MEE 97 : Electric Vehicles Prof.

Omrane Bouketir REnewable ENERGy

Chapter 2

Electric Vehicles Dynamics

Objectives :

To introduce key parts the electric vehicles (EVs)

To describe the EV movement and its dynamic equations

To discuss tire ground adhesion and maximum tractive effort

Introduction

 Vehicle design is based on fundamental physics principles, mainly Newton’s Second Law
of Motion.
 According to this law, acceleration is directly proportional to the net force applied to an
object.
 A vehicle accelerates only when the total (net) force acting on it is not zero.
 Multiple forces act on a vehicle; the resultant of these forces determines its motion.
 The propulsion system provides the driving force that moves the vehicle forward.
 This propulsion force must overcome opposing forces such as:
o Gravitational resistance (e.g., when climbing slopes)
o Air resistance (aerodynamic drag)
o Tire rolling resistance
 The vehicle’s acceleration depends on several key factors:
o The power output of the propulsion system
o Road surface and conditions
o The aerodynamic design of the vehicle
o The total mass of the vehicle and its load
Parts of electric vehicles
The following figure shows the key components of an electric car.
It highlights the electric motor, transmission, and motor drive as main propulsion parts.
The traction battery pack, on-board charger, battery converter, and charger port handle
energy storage and charging. An auxiliary battery supports additional electrical systems in the
vehicle.
MEE 97 : Electric Vehicles Prof. Omrane Bouketir REnewable ENERGy

Figure 1: Key Parts of an EV (https://ocw.tudelft.nl)

Description of EV movement
 The motion of a vehicle is determined by analyzing all forces acting along its direction of
travel.
 When a vehicle moves up an incline, several forces influence its motion.
 The tractive force (Ft), generated at the tire-road contact, propels the vehicle forward.
MEE 97 : Electric Vehicles Prof. Omrane Bouketir REnewable ENERGy
 This tractive force comes from the power source and is transmitted through the
transmission and final drive to the wheels.
 As the vehicle moves, it faces resistive forces that oppose its motion.
 The main resistive forces include:
o Rolling resistance (from tire-road friction)
o Aerodynamic drag (from air resistance)
o Uphill resistance (from gravity on slopes)

Figure 2: Forces acting on a vehicle going uphill

Applying Newton's second law of motion, the acceleration of the EV is given by:

Rolling resistance
 Rolling resistance occurs when tires move on hard surfaces due to hysteresis (energy loss)
in the tire material.
 When a tire is stationary, a vertical load (P) acts at its center.
MEE 97 : Electric Vehicles Prof. Omrane Bouketir REnewable ENERGy
 The pressure distribution in the tire’s contact patch with the ground is symmetrical
around the center line.
 As a result, the reaction force (Pz) from the ground is aligned with the applied load (P).

Figure 3: Pressure distribution in contact area, and Force vs Deformation

 Hysteresis causes a difference between loading and unloading forces in the tire.
 For the same tire deformation (z), the applied force (P) during loading is greater than
during unloading.
 This hysteresis effect leads to an uneven (asymmetric) distribution of the ground
reaction forces under the tire.
 When a tire is rolling, the front (leading) half of the contact patch is loading, while the
rear (trailing) half is unloading.
 As a result, pressure is higher on the leading side than on the trailing side (Figur 4a).
 This uneven pressure causes the ground reaction force to shift forward, creating a
moment that resists wheel rotation (rolling resistance).
 On soft surfaces (Figure 4b), rolling resistance mainly comes from ground deformation,
with the reaction force concentrated toward the leading half of the contact area.

a b
Figure 4: Force acting on a tyre vs. deformation in loading and unloading on a hard (a) and
on soft (b) surface
MEE 97 : Electric Vehicles Prof. Omrane Bouketir REnewable ENERGy
 The rolling resistance moment is the moment produced by forward shift of the resultant
ground reaction force (Figure 4a):

 To maintain continuous wheel rotation, a driving force (Fr) must act at the center of the
wheel.
 This force counteracts the rolling resistance moment, allowing the wheel to keep rolling
smoothly. This force is expressed as:

