VVCE Mysuru students convert 15-yr-old petrol powered car into EV
MYSURU: When the central government is pushing the scrap policy to bring down the air pollution due to the old vehicles, the students of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering, an autonomous engineering college of the city converted a 15 years old petrol powered car into EV by spending Rs. 96,658. Now they applied for the patent for their innovation. Their idea is old petrol cars can be converted into electric cars easily.
Engineering students of the college i.e. Bharath Y. Kashyap, Guruprasad K, RV Sheshank, Vishnu Appaiah KB, Punith R, PratheeK P, Chidananda A Kashyap and Dadabasha Saudagar under the guidance of their faculty from the mechanical engineering department Sudev LJ, Rakshith Gowda DS, and G B Krishnappa carried out this research. They took two months for the identification of the IC engine driven car which are older than 15 years and covert it into electric drive car. They bought a 15 year old car for Rs. 41,500 and modified into an eco-friendly electric car with an additional cost of Rs.96, 658 including electric motor, batteries, controller, accessories, and labor cost. They used Lead Acid (SLA) battery. The mileage after 6.6 hours charging is 40 kilometers. Cost saving for 40 kilometers is Rs.106. For petrol it requires the fuel of Rs.140 while fuel expenses of the modified car is Rs. 34.
According to Rakshith Gowda, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, the unit cost of the electricity is Rs 7.5 and the total units consumed in fully charging of the LEAD acid battery with 48V 100Ah capacity is 5.2. Hence the cost involved in travelling per kilometer is Rs 0.85 after modification of the petrol engine car into an electric car.
“We can improve the battery performance. Instead of scraping the old vehicle, we can easily convert them. The RTO rules should be amended for this purpose,” he said.
According to college principal B Sadashive Gowda, the research on the battery and use of solar energy to recharge the battery will continue. “We also want to create awareness among the public on the importance of shifting to the renewable energy sources,” he said.
Source : timesofindia
