HEVT Gets an Early Christmas Present

Sometime over this past summer, our vehicle, Mary the Malibu, developed a ground fault that crippled our ability to run in EV (electric vehicle) mode. We spent roughly four months troubleshooting, but we recently received an early Christmas present — a running vehicle!

I repeat: Mary is mobile!

We were able to find an issue with our rear traction motor inverter and have it sent off to UQM for repairs. After getting our inverter back we were able to re-integrate it into our vehicle to use our high voltage system to run the rear traction motor. Being up-and-running again in EV mode is a huge step in the right direction. We'll now be able to do some vehicle testing and collect a lot more data. We'll be using this data to refine our control code and increase EV efficiency.

Where do we go from here? I'm glad you asked!

Our next major milestone is to get our front powertrain working. As discussed in an earlier post, we have been troubleshooting a fluid leak with our P2 generator motor. We have since narrowed down a few options and are collaborating with headlining sponsor GM to see which stock components may be conflicting with our system.

Next step is to validate our engine controls outside the vehicle using an engine test stand. We will first re-wire the engine on the test stand and then verify certain controls. Once we have done that, we can add our P2 to the engine and test that. Finally, we will add our transmission to the mix and test the engine system fully.

Once we can validate our complete engine components, we should be able to re-install our engine into Mary and run our front powertrain. This will give us our as-intended final product — a running series-parallel plug-in hybrid electric vehicle!

Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for day-today updates and progress.

Have any ideas or advice for vehicle testing? Let us know in the comments below!

Alumnus Puts Training To Work With Proterra

Over the years, many of our graduates have gone on to do great things in engineering. The real-world experience gained from HEVT is always helpful in their new careers—none more relevant than 2012-2013 electrical subteam leader Brian Kelly.

Brian gives a thumbs up working in the Ware Lab.

Since graduating May 2013, Brian has been working with Proterra as a mechanical engineer. For those who don’t know, Proterra is the world's-leading manufacturer of zero-emission electric buses. They are also a bronze-level sponsor of EcoCAR 2. Brian’s experience with HEVT has given him a range of skills to use in his work with Proterra.

“I am in charge of all of the mechanical subsystems of the high and low voltage modules of the bus,” Brian said. “EcoCAR 2 helped me get a lot of electrical experience. I now know what conditions need to be met on both the electrical and mechanical side.”

Since Brian works on an all-electric bus as a mechanical engineer, he is a sort of hybrid himself. His co-workers jokingly call him a “mech-elec,” meaning mechanical electrical engineer. He is using a lot of CAD to work on designs for the newest version Proterra’s electric bus. He is in charge of all of the mechanical subsystems of the high and low voltage modules of the bus. If an electrical component needs a place to be mounted, he designs a way to integrate it.

“As the electrical subteam leader, Brian was in charge of all of the vehicle’s electrical work including the high and low voltage systems, said HEVT team leader Eli White. “This was majorly focused around the high voltage A123 battery pack we installed into the rear of our vehicle, which powers the rear traction motor.”

His experience working with high voltage electrical systems has been integral in his success with Proterra. Being a mechanical engineering major, he had very little knowledge of electrical systems before his work with HEVT. Brian leveraged his experience and networking from EcoCAR 2 to land his current job with Proterra. 

Brian says it best, "There is no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't be where I am today without my involvement with EcoCAR 2."

Do you or someone you know have a similar success story? Tell us all about it in the comments below!

Virginia Clean Cities Visits Virginia Tech

As an EcoCAR 2 team, we do a lot of community events, influencer outreach and youth sustainability education. We would never be able to do this without the help from platinum-level sponsor Virginia Clean Cities coalition. This past Friday, Nov. 15, we met with a few representatives from VCC and set gears in motion for Year 3.

VCC executive director Alleyn Harned and VCC intern Brandon Walraven came down from their Harrisonburg, Va. office to visit our own Virginia Tech Ware Lab. We gave them a quick tour of the lab and a hands-on look at the work we’ve been doing with Mary the Malibu.

