KIIRA EV TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

The Kiira EV

Unveiling the Kiira EV

This guide has been made to enlighten you about the Kiira EV construction
and system specification. In this specification you will find information about
electrical systems and how they work
together to achieve efficient energy utilization. Specific details on body design
and construction are elucidated and also
the mechanical design, construction and
assembly specifications are specified.

1. Product planning and Research

2. Manufacturing Strategies
3. Technology proposed
4. The Body Exterior
5. The Body Interior
6. Chassis
7. Frame
8. Transmission
9. Braking
10. Energy Management
11. Speed Management
12. Onboard Diagnostics
13. Power Train
14. Battery Management System
15. Charging
16. Body Electronics

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Green Technology; Kiira EV is the first
ever electric car to be produced in Uganda by indigenous personnel using local materials and infrastructure. Its a
result of research and innovation from
one of our own Makerere University.

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Product planning and research

Intended Market
A Concept car to showcase green technology,
for the vibrant Urban Ugandan capital, Kampala.
(Micro-Economic car segment)

Target audience

Youthful, corporate, environmentally

conscious,
Age group 28 and above.

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Intended Market Competitors

City vehicles
Toyota Vitz
Toyota Yaris
Mercedes A Class

Technology Proposed
Every system is enveloped in a special area which enables
mobility and manufacture consideration, heat, assembly and
maintenance.
Front wheel drive electric Motor with gearbox 18 horse
power
Drive shafts
Lithium Ion rechargeable batteries
Motor Controller
AC-DC converter
Vehicle Bus
Vehicle Control Unit
Instrument Cluster
Battery Management System
Fuse and relay box
Charging System
Manual steering
HVAC system
Braking System
Suspension System
Spare tyre
2 seats
3 doors

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Manufacturing Strategies
Utilizing OTS (Off The Shelf parts ) / standard parts, to allow
us to focus on the overall task at hand.

Exterior
(Head lights, rear lights, front windscreen, two doors with
windows in them and door handles, side mirrors and two extra
wind screens for the rear windows).

Interior
(Air ventilator system, air vent fixtures, radio, TFT screen,
gear lever, pedals, chairs,)
Welding and cutting Sheet Metal, shaping critical hard points,
like suspension towers, creating the A-pillars, C-pillars and a
cowl, firewall and a integrated chassis.
Wire mesh, binding wire and solid wires are used to create
armatures which reinforce defined car body surfaces.
Fibre glass filler, hardener and car body filler together are
mixed and pasted on the metal wire surfaces to make body
panels for the vehicle exterior, rear door and bonnet. Same
technique is also employed in the interior for the fabrication of
the dash board.
The development of the interior will see the trim (material
used) coming from selected OTS/ standard parts and other
assorted material that was obtained locally.
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Exterior Body Design

Design and Package ideation
Layout
Transverse mounted motor in the front end
2 seats for a driver and one passenger
Rear battery compartment behind the driver and passenger
One spare tire

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Exterior Body Design

The Theme
The flow of water is what inspired the
the form language of the Kiira EV body
design.

Exterior Body Design

Inital sketch ideation
Sketches were done to get a general form
for the face of the Kiira EV.

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Exterior Body Design

Defining the exterior
Layout
Transverse mounted motor in the front end
2 seats for a driver and one passenger
Rear battery compartment behind the driver and passenger
One spare tire

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Exterior Body Design

Inital 3D form development
Sketches were done to get a general form
for the face of the Kiira EV.

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Benchmarking size and proportions

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Advanced design package and modeling

development

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Finished Advanced concept

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Mechanical Systems Overview

Vehicular mechanical systems are categorized in the
following major sub-systems; the transmission, steering, suspension, braking, chassis and frame systems.
The transmission system responsible for transferring the drive torque from the motor to the final driven
wheels, in this case front wheels
The suspension system isolates the chassis from high
frequency vibrations and enhances handling performance
Chassis and frame systems / components are load
bearing structures. They support the weights of the different components of the car and also act as anchoring
platforms for these components / systems.
The braking system responsible for decelerating the
vehicle in a controlled and repeatable manner, if desired
bring it to a stop and must hold the vehicle stationary
when on a flat ground or gradient
The steering system is a series of linkages, rods, pivots and gears that ensures that the wheels are directed
in the desired direction of maneuver
All these systems were designed to meet some requirements specifications that were established during
requirements discovery and analysis

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Chassis and Frame

The chassis is designed to support the gross weight of the Kiira
EV and to withstand the bending
effects as a result of the cars
weight, torsional effects as a
result of road unevenness, and
combined bending and torsional
effects. Design models were
generated based on the preceding considerations. These
models were subjected to real
time operation/working conditions in a virtual environment
in order to validate/optimize
the desired characteristics. Below is a complete assembly of
the chassis CAD model whose
extents are 2.72m long, 1.4m
wide and 0.19m high. The final
chassis model has been constructed out of mild steel plates
and angle bars of various sizes.

