How do electric cars work?

Here I'm explaining the working of main components used in an electric car. The motor I'm referring here is an INDUCTION MOTOR .

1.BATTERY PACK

It is a collection of lithium ion cells used in our daily life which are connected in parallel and series for supplying power to the motor.

2.CHARGE PORT

The charge port allows the vehicle to connect to an external power supply in order to charge the battery pack.

3.INVERTER

The power stored in the battery pack is dc. But the supply to the motor should be ac. So for converting this dc supply to ac supply an inverter is used. The ac power output from the inverter is then supplied to the motor.

Inverter controls the ac power frequency thus controlling the motor speed and also it can vary the amplitude of ac power which in turn can control the motor power output.

4.INDUCTION MOTOR

The three phase ac power input is given to the stator of induction motor. The three phase alternating currents in the coils of stator produces a rotating magnetic field(RMF). This RMF induces current in the rotor bars to make it turn.

Power produced by the motor is then transferred to the drive wheels via a gear box.

●Induction motors are widely used for the following advantages.

1. The speed of induction motor depends on frequency of ac supply. So by varying the frequency of power supply we can alter the drive wheel speed. This makes the speed control easy and reliable.
2. The supply for the motor will be from a variable frequency drive which in turn controls the motor speed.
3. We can achieve the reverse gear easily by just changing the order of phase of the power supply.
4. Induction motor will have direct rotational motion and uniform output. So, many components which are present in the IC engine can be avoided here. So, the power to weight ratio is higher in this case and it gives superior vehicle performance. (Whereas, an IC engine doesn't produce direct rotational motion. The linear action of piston has to he converted to rotational motion which causes major problems for mechanical balancing. Also the power output of IC engine is always uneven. So, many components are needed to solve these).

An electric drive is actually much more simpler than an IC engine drive.

In an electric car (typically) you have an induction motor (also known as an AC motor) that produces mechanical power. There are no inlet valves, exhaust valves, fuel filters, exhaust pipes, cylinder heads, camshafts, cooling lines - nothing. One single unit which needs almost no maintenance.

The motor runs on electricity which is stored in a massive battery pack on-board the vehicle. Think of it like the fuel tank for the electric vehicle. It stores a phenomenal amount of power. For reference, a Tesla Model S has enough power to run a typical Indian household for one complete week (I am sure US power requirements are much higher :) ).

This power is stored in several individual cells, which the automaker assembles in a single massive battery pack. There is a ton of electronics on top of all of this which along with the battery pack, often forms the secret sauce for every manufacturer. (note: loads of auto guys straight up buy out existing battery packs).

The entire system is phenomenally complex (Tesla for example has 6700 cells assembled together). However, the advantage is that moving, mechanical components are very few - often just the motor. This makes the entire system much, much more reliable than an average IC vehicle - a parameter bound to improve as more research goes behind elec cars.