While urban planners and transport department are working on plans to reduce pollution generated by vehicles, IIT Kharagpur’s new Make in India’ green, electric vehicle DESHLA has hit the road which will give tough competition to the current three-wheeler autos and high-maintenance totos.
Who built this ‘Make in India’ green vehicle?
The electric vehicle has been designed and built from scratch by a 50-member strong student team led by Prof. Vikranth Racherla from IIT Kharagpur’s Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.
“Instead of retro-fitting an existing vehicle, we thought we would build one up from scratch, especially because the design is so important for an electric vehicle. Each design has been conceived, analysed, prototyped and the cycle repeated many times before the actual product came out,” said Prof. Racherla.
Considering the product development process of building an electric motorized vehicle from scratch and the number of interns who joined the project from other engineering colleges across India, Prof. Partha P Chakrabarti, of IIT Kharagpur hailed this project-based learning which he said is a new way of engineering education.
The project was funded by industrialist and distinguished alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, Dr Purnendu Chatterjee, Founder and Chairman of The Chatterjee Group (TCG).
@IITKgp launches DESHLA-motorized 3-wheeler built indigenously by Prof.Vikranth Racherla & 50 students of Institute’s Electric Vehicle Group #pollution #MakeinIndia #ElectricVehicles https://t.co/MoO14IcRal@HRDMinistry @PMOIndia @AGSawant @arjunrammeghwal @heindustry @moefcc pic.twitter.com/9tLFjHXM4h IIT Kharagpur (@IITKgp) September 13, 2019
How does IIT Kharagpur’s ‘Deshla’ electric vehicle work?
Deshla comes with a powerful motor, a lithium ion battery that can last up to 6-7 years, a high load carrying capacity, a sturdy frame and yet, easy manoeuvrability.
The concept prototype which had a successful test run at the IIT Kharagpur campus is not only clean and green, but it also steals a march on both when it comes to the issues of safety, reliability, performance, and comfort.
The three technologies that the 50-member strong student team led by Prof. Racherla has worked on are — the battery management system (version 5.0) rated for 51.2 nominal voltage, 70 A current, Motor controller ver 2.1 rated for 60 V 70 A for operating BLDC motor and the charger design.
Besides these, the team has worked on the chassis, steering, suspension, braking, transmission, flooring, and integration of sensors.
Deshla will be the dawn of a new type of ‘toto’
“DESHLA would prove to be the dawn of the ‘Make in India’ electric three wheeler vehicles popularly known as ‘Toto’ in this part of the country,” opined Prof. Sriman Kumar Bhattacharyya, Officiating Director of IIT Kharagpur.
“The ride was beautiful, jerk-free and the drive was smooth, thanks to the beautifully designed, easily manoeuvrable sturdy frame,” he said.
“Local toto drivers who visited during the test run are already excited with the vehicle design and the economics behind it,” he added.
Electricity-run automobiles also called totos are the rage today given their lower initial and running costs as compared to the expensive and polluting diesel autos. However, they are mostly made by local entrepreneurs who put together parts imported from China.
Totos, currently in use in India, use around 1 kW DC motor with 48 V 100 Ah lead acid battery pack. But these have issues with handling, safety, reliability, performance, and comfort.
Keeping the problems in mind, Shri Bijoy Chatterjee, Life Fellow of IIT Kharagpur and emerging technology adviser envisaged the design and fabrication of an electric three wheeler with improved electrical and mechanical functionalities that is lightweight and suited for urban use.
Commercial production of Deshla electric vehicle
Prof. Racherla and two other lead researchers Shyama Agrawal and Manuj Agrawal have already floated a start-up for commercialization of the vehicle and currently working on raising angel funding for industrial production.
Source: IT
Image Courtesy: LiveMint
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