RECOGNIZING THE UNDERLYING MOTIVATION IN ELECTRIC CAR DESIGN TO CONSERVE ENERGY AND THE NECESSITY FOR EFFECTIVE CLIMATE CONTROL, THIS PROJECT OFFERS A TECHNICAL APPROACH TO MINIMIZE ENERGY EQUIREMENTS FOR BOTH AIR CONDITIONING AND HEATING TO EXTEND THE RANGE OF AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE. CURRENTLY AVAILABLE COMPRESSOR SYSTEMS ARE INADEQUATE IN EFFICIENCY, SIZE, AND WEIGHT. THIS TECHNICAL PROBLEM WILL BE INVESTIGATED BY OPTIMIZING THE COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE (COP) OF THE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM THROUGH A CUSTOM-ENGINEERED COMPRESSOR KNOWN AS THE ORBITAL VANE REFRIGERANT COMPRESSOR. THIS COMPRESSOR IS A HIGHLY EFFICIENT ANTI-FRICTION NON-CONTACT SEALING ROTARY VANE MACHINE THAT HAS FEWER MOVING PARTS THAN CONVENTIONAL COMPRESSORS AND OPERATES ON A VARIETY OF REFRIGERANTS, INCLUDING THOSE THAT ARE OZONE-SAFE. EASE OF COMPRESSOR PRODUCTION IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT MARKET FACTOR WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COST-COMPETITIVE ELECTRIC VEHICLE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM, AND IS ACHIEVABLE. THE OVERALL CONCEPT OF THIS PROJECT IS TO MATCH THE ORBITAL VANE REFRIGERANT COMPRESSOR WITH AN ELECTRIC MOTOR OF THE SAME SPEED AND TORQUE CHARACTERISTICS FOR AN OPTIM COP. THIS OFFERS THE ABILITY TO BUILD A LIGHT-WEIGHT UNIT OF HIGH EFFICIENCY OCCUPYING THE SMALLEST SPACE POSSIBLE WITH BOTH COOLING AND HEATING (HEAT PUMP) CAPABILITIES. THIS UNIT COULD BE COUPLED WITH SOLID STATE HEATING ELEMENTS TO PROVIDE A CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES SUPERIOR TO ANY SYSTEM NOW AVAILABLE. THE PHASE I INVESTIGATION WILL INCLUDETHE SPECIFICATION DETERMINATION, DESIGN, ANALYSIS, AND PREPARATION OF DETAILED ENGINEERING DRAWINGS FOR THE COMPRESSOR, AND THE FABRICATION OF THE PROTOTYPE COMPRESSOR.
