Within the transition towards the use of electricity as a power source in the automotive industry, this investigation aims to evaluate the acceleration capacity of a go-kart type vehicle equipped with an electric motor. Two types of battery were employed, Lithium-Ion and Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries, each one combined with two different gear ratios. Two methodologies were used to obtain the acceleration capacity, a mathematical model using Simulink and track tests. The best acceleration capacity was obtained with Lithium-Ion batteries and a gear ratio of 2:1. The difference between the model and on-track tests were 16.68%. The difference is higher with a 1:1 gear ratio. was attributed to the initial energy requirement of the batteries when starting the vehicle to overcome inertia.
Keywords: vehicle dynamics, Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries, Lithium-Ion batteries, go-kart, acceleration capacity