Figure 1 Showing Chassis Assembly CAD Model

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Mild Steel Plates

Mild Steel Angle Bars

1.2

40x40x1.2

40x40x1.5

2.5
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Kiira EV frame is designed primarily to protect the occupants
in case of a roll over, frontal, rear or side collisions. It also provides a platform for mounting the exterior body panels. It is
made out of mild steel plates, circular and hollow sections. Below is the CAD Model assembly of the frame. It is 1.25m high
and maintains the chassis dimensions of width and length. The
frame was built mostly out of circular sections because of their
torsional rigidity, square, rectangular profiles and plates.

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Method of joining both Chassis and

Frame
Arc and Gas Welding (Acetylene and Oxygen Gas)
Bolting

1.2

Circular Hollow
Sections
32x1.5

Rectangular/ Square
Sections
20x20x1.2

20x1.2

40x20x1.2

Mild Steel Plates

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Transmission System
Based on the weight of the Kiira EV, it requires an 18 horse
Power (hp) motor to provide the Traction force. It uses the
Azure Dynamics electric drive solution shown in the proceeding
diagram to implement the Transaxle system. Kiira EV employs
a single gear ratio transaxle to direct power to the front wheels.
The transaxle is composed of a single gear ratio gear system.
This is because electric motors have the ability to start from
zero speed and operate efficiently over a wide speed.

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Gear Box Specifications

11:1 Gear Ratio (Single Speed)
An internal differential
Precision ground helical gears for quiet operation and long
system life

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Transmission Shafts (Half-Shafts)

The transmission shafts transfer torque from the gear box to
the driven front wheels.

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Half Shaft specifications

A pair of shafts of Unequal length ( short 360mm and Long
460mm)
Material is SAE 4340 steel alloy
Maximum articulation of the Rzeppa and Tripod joint is 470
and 50 respectively
Maximum torque transferred 968 Nm

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Steering System
The steering system design specified a steering system that
can achieve a wheel turning radius of 3.9m.

Steering System specifications

Rack and Pinion Mechanical steering system

A 16:1 gear ratio i.e. 160 of the steering wheel cause 10
of wheel deflection

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Braking System
The braking system is designed to decelerate Kiira EV constantly and if desired, to stop within 4.5s from maximum speed.

Braking System Specifications

Four wheel Disc brake layout

Rotor disc diameter is 254mm
Brake pedal ratio is 5:1
Stopping time and distance is 4.5 s and 49.6m
Braking power required is 35.3 kW and 99.14 kW on a flat
and inclined ground respectively
Hand Parking Brake
Regenerative Braking during off accelerator pedal and braking sessions

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Suspension System
Kiira EV is designed with a MacPherson strut system. Unlike
the double wish bone, this system provides plenty of space for
other components like half-shafts for front wheel drives and
easy attachment to the chassis and the respective cross-members. The system is designed to suspend the gross weight of
the Kiira EV efficiently and to withstand a braking force 5400N
and an acceleration force of 4000N.

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Wheels
The selected stock tire was P185/70R14 which supports a load
between 454-900 kg with specifications as below;

Stock Tire- 185/70R14

Section Width

185mm

Rim Diameter

355.6mm

Rim Width Range

5-6.5in

Overall Diameter

614.42mm

Sidewall Height

129.28mm

Radius

307.08mm

Circumference

1930.1mm

Revs per Mile

859.8

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Electrical and Electronics Systems

Overview and System Goals
The goal of the system was to provide unified distributed frame
work to provide a control and supervisory frame work for all
vehicle functionality.

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Vehicle Networking
The Kiira EV uses the Controller Area Network
(CAN) which is bus system designed specifically for use in vehicles. It is a bidirectional data
bus, in other words, each connected control
unit is capable of both transmitting and receiving data. The chronological sequence of transmitting and receiving is regulated by a defined
data protocol. The CAN bus is a two-line bus
system in which the same information is transferred at the same time on both lines (high and
low). The information in this case is inverted on
the low line.
A major differentiating characteristic of the
CAN bus with regard to other bus systems,
based on the principle of subscriber addressing, is its message-specific addressing capability. This means that each message is assigned
a permanent address (identifier), which serves
to identify the content of the message (of the
data telegram, e.g. motor torque).
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Energy Management
Function
The onboard Energy management module is integrated into the
Vehicle control Unit with Fuse and relay Box and is responsible
for supplying to all Consumer units based on need and demand.
The following components play a major role in the implementation of the electrical Energy management System.
The Vehicle Control Unit
High Speed CAN interface Module
Motor/BMS controller Signal Management module
Battery Management module
Motor Controller Unit

