Concept of a city commuter car powered with proton exchange membrane fuel cell operating on reformed methanol 2000-05-0332
A very small electric vehicle, powered with a proton exchange
membrane fuel cell operating on reformed methanol, is planned and
designed in this paper to solve social problems associated with air
pollution and heavy traffic conditions.
Next, the driving range is simulated by the experimental data of
the output and the performance. The conclusions of this paper are
as follows: (1) The power train employing the fuel cell and compact
brushless DC motor serves to realize high efficiency and reduce
weight for energy saving. Besides, the present vehicle is an
ultra-low-emission vehicle. (2) The compact body (2.5 m in length
and 1.5 m in width) reduces the space necessary for parking, while
ample interior space can accommodate a large volume air bag to
maintain safety. (3) The designed electric commuter car is expected
to meet 55 km/h barrier-crash safety standard of the Head Impact
Criterion (HIC) for occupant protection. (4) From the simulated
results of the driving performance on constant-speed modes and
10.15 mode on the basis of the experimental data of the performance
using the fuel cell test equipment, it is shown that the planned
and designed fuel- cell-powered electric vehicle has sufficient
practical utility in urban and thruways.