"It was great to get to see the progress you [HEVT] have made with your vehicle so far in Year 3," Alleyn said. "I'm glad we got a chance to sit down and chat about our partnership and the great vehicle you’re developing. We're going to do a lot of great things together this year."

VCC propane vehicle on the Drillfield, April 2013

During a dangerously delicious lunch meeting, we discussed plans to partner on a few alternative vehicle events in Roanoke this spring. I’m sure you’re dying to know what kind of events, huh? All we’ll give away is that you might find them “electrifying.” (Get it?)

The Clean Cities program is sponsored by the Department of Energy to help reduce dependence on imported petroleum products by promoting alternative fuel use in the transportation sector. They are instrumental in cultivating an advanced transportation community in which people learn about a wide range of options and technologies.

Be on the lookout for some great collaborative efforts with VCC to come in spring of 2014. Oh, and stay tuned for those “electrifying” events!

Build Update 11.8.13

In Year 1, we designed an ambitious architecture that uses a P2, or position two, generator motor that sits between the engine and the transmission. Working alongside our local sponsor Kollmorgen Corporation, we designed and manufactured this custom generator motor. This, of course, did not come without any complications...

For the past two weeks, we have used Kollmorgen's labs to test the custom generator motor that they built for us. We had originally planned to use this time to iron out control details of the Rinehart inverter that we are pairing with the custom generator. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are now making sure to test our P2 as much as possible while we have access to Kollmorgen's labs.

Team leader, Eli White, receiving our new P2 generator motor.

We are also validating the operational limits of the generator motor before implementing it into our vehicle. We will be able to take what we've learned while testing the P2 and use it in finalizing the control code and generating electric power to the vehicle. The data collected will be used to validate and improve the vehicle model that we designed in Year 1.

We have really enjoyed the testing time and have learned so much about the operation of our generator and inverter. A big thanks to Kollmorgen for all of their help with testing and thanks to Rinehart for all their help in tuning the inverter to work with our generator!

With Kollmorgen and Rinehart's help, we are making great strides in implementing all of our vehicle's hybrid components and have a bright outlook for Year 3 competition. Be sure to follow along with our process throughout the rest of Year 3 and leave us encouragement and suggestions in the comments below!

There and Back Again: An HEVT Tale

Phew. What a trip.

Over the long weekend, we were hosted by MathWorks in Natick, MA, for the EcoCAR 2 Fall Workshop. In total, we participated in approximately 26 hours of workshops, trainings and seminars — all to prepare us for an amazing year.

Team and subteam leaders were set upon individual tracks according to their area of work. Engineers had training with software such as Matlab, Simulink, QNX and Vector to name a few. Business and communications reviewed competition deliverables and worked through product management, sponsor relations, media relations and video production classes.

“Since we mainly operate as a senior-design project, Fall Workshop is vital to bringing our new subteam leaders up to speed,” said team leader, Eli White. “It gives a crash course in these complicated software programs that our team will use throughout the year.”

As Eli said, we have 22 new team members that need to get acclimated to the competition and learn how to effectively use these technologies. Overcoming this learning curve early in the semester is essential to our success in Year 3. As expected, this feat does not come without its challenges.

“I was really interested in working with this big-time software since I had limited experience with it,” said controls subteam leader, Billy Dvorkin. “I was a little overwhelmed in the beginning, but the Matlab training at Fall Workshop has given me a ground foundation of skills to build on.”

Lucas Shoults speaks with GM representatives.

Don’t get us wrong, we weren’t training the whole time. Thursday night we attended a sponsor social to network with sponsoring companies in the hopes of jobs and internships. Saturday evening we got a chance to go into Boston and have a dinner at the Cheers Boston restaurant near the famed Faneuil Hall. It was great to sight see a bit and relax after three full days of training. 

We want to thank our host MathWorks again for their continued support with EcoCAR 2 and a great Fall Workshop. 

It’s now time get down to business and put our new-found knowledge to test. Get ready for some upcoming build updates as we begin to refine our precious Mary the Malibu.

The Road to EV Mode

After a lot of hard work, we have commissioned our A123 battery pack! There were a lot of steps to get to this point, and the electrical subteam has been busy all year preparing for this moment.

