Title: Optimised powertrain design for lightweight 3-wheeler electric vehicles: enhancing energy efficiency, sustainability, and emission-free mobility

Authors: Prashanta Kumar Dehury; Sudhansu Kumar Samal; Smitanjali Rout; Bijay Kumar Paikaray

Addresses: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha, India ' Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha, India ' Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha, India ' Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Centre for Data Science, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Odisha, India

Abstract: India's automobile industry, producing over 30 million vehicles annually, significantly contributes to the nation's economy but also exacerbates environmental concerns due to the dominance of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. This study presents the design, optimisation, and simulation-based validation of a lightweight three-wheeler electric vehicle (3-W EV) powertrain integrating advanced active components to enhance energy efficiency, dynamic response, and environmental sustainability. The proposed system incorporates a lithium-ion battery, a 900 W brushless DC (BLDC) motor, and a fuzzy logic controller (FLC)-based battery management system (BMS). MATLAB/Simulink simulations were conducted to analyse system behaviour under dynamic load conditions. Results show that the BLDC motor reaches 2,700 RPM within the first 100 seconds. The battery exhibits a sinusoidal discharge current varying from 0 to 50 A, while the state of charge (SOC) decreases from 72% to 70.75% over a 600-second operation. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of fuzzy logic control in optimising powertrain performance and highlight the potential of the proposed configuration for sustainable urban mobility.

Keywords: electric vehicle; internal combustion engine; lithium-ion battery; state of charge; SOC; battery management system; BMS.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPT.2025.151019

International Journal of Powertrains, 2025 Vol.14 No.4, pp.339 - 364

Received: 31 Mar 2025
Accepted: 11 Jun 2025
Published online: 09 Jan 2026 *

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