 The rolling resistance moment can be represented as an equivalent horizontal force

acting at the wheel’s center.
 This force acts in the opposite direction to the wheel’s motion.
 The equivalent horizontal force is known as the rolling resistance force.
 Its magnitude can be calculated using

For a vehicle moving uphill:

fr the rolling resistance coefficient, is a function of:

 tire material
MEE 97 : Electric Vehicles Prof. Omrane Bouketir REnewable ENERGy
 tire structure
 tire temperature
 tire inflation pressure
 tread geometry
 road roughness
 road material
 presence of absence of liquids on the road
The typical values of the rolling resistance coefficient (fr) are given in Table 1:
Table 1: Typical values of fr
Conditions Rolling resistance coefficient (fr)
Car tire on smooth tarmac road .01
Car tire on concrete road .011
Car tire on a rolled gravel road .02
Tar macadam road .025
Unpaved road .05
Bad earth tracks .16
Loose sand .15-0.3
Truck tire on concrete or asphalt road .006-0.01
Wheel on iron rail .001-0.002

fr varies with speed. Based on experimental results, many empirical formulas have been proposed
for calculating the rolling resistance on a hard surface.
The rolling resistance coefficient of a passenger car on a concrete road is:

It is good enough to consider the rolling resistance coefficient as a linear function of speed. The
following equation can be used for a passenger car on a concrete road:

This equation can predict the values of fr with acceptable accuracy for speed up to 128km/h.
MEE 97 : Electric Vehicles Prof. Omrane Bouketir REnewable ENERGy
Aerodynamic drag

 When a vehicle moves through air, it experiences a resisting force called aerodynamic
drag.
 Aerodynamic drag acts opposite to the vehicle’s motion, reducing its speed and
efficiency.
 The main factors causing aerodynamic drag are:
o Air friction against the vehicle’s surface
o Pressure differences around the vehicle body
o Turbulence and vortex formation behind the vehicle

 Shape drag arises from the vehicle’s body design and how it interacts with air.
 As the vehicle moves forward, air in front is compressed, creating a high-pressure zone at
the front.
 Behind the vehicle, air cannot immediately fill the void, leading to a low-pressure zone.
 These pressure differences generate opposing forces — the front pressure pushes back,
and the rear low pressure pulls backward, both resisting motion.
 Near the vehicle’s surface, air moves at nearly the same speed as the vehicle, while air
farther away remains still.
 The velocity difference between these layers causes friction, known as the skin effect,
which forms the second component of aerodynamic drag.
 The total aerodynamic drag can be quantified using :

The aerodynamic drag coefficients and the frontal area for different vehicle types are given
in Table 2.
MEE 97 : Electric Vehicles Prof. Omrane Bouketir REnewable ENERGy
Table 2: Aerodynamic drag coefficients and the frontal area for different vehicle types
Vehicle CD Af
Motorcycle with rider 0.5-0.7 .7-0.9
Open convertible 0.5-0.7 1.7-2.0
Limousine 0.22 0.4 1.7-2.3
Coach 0.4-0.8 6-10
Truck without trailer 0.45-0.8 6.0-10.0
Truck with trailer 0.55-1.0 6.0-10.0
Articulated vehicle 0.5-0.9 6.0-10.0

Grading resistance
 When a vehicle travels up or down a slope, its weight creates a force component directed
downward.
 On an uphill slope, this downward force acts against the vehicle’s forward motion,
making it harder to climb.
 On a downhill slope, the same force component acts in the direction of motion, helping
the vehicle move forward.
 This force is known as the grade resistance (uphill) or grade assistance (downhill),
depending on the slope direction.
 The grading resistance is given by:

The road angle , is usually replaced by the grade value i, when the road angle is small:

 Sometimes, the tire rolling resistance and the grading resistance taken together and is called
road resistance. The road resistance is expressed as:
MEE 97 : Electric Vehicles Prof. Omrane Bouketir REnewable ENERGy

Figure 5: Vehicle going up a gradient

Acceleration resistance
 Besides the steady-state driving resistances, inertial forces arise during acceleration and
braking.
 These forces are linked to the mass and motion of the vehicle.
 The total vehicle mass and the rotational inertia of the drive’s moving components both
affect resistance to acceleration.
 Greater mass or rotational inertia results in higher resistance, making acceleration or
deceleration more difficult.