“Commissioning the battery pack essentially means that our pack has been deemed safe by A123,” said electrical subteam leader Brian Kelly. “We are now able to distribute power to the rest of the vehicle.”

To get to this point we had to complete certain steps. The first was to become familiar with the batteries. “We needed to know how they work and how they communicate with each other,” Brian said. The electrical subteam first completed the bench testing checklist where the batteries were literally placed on a bench so the team knew how to safely work with high and low voltage systems. The low voltage harness was connected to the high voltage batteries in a series and we performed different tests.

The next step was to complete the internals checklist. This is when the Energy Storage System (ESS), the actual structure that holds the batteries, was built. “We first built the ESS with wood so we could see what parts of the ESS we could build outside the car and the parts that we had to weld while in the car,” said electrical subteam member Tyler Erickson.

The ESS was built out of 20 gauge steel along with ⅛” tube steel, painted in maroon and orange, and then covered in Kapton tape. The Kapton tape isolates the steel from high voltage so the batteries are completely separated from any passenger in or out of the vehicle.

Make That Rear Traction Motor Spin

The controls subteam has been working tirelessly with the control code to spin our rear traction motor (RTM). In the early hours of spring morning, the team’s hard work paid off, and we saw the RTM spin for the first time!

The 125 kW rear traction motor is mounted on the rear subframe, which enables us to power the vehicle in all electric mode. First, the mechanical subteam made modifications to the rear subframe and designed mounts for the motor and single speed transmission that it’s coupled to. Then the electrical subteam stepped in to ensure that all of the high-voltage wiring was connected correctly and safely from the energy storage system to the inverter and then to the RTM.

The controls team then had to come in and make it all work together. Throughout the year the team has been creating and testing the code for this very moment. “We have been developing the control code since year 1 using logic blocks in MATLAB Simulink,” said controls subteam leader Kyle Caroncino.

The control code is loaded onto the MicroAutoBox, graciously donated by competition platinum-level sponsor dSPACE. The control code is then manipulated to satisfy the necessary “component-enable” conditions based on the readiness level of the vehicle. Only after each of the components involved have been properly enabled will the battery send high-voltage electricity to the rear-traction motor.

After many long nights working in the Ware Lab, the team was able to send commands to the RTM and spin the wheels!  Check out the video at the link below!

“It’s neat seeing all of the components we’ve been installing over the course of the year actually working together,” Kyle said. “It’s a visual recognition of our hard work.”

With less than two weeks from competition, we are working hard to make sure we have a running vehicle for competition. The RTM signifies a huge milestone for the team and we’re excited to see all of the other components come together.

Build Update 4.19.13

Last Friday, we received the finalized half shafts for the BorgWarner transmission we are using in the rear of the vehicle. Now that these shafts are the correct length, installation was as simple as sliding the splined shafts into one another.

With these parts installed we are able to mechanically link the transmission to the wheel hubs and drive the vehicle using the rear traction motor. With the addition of the half shafts we were also able to fill the BorgWarner transmission with fluid and assemble the entire rear cradle into the vehicle. This marks a major milestone, as it was the last mechanical driveline component to be installed in the car. Now it's off to the controls and electrical teams for testing and refinement!

Build Update 4.12.13

Last week we returned the P2 motor/generator to team sponsor Kollmorgen to fix fitment issues. Kollmorgen was very quick with the alterations and we received it back the next day.

With the P2 back in the lab, we were able to reassemble the front powertrain. Here’s to hoping the front engine, P2 and transmission assembly never have to come out of the car again! We started with the assembly of the P2 to the transmission by routing the three-phase and signaling wires from the P2 through the transmission and its bell housing. With these two connected, we sealed the P2 coolant fittings and the holes where the wires protruded.

Alumni Spotlight: Andrew Karpin

Andrew with Lynn Gantt working on the engine test stand.

Andrew Karpin was an electrical subteam member of HEVT during Year 3 of EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. He is now an engine calibration engineer at Robert Bosch LLC and was hired through one of the EcoCAR sponsor socials. 