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Basic Operation
While the vehicle is in operation the Battery Management System constantly
monitors the State of Charge and the Maximum current that can be produced
by the Battery Pack. Based on these the VCU calculates the Maximum amount
of torque that the motor Control Unit should use to generate traction. The Vehicle Control Unit design ensures that the Drive train does not drain the Battery
pack more than is required.
While operating in the speed controlled mode (normal operating mode), throttle
may demand excess speed than what the available pack current can provide
within the calculated torque limits. In this case the motor Controller intervenes
and reverts to the torque controlled mode to stop the over draining condition.
The state of charge may go below the set point for normal vehicle operation; in
this scenario the vehicle control unit notifies the instrument cluster to alert the
Driver that a charge refill is required as soon as possible. In case that warning is not responded to and the battery set point goes below the critical temperature, the Vehicle control unit shuts down the Motor Controller Unit to avoid
damaging the battery.
This design ensures that a reliable amount of energy is always supplied to the
drive train system to provide traction for the vehicle.
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Speed Management
Function
The Speed management module is integrated into the Vehicle
Control Unit and is responsible for regulating vehicle speed and
torque based on the throttle position sensor and the Battery
Current.
The following components play a major role in the implementation of Speed management.
Throttle Angle Sensor
Vehicle Control Unit
Motor Control Unit

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Basic Operation
While in operation the throttle position sensor is supplied by
the Engine control unit with power in return the angle sensor
communicates the position of the pedal as a voltage signal.
This signal is utilized by the Vehicle Control Unit to send speed
Commands that mimic speed characteristics of the motor, to the
Motor Controller. Integrated in these commands is the torque
information which is dependent on the Current status information obtained from the Battery Management System. Together
the information from two Control Units is sent by a Single Command with containing Torque and Speed to the Motor Controller. The algorithm inside the motor Controller on reception of
these commands lends itself on whether to operate in Speed
controlled mode or Torque controlled mode. Moreover the antiwind up feature ensures smooth transition from either mode.
The Limits of saturation are sent to the Motor Controller by the
Vehicle control unit, using two limiting values; the Upper torque
Limit and the Lower Torque limit. This mechanism keeps the
vehicle at the required driver speed. In addition the pedal incorporates an emergency electronic accelerator pedal; this comes
into action when the throttle position sensor experiences failure.
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Onboard Diagnostics
Function
The onboard Diagnostics module is integrated into the Touch
Panel module located in the cockpit and is responsible for identifying system level faults, stored faults and warnings and displaying them.

Basic Operation
The Kiira EV incorporates a unique feature that bundles onboard diagnostics to include failure and system error cleanup.
It periodically diagnoses itself and clearly shows using the
Touch panel module the particular system with faults. It also
provides suggestions on how the problem can be rectified.
With this feature you can perform routine checkup of the drive
train assembly and be able to monitor the operation and state
of healthy of the entire drive train system.

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Response Times
The Vehicle Control Unit in the Kiira EV is built on a reconfigurable embedded system architecture that is heterogeneous in
nature with hot swappable modules to reduce Vehicle Cabling
and CAN bus load. It provides tight determinism and reliability
with very high processor response times of less than 500ns
with the swappable modules. It therefore provides a reliable,
fast and efficient automotive Link in the communication Architecture.

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The Drive Train

Kiira EV Electrical and Electronics systems can be categorized
into two;

The High Voltage Systems (HVS)

The Low Voltage Systems (LVS)
The Powertrain makes the HVS and the LVS consists of the
body electronics, all control circuitry and Communication buses. The major components of the Powertrain are;

Motor and Motor Controller

Vehicle Control Unit
Traction Batteries and Battery Management System

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Motor and Controller

The Kiira EV uses the AC24LS AC induction motor and the
DMOC445 motor controller supplied by Azure dynamics. Ellucidated below are the specifications for the Azure dynamics
AC24LS AC induction motor

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AC24LS Specifications
Motor Winding Configuration

