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.