“Advanced vehicle technology competitions exposed me to the tools and processes of the auto industry, which has lead me to excel in my profession,” Andrew said. He is responsible for a wide variety of engine calibration components, but he primarily focuses on engine start calibration.

Andrew joined the team in the final year of the EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge competition for his senior design project. “I discovered HEVT through Virginia Tech course request, and being a gear head, I naturally seemed interested in the project,” Andrew said.

Although there were some challenges and stressful moments throughout the year, the experience and skills he learned were well worth it. “My favorite moment on the team was when we won first place in EcoCAR in Washington D.C.,” Andrew said. “Who doesn’t like being on the winning team?”

“I think it’s great that HEVT is getting more and more students involved,” Andrew said. “If anyone wants to have a job in the auto industry, HEVT gives the necessary tools to excel.” He thinks very highly of the program, not only in the engineering aspect, but of the communication team as well. “I do like the fact that outreach and vehicle updates have improved over the last two years.”

Andrew just bought a house in the Michigan metro area and is making it very engineer friendly. “I’m currently outfitting my pole barn vehicle lift, and have several projects already waiting in the wings,” Andrew said. We wish him the very best in his automotive engineering career.

Andrew (3rd from the left) with other HEVT members.

Build Update 3.29.13

This past week we sent team members Tyler Erikson, Danny Keaton, Eli White and Chris Manning to Mississippi State University for the regional safety technical inspection. We were joined at inspection by teams from Mississippi State, Embry-Riddle, North Carolina State and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

We received credit for completing the majority of the organizer’s checklist for the inspection. Overall, we were successful and were complemented on various novel and innovative items on the car. Out of the fifteen schools in the competition we are alone of the first teams to close our contactors. However, the organizer’s inspection team did point out a lot of things we need to fix before competition in May.

We have a lot of work to get done before competition like integrating our half shafts and getting the engine to run. After we integrate all of these components we need to test and adjust the control code to make sure everything works. We’ll be working hard to complete all necessary tasks before our send-off event on May 1, 2013.

HEVT's Most Recent Grad heads to GM

Corey working with the battery pack from EcoCAR 1

Corey Robinson, HEVT’s most recent graduate, is now working at General Motors as a global lead design release engineer in the chassis electronics and controls group. Corey participated in both the EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge and the EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future competitions. While with HEVT, he was a volunteer on the electrical subteam, and was one of the few electrical engineers on the team.

“I first got involved in Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTCs) after Lynn Gantt, one of the HEVT leaders from EcoCAR 1, told me about the program during our internships at GM,” Corey said. “He suggested that I get involved, so when I got back to school I began volunteering with the team.”

After he volunteered with the program, he decided to make it his senior design project for Virginia Tech. Corey was a team member when HEVT won first place in EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. “It was really cool to see all the hard work and long hours pay off after we won,” Corey said. “I liked seeing all of the teams from around the country participating and working with one another.”

Corey (far right) with other EcoCAR 1 Year 3 members

Corey added, “A big part of the competition is learning from the mistakes the team made, those were some of the worst moments. When something destructive happened, the initial thought of ‘what do we do now’ was never good. It always ended with the team rallying together and fixing the problem.”

Corey acted as a mentor for the EcoCAR 2, Year 2 team during fall 2012. “His experience with building a car and participating in these kinds of competitions was very beneficial to the team,” said team leader Chris Manning. “We definitely miss him here, but know he’s doing great at GM.”

Corey (second from the left) at EcoCAR2 Year 1 competition

The AVTC program was very beneficial in preparing him for the real world and his current job. “By being exposed to many different environments and tasks while working with HEVT, I gained perspective for non-electrical thinking and problems,” Corey said. In addition to his time at HEVT Corey interned and did co-ops with General Motors for several summers before being hired.

Corey is living in Michigan now, and is adjusting to life after HEVT. In his spare time he wishes to start working on a power racing series with some other HEVT alumni at GM. 

Safety First!