Wye @312VDC

Peak Torque

Nm

92

Continuous Torque

Nm

42@4700 rpm

Nominal Speed

rpm

4600

MaximumSpeed Powered

rpm

11000

Maximum Mechanical Speed

rpm

12000

Maximum DC Current

165

Maximum Motor Phase Current

250

Continuous Shaft Power at 30C

kW

20@4700 rpm

Peak Efficiency

87

Peak Shaft Power

kW

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Weight AC24LS (Motor & Gear Box)

kg

40 +18

Weight DMOC445 (Controller)

kg

15

VDC

288

VDC

336

Maximum Operational Voltage

VDC

400

Maximum Voltage On Charge

VDC

450

Minimum Operational Voltage

VDC

100

Minimum Recommended Nominal

Voltage
Maximum Recommended Nominal
Voltage

Battery
Battery

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Controller
The controller used in the KEV Powertrain was obtained from
Azure dynamics- product DMOC445. It has the following attributes;
Inverter for controlling 3-phase AC motors and generators

DSP-based control
Regenerative braking
Space Vector PWM and Field Oriented Control
Internal contactor with pre charge circuitry
Lightweight aluminium chassis
Waterproof, rugged construction
Trenchgate IGBTs for maximum efficiency
Over voltage and under voltage protection

Three-level over current protection:

-
10kHz DSP-based current control
-
Analog over current watchdog
-
Desat protection at gate level

Inverter over temperature protection

Motor over temperature protection

Over speed torque limit

Diagnostics and data visualization via Controller Area
Network (CAN) or RS232

CAN control with upper/lower torque limits and speed
set point commands, plus DMOC status messages over CAN

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DMOC445 Specifications
Weight

14.7 kg

Minimum Operational Voltage 100 VDC

Minimum Operational Voltage 100 VDC

Maximum Operational Voltage

400 VDC

Minimum Battery Voltage for Power up

120 VDC

Recommended Minimum Nominal Battery Voltage

144 VDC

Recommended Maximum Nominal Battery Voltage

336 VDC

Unit Peak Efficiency

97%

Min/Max Operating Ambient Temperature

40C to 55C

Maximum Motor Current

280A rms

Peak Power

78kW @ 312V

Continuous Power

38kW @ 312V

Max. Voltage On Charge

450 VDC

Minimum Auxiliary Supply Input Voltage (12V DMOC)

11 VDC

Maximum Auxiliary Supply Input Voltage (12V DMOC)

15 VDC

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Battery Pack
KEVs Powertrain employs a Li-ion battery pack that was supplied by
Winston battery Company. The specific mode used was the Thundersky
battery model WB-LYP60AHA. The specifications of the battery are;

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Nominal Capacity

40AH
4.0 V (Charge)

Operating voltage

Battery Installation & Configuration

2.8 V (Discharge)
Dimensions
Max Charge Current

Max discharge current

Standard Charge/Discharge
Weight

203 x 115 x 61 mm
<3CA
< 3CA Constant
Charge
< 20CA Impulse
Current
0.5 CA
2.3 kg 50g

Temperature Durability if the

200 C
Case
Operating Temperature
self discharge rate (Monthly)

Cycle life

-45C-85C (Charge/
Discharge)
3%
3000 Times (80
DOD%)
5000 Times (70
DOD%)

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The series configuration was employed in this pack design with

only 1 parallel string. The total number of battery cells used was
64. This gave a maximum terminal voltage of 256V. All the cells
were installed in one compartment at the rear side of the car.
The entire pack has a total of 8 banks with 8 cells in each.

Battery Management system

The BMS used for the battery pack belongs to the Lithiumate
BMS family from elithion. The model used is the Lithiumate pro.
The main components that make up the system are;

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 Cell boards
The REV C type cell boards are used n this system and thet electrical specifications are;

Symbol

Item

Vabs-max

Cell voltage
absolute maximum rating

Vrange

Cell voltage sensing

range
Data communication
resolution

Vresol

Vaccur

Vtemp-err

Cell voltage sensing

resolution

Cell voltage sensing

accuracy

Cell voltage sensing error

over temp

Conditions

Min

Nom

Max

Units

Balance Load off

-0.1 V

7.0

Balance Load on

-0.1 V

4.2

2.09

4.54

Data link

10

mV

3.2 V

19

mV

33

Within Vrange

+/-10

+/-15

Within Vrange

+2 / -7

+/-18

Within Vrange

-20 to +60C

Within Vrange
Charging range: 0 to +60C

mV
+/-2

Stand-by

Isply

VISOL

Cell load current

Isolation voltage

mV

+/-17
2.0

uA

2.0

mA

Active,
1-reading / sec

1.5

Balancing, at 3.6 V (LiFePO4)

200

mA

Balancing, at 4.2 V (LiPo)

233

mA

Low voltage to battery

End cell boards

2500

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 Balance boosters
1BB0000B Balance Booster are used in the system and the Electrical Specifications are given in
the table.