 The rotational component of acceleration resistance depends on the gear ratio.

 The moments of inertia of all rotating parts — such as the engine, clutch, gearbox, drive
shaft, and wheels — are converted (reduced) to the driving axle for analysis.
 The overall acceleration resistance is then expressed mathematically using:
MEE 97 : Electric Vehicles Prof. Omrane Bouketir REnewable ENERGy
Total driving resistance
 The traction force (Ft) at the driving wheels represents the total force needed to move the
vehicle.
 It is composed of all the driving resistance forces acting against motion.
 In simple terms, Ft equals the sum of resistances such as rolling resistance, aerodynamic
drag, grade resistance, and acceleration resistance.
 The mathematical expression for this combined traction force is provided in the following
equation:

The required power delivered by the EV motor (P req)

Dynamic equation
 Along the longitudinal (forward–backward) direction, several external forces act on a
two-axle vehicle.
 The main forces include:
o the rolling resistance of the front and rear tires (Frf and Frr), which are represented by
rolling resistance moment, Trf and Trr
o the aerodynamic drag (Fw)
o grade climbing resistance (Fg)
o acceleration resistance (Fa)
 The dynamic equation of vehicle motion is given by:

 The first term on the right-hand side of the equation represents the total tractive effort.
 The second term corresponds to the total tractive resistance opposing motion.
 To find the maximum tractive effort that the tire–ground contact can sustain, it is
necessary to know the normal (vertical) loads on both the front and rear axles.
 By taking moments of all forces about point R (the center of the tire–ground contact
area), the normal load on the front axle (Wf) can be calculated:

the normal load acting on the rear axle can be expressed as:
MEE 97 : Electric Vehicles Prof. Omrane Bouketir REnewable ENERGy

 For passenger cars, the aerodynamic resistance acts at a certain height above the ground.
 The height of this force’s application (hw) is generally assumed to be close to the
vehicle’s center of gravity height (hg).
 This assumption simplifies vehicle dynamics calculations related to stability and traction.
 Hence, hw ≈ hg for most standard passenger vehicles. The previous equations could be
simplified to:

Using the above-stated equations:

 In this two equations, the first terms on the right-hand side represent the static load on the
front and rear axles when the vehicle is stationary on level ground.
 The second terms correspond to the dynamic components of the normal load, which
changes during motion.
 The maximum tractive effort (Ftmax) that the tire–ground contact can provide is the
product of the normal load and the coefficient of road adhesion (m).
 Table 3 lists the adhesion coefficients for various vehicle speeds and road conditions.
 For a front-wheel drive vehicle, Ftmax is determined using:

For the rear wheel drive vehicle, Ftmax is given by:

 MEE 97 : Electric Vehicles Prof. Omrane Bouketir REnewable ENERGy

Table 3: Coefficient of road adhesion

Road speed [km/h] Coefficient of road adhesion for dry roads Coefficient of road adhesion for wet roads
50 0.85 0.65
90 0.8 0.6
130 0.75 0.55

Adhesion, Dynamic wheel radius and slip

 When a vehicle’s tractive effort exceeds the maximum limit allowed by the tire–ground
adhesion, the driven wheels begin to spin.
 The adhesive capability between the tire and the ground is a key factor limiting vehicle
performance, particularly on wet, icy, snowy, or soft surfaces.
 The maximum tractive effort transmitted from the power plant through the transmission
must not exceed the limits defined by the last two equations.
 If this limit is surpassed, wheel spin occurs, resulting in loss of traction and vehicle
instability.
 The slip between the tires and the road surface is used to describe the amount of wheel
spin or traction loss. The slip between the tyres and the surface can be described as:

 The dynamic wheel radius (rdyn) represents the effective radius of a tire when rolling
without slipping.
 It is determined from the distance traveled per wheel revolution.
 The rdyn value is typically calculated based on the distance covered at a speed of 60km/h.
 As speed increases, tire slip also increases, which balances out the slight rise in rdyn.

References:
https://ocw.tudelft.nl/courses/electric-cars-introduction/?view=lectures
NPTEL – Electrical Engineering – Introduction to Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
M. Ehsani, Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric and Fuel Cell Vehicles: Fundamentals, Theory and Design, CRC
Press, 2005.