Eric displaying some of our safety gloves when working with high voltage equipment

Working in a hands-on, real-world competition comes with some risk. To mitigate that risk, we at HEVT stress the importance of safety. There are many dangers in our lab, including things like power tools, high voltage batteries and the weight of the car. "Safety is important for the team members and the team's relationship with the school, Ware Lab, and EcoCAR 2 competition," said HEVT's safety officer and electrical subteam member, Eric Higgins. "It is extremely important for us to be safe due to the nature of the work we do."

We have established safety practices and trainings to ensure that team members know how to operate tools and equipment properly. We also use proper PPE (personal protective equipment) to keep the operator safe. This equipment includes safety glasses, gloves, face shields, high voltage gloves, high voltage tools and safety guards on the tools.

"We also have a stop work condition where a team member can tell anyone to stop what they are doing because it is unsafe," Eric said. "We haven't had to do that this year, and that is due mostly to the training team members have completed."

Team leader Eli wears PPE as he welds the ESS

Before students are able to work on the vehicle, they must pass a Ware Lab safety quiz. Team members working with our high voltage batteries, from A123, must take a high voltage training to become familiar with tools and potential hazards. Some of our other trainings include:

- CPR/AED training: team leaders and several members of the electrical subteam participated in the Red Cross CPR/AED training for certification. These precautions were taken to prepare for the worst kind of emergency.

- Vehicle Lift Training: teaches students safe operation of the HEVT vehicle lift.

- Machine Shop Training: teaches students proper and safe use of the Klages* Machine Shop in the Ware Lab.

- Welding Class and Certification: team members must pass a class that instructs them in proper welding techniques and safety before they are permitted into the welding shop or to weld in the Ware Lab.

- Truck and Trailer training: instructs team members in the proper operation of the Ware Lab truck and trailer for times when they need to transport the vehicle.

"Sometimes we laugh at how ridiculous someone looks with their safety glasses," Eric said, "but we know it's for a good reason and would prefer to look ridiculous than be unsafe!"

Alexander Keller at Freescale

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While members of HEVT traveled to Austin for Winter Workshop, one team member was going back to his old stompping grounds. Alexander Keller , a senior electrical engineer on the team, had a co-op at Freescale, a platinum level sponsor of the EcoCar2 competition, during the fall 2012 semester.

"I really enjoyed working at Freescale and living in Austin," said Alexander."I worked on the Linux Windowing system called Wayland and learned a lot."

Alexander (left) at Enchanted Rock

Some of the work Alexander did at Freescale included helping code the event handling for Wayland. An example  of event handling is when you click your mouse on the computer, there is an "event" that is triggered and Wayland has to be able to respond to the event. Alexander helped write the code that tells Wayland what to do with the event so the application will work correctly.

"I never knew what Wayland was, so it was really cool to learn about the software and work with it. I also learned that Freescale creates chips that go into Kindle e-readers, aviation info-tainment and Garmin GPS products."

Alexander not only learned a lot about Freescale but about Austin and Texas ways of life. He even purchased a genuine cowboy hat, which he learned is just called a hat in Texas. Alexander lived in downtown Austin where he became a huge tex-mex and BBQ fan.

"The food in Austin is awesome. My favorite restaurants were Chuy's, Torchee's Tacos and Rudy's Barbeque. Also the food trucks right across from Freescale's building were good too," Alexander commented.

In addition to his "hat" purchase Alexander went Skeet shooting. "I like Skeet shooting, but I'm not very good at it," Alexander said.

In Year 1 Alexander was also known as HEVT's Freescale guy. His work on our Freescale board, that will be integrated into the dashboard of our vehicle, is in great working condition. In addition, his presentation for the Year 1 Freescale sponsor award won first place.

We are definitely happy to have Alexander back on the team this semester! Comment below to welcome him back!

Our time at Year 2 Winter Workshop

Chris Manning, Kyle Caroncino and Dr. Doug Nelson

One day after classes started we traveled to Austin, TX for EcoCAR2 Year 2 Winter Workshop. While there it came into focus that there is only 15 more weeks until competition and that we are already halfway done with the competition. Pretty much symbolizing that we still have a lot of work to do until final competition in Yuma!

