EM57 as a generator head?

[noquarter]

Hi folks

Looking to build a series hybrid tractor for the purposes of a tractor pull competition.

The nissan leaf gen2 powertrain looks like it would be suitable for the generator head portion. Assuming efficiency is identical as is in normal operating, I would be getting 93.5% efficiency out of it at the 3600RPM and 68nm of torque my motor can produce (based on EM61 efficiency curve).

But would I be able to configure it for this? What voltage will it produce? Would it be more or less efficient, or even possible to use a 3 phase bridge rectifier in place of the inverter?

Thank you!

[Bratitude]

Run a openinverter replacement board and you can set regen, voltage, current, etc

[noquarter]

Run a openinverter replacement board and you can set regen, voltage, current, etc

Thanks for the reply, I missed the notification.

Do you know what the limits are for the regen? Also, when you say I can set the voltage, what is the range?

Does anyone know of someone who has used a setup like this? I need it to be able to regen 25.4kw(68nm)@3600RPM.

[Jacobsmess]

There has been a leaf motor with OI board used as a generator on the forum, you'll have to look it up. The range with the OI board is anything I think. I've spun mine on the bench at around 50V

[tom91]

Good report on efficiency, it shows on page 12 your requirements of rpm and nm is possible. You for a rule of thumb roughly mirror it to negative for generation.

https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files ... 2013_o.pdf

[noquarter]

Thanks for the answers. My last main concern is that I don't know how the inverter and openinverter board will behave without a DC power source to power it up. Will it be able to power up just from spinning the leaf motor?

[Zieg]

No you'll need 12v to fire up the logic, there's no connection between HV and LV systems in these things.

[noquarter]

No you'll need 12v to fire up the logic, there's no connection between HV and LV systems in these things.

Perfect, that's what I was hoping to hear. I think that's all I need to know for now, but when I actually get this project started I will undoubtedly have more questions. Thank you everyone for your help.

[NiHaoMike]

Have you considered a complete Prius or other hybrid drivetrain? That would be a lot easier to deal with mechanically. Gear it down to get loads of torque and it might even be good for turning some of the wheels.