July 2010 - Swinburne University of Technology

JULY 2010 swinburne
manufacturers, two state governments and 10
research institutions, with a total investment
in research and training of $100 million over
seven years.
Swinburne’s key electric vehicle (EV)
projects are principally funded by the
AutoCRC, which in January this year signed
a memorandum of understanding with Hefei
University of Technology (HFUT) in Anhui,
China, to establish a collaborative research
project with Swinburne. HFUT is regarded
as a leader in EV research in China, with
extensive links to that country’s automotive
industry.
The collaboration will include specific
research in battery charging, control systems
and retrofitting, and will see the exchange of
PhD students and research staff between the
universities.
Professor Ajay Kapoor, Associate
Dean, Research, of Swinburne’s Faculty of
Engineering and Industrial Sciences (FEIS),
along with colleagues Professor Zhihong
Man, Dr Mehran Ektesabi, Dr Clint Steele
and Dr Weixiang Shen, are the drivers behind
the collaboration.
Dr Shen heads a group developing a
battery capacity indicator, similar to the
petrol gauge in conventional cars, and a
battery charger that can re-charge batteries
in 30 to 60 minutes, while Professor Man
and Dr Ektesabi are well known for their
research on control systems for electric cars.
Dr Steele and Professor Kapoor are working
on retrofitting existing cars with battery and
motor systems.
Via Swinburne’s Electric Car Drive Train
group, Dr Ektesabi and Ambarish Kulkarni
are refining the development of a prototype
electro motor wheel design they believe
will lower the cost of electric cars. They are
collaborating with CSIRO, the Victorian
Partnership for Advanced Computing (VPAC)
and La Trobe University, with the focus being
CSIRO’s switch reluctance motor within the
wheel hub, which eliminates the need for a
separate motor and drive-train assembly. The
weight and energy savings gained could lead
to greater efficiencies in terms of kilometres
per electrons.
For the researchers, the overarching
challenge is to develop a strong, but light
electric car that can cover longer distances at
acceptable