While in Austin a few of our engineers, faculty adviser, communication manager and business manager attended trainings and workshops. "One day we went to Murchison Middle School where we taught the local students about the EcoCAR2 competition," said communication manager Virginia Hyer. "We worked with some of the other universities to create a presentation that involved a jeopardy game and the students absolutely loved it."

Andrew Benoit, our business manager, had a competition presentation one of the first days in Austin. He had to pitch to EcoCAR2 judges, acting as a potential sponsor, for a vehicle part that we needed.

"Learning to prepare a pitch to a potential sponsor was a valuable opportunity as it really helps enhance my learning about the design as well as creating a valuable opportunity to sell a partnership with our team," said Andrew.   

The engineering team was in and out of dSpace, Freescale and waiver trainings while also being briefed on final competition logistics. Kyle Caroncino, our controls subteam leader, and Chris Manning our controls GRA, gave a presentation on the controls modeling and simulation progress thus far for Year 2. They highlighted some of our successes like being software in-the-loop testing capable and getting the control code validated to work on the vehicle!

"Presentations for the judged event helped us as a team to demonstrate our knowledge of the modeling and simulation work that we have been performing throughout Year 2,” said Chris. “It is always really helpful when we get feedback from the judges after the presentation and when the scorecards get released."

Now of course it wasn't all business in Austin. After our trainings were done for the day we were able to explore the city and participate in other activities during our stay.

On our first night in Austin we went to Abel’s on the Lake for Winter Workshop welcome Night. The lake provided a beautiful view of Austin and captured the local cuisine. "I could have eaten the whole bowl of Guacamole," said our controls subteam leader Kyle. The rest of the menu included fish tacos, homemade mac n' cheese and barbecue.

Five Generations of HEVT Leaders

We headed to 6th street as a team during our second night. The restaurant of choice was called Chupacabra, which our waitress told us meant a mythical creature that is half vampire half goat. After dinner a few of the team members walked around Austin and even got to go into the Austin capital building. "Going to Chupacabra and the capital building gave me a good local feel of Austin," said team leader Eli White.

Night three was the sponsor social where we met new competition sponsor New Eagle, voted on MathWorks new shirt and most importantly restocked on sponsor swag. This provided another opportunity for us to connect with other teams, sponsors and some HEVT alumni. We even got to snap a picture with five generations of HEVT team leaders. Although he wasn't in time for the team leader picture, Jon King (2011-2012 team leader), drove up from San Antonio to visit with us.

Eli and Taylor taking a tour of the Capital Building

In our final night in Austin we went to Maggie Mae's rooftop bar for the end of winter workshop ceremony. The team enjoyed the great food and drinks along with the 80's cover band. 2009-2010 HEVT team leader and EcoCAR2 organizer Patrick Walsh got up on stage and jammed out on the guitar.

After Maggie Mae's the team explored the rest of 6th street and then headed back to the hotel to get up early for a trip to the Circuit of the Americas. COTA is the first F1 racetrack in the US and is a brand new facility. We got a tour of the track and learned some of the cool things about the facility. "Visiting a brand new, one-of-a-kind facility is a pretty neat experience," said Eli. “I hope I can eventually make it to a race.”

We had a wonderful time at Winter Workshop and would like to thank Freescale and dSpace for hosting us!

Build Update (3.1.13)

Randall Morcom and Martin Mock in front of dSPACE headquarters.

This week we focused on the controls system of the vehicle. The controls subteam has been developing the testing structure for the vehicle model and control code. This came to a great success thanks to dSPACE, Inc. Two of our engineers to travel to Wixom, MI for a two-day training course on AutomationDesk. This training allowed the team to automate tests on the vehicle rather than manually testing all of the components. The team has successfully finished testing the EV mode components for faults and is moving toward testing other components of the car such as the brake pedal and engine among other components. Also, we’re currently in the process of switching from Software-in-the-Loop testing to Hardware-in-the-Loop testing. Though we have a long road ahead, the team is extremely proud of its accomplishments this past week! Send us words of encouragement or advice in the comments below, or email us at hevtoutreach@vt.edu.