc converter which
maintain a constant 24 V output. The charge discharge cycle
of the UC bank is shown in figure 13.The torque is calculated
using the following equation.
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑥 9.55
T=
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑
battery life considerably increased and enhanced the drive
range of the bicycle. The proposed power management
strategy enables the designed bicycle drive system to achieve
18 % increase in drive range and also increase in life span of
the battery.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Author’s sincere thanks to the Department, Electrical
and Electronics engineering, College of engineering
Thiruvananthapuram for the Technical and financial support.
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Fig.13. Ultra-capacitor Charge discharge cycle
VIII. CONCLUSION
In battery operated electric bicycles on board charging is not
effective as in the case of a hybrid electric vehicle that usually
have an internal combustion engine. However the
introduction of ultra-capacitors in battery powered electric
bicycle improves its battery life and performance.
Here a novel switching strategy is introduced for power
management in electric bicycle power source contains both
battery and ultra-capacitor. An externally charged LI-ion
battery is used as reserve power source, which is capable to
recharge the ultra-capacitor. This switching strategy for
power management performs parallel operation of battery
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also provide charging of the ultra-capacitor. The power stored
in ultra-capacitor is mainly used to drive the motor. Thus
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