Symbol

Item

Conditions

Min

Max

Units

VSUPPL-max

Supply voltage

Off

-0.3

100

Vdc

On

-0.3

4.5

Vdc

-10

-10

-40

+80

2.5

4.5

2.3

10

uA

VCTRL-IN-max

Control voltage

TAMB

Ambient temperature

Voper

Operating voltage

Ibal

Balance current

Ioff

Off current

Operating

3.6~4.2 V, -10~+60C 1.75

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Symbol

Item

Conditions

ISUPL

Supply current

No ext loads, 12
Vdc in

VCONT

Contactor output
voltage

ICONT = 1.0 A

VSUPPL

Supply voltage out

(contactor, fan, utility)

Vin = 12 V

VFAN

Fan output voltage

IFAN = 1.0 A

VFAN-PWM

Fan PWM output

voltage

Rload > 10 k

VDIG-LIM-LO

Limit outputs voltage

low

10 mA sink

VANALOG

Analog output voltage

(SOC, CCL, DCL)

RANALOG

Analog output
resistance (SOC,
CCL, DCL)

V5V

5 V supply voltage

VCTRL-IN-LO

Control input low

voltage threshold

VCTRL-IN-HI

Control input high

voltage threshold

BMS Controller

IHV-CURR-OFFBD
IHV-CURR_RES
RCAN_TERM

Current sensor input

voltage range
Current sensor input
resolution
CAN
termination
resistor

Min

Nom

Max

Units

150

180

mA

0.1

11.3

V
0.1

TTL (0
& 5)

0.0

0.1

5.0

100
-10 mA < I < 10 mA 4.975

5.000

5.025

0.8

2.0
Max discharge,
0 current,
max charge,
respectively

0.0

V
2.5

5.0

0.2

120

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Charging System
The battery pack is charged using an onboard charger which is
power factor corrected. The model used is the Manzanita Micro
PFC-50. The charger is connected to an AC power source (eg
a wall socket) during charging. The key features for the Charger are;
Charger easily runs on any single phase AC voltage from
100 to 240V
Easy Amps adjustment knob allows users to quick-tune the
charger to pull maximum amps out of whatever it is plugged
into
User adjustable peak charge voltage allows users to adapt
charger to any battery voltage from 12 to 450 volts
Up to 18,000 watts of power from a unit that weighs less
than 50 lbs (22kg)
Reg bus port for easy integration with Manzanita Micro
BMS (also compatible with other Battery Management Systems)

Self regulating thermal protection

Active variable speed fan cooling
Input line current meter option
Adjustable absorption phase (end of charge) timer function
Ability to enable auto restart mode
Ability to enable timed charging mode
Standard PFC-50 model can run on both AC or DC voltage
(* Buck enhanced models can also run on DC if modified)
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The Specifications for the model

Input Voltage Range

100 to 240VAC 40-80Hz computer grade

pure sine wave

Output Voltage Range

12 to 450VDC ( +/- 1 volt )

Operating Temp Range

( -28.8 C to +48.8 C )

Power Consumption

Up to 12.0kW

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LV side

The supply to the low voltage side is sourced from the DC to DC

converter and the Auxilliary 12V battery. The DC to DC converter
used for the LV circuitry is the IOTA DLS 55 Power Converter which
doubles as a battery charger for the auxilliary 12v battery. Its specifications are given below;

Parameter

Value

Input Volts(DC)
Output Amps (DC)
Output Volts (DC)

55 A
13.6 Nominal
13.4 @ full load

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 Body Electronics

All the low voltage electronics that use the DC to DC and the Auxilliary battery are listed n the table that follows.

The Auxilliary battery used is a Li-ion battery (Thundersky) from Winston Battery Company.

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Component

Voltage Source

Head Lamp Units with bulbs installed

DC to DC

Front Fog Lights

DC to DC

Front Parking lights

DC to DC

Front turn/Blinker Lights

DC to DC

Plate Lights

DC to DC

Tail Brake/Tail

DC to DC

Plate lighting

DC to DC

Stop Lamp

DC to DC

Reverse Lights

DC to DC

Hatch door lights

DC to DC

Interior roof lamp

DC to DC

Dashboard Lights

DC to DC

Wiper Motors

DC to DC

Power Window motion motors

DC to DC

AC System

DC to DC

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Audio system with CD /Radio and Flash

Player (Sony)

DC to DC

Electric Horn

DC to DC

12V Supply to the controller

Auxilliary battery

Hazard switch

Auxilliary battery

CAN break out box

Auxilliary battery

TFT Screen

Auxilliary battery

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