EVERSAFE
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut - VTI Göteborg |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 3 751 387 |
| Project duration | December 2011 - January 2015 |
| Status | Completed |
Purpose and goal
EVERSAFE´s main goal was the development of recommendations for novel safety actions for electric vehicles, in terms of research, standardization and legislation. In order to achieve this, the research efforts were divided in three areas: vehicle safety (active and passive), consumer concerns, and post-crash handling procedures. The project goals included investigating the human response under EV system failures, chemical and thermal responses of battery under mechanical loads, mapping consumer concerns, and identifying the training and equipment needs for rescue services.
Results and expected effects
The outcomes of EVERSAFE are presented in the different project areas. Active safety investigations have shown that, for the considered fault configurations, the driver acts as a good compensator. Research within passive safety has revealed that, for the conditions under focus, energy storage systems have proven to be more resistant to abuse than initially expected. Also, safe handling procedures for rescue crews have been defined. Finally, a taxonomy of user safety concerns related with electric vehicles was created to classify and explain potential reservations among drivers.
Approach and implementation
The tasks of EVERSAFE can be described as testing, simulation, and expert consultation. Under active safety, vehicle simulations were coupled with test track and driving simulator experiments to evaluate the driver behaviour under failure conditions. For passive safety, simulations and crash tests at the component and whole vehicle level were performed to investigate performance under and after crash loads. Finally, user concerns and impressions were assessed via the establishment of focus groups in order to gather the impressions of the public on electric vehicle safety.