A photovoltaic charging system of an electrically assisted tricycle for touristic purposes

In this paper the design, realization and testing of a photovoltaic charging system suitable for the management of an electrically power assisted tricycle are described. This vehicle uses a photovoltaic module as a source of electric energy for the battery recharging. In this work, an overview on the needs of sustainable mobility and on the commercial electrically power assisted velocipedes is presented. The electrical rickshaw prototype, developed in the SDELab laboratory of the University of Palermo, is presented in detail, underlining the design, implementation and developing phases of the photovoltaic charging system assembled on the velocipede. Moreover, tests oriented on the setting up of the whole system and validation tests on the prototype are described, with the aim of determining the growing up of performances. Particular attention is dedicated to the vehicle autonomy, by using the management system here proposed. The results show how is possible to reach an increase of the 30% of the electrical rickshaw autonomy by using the management system conceived by the Authors. Furthermore, these tests are carried out in order to demonstrate that the electrical rickshaw vehicle supported by the PV charging system could be targeted for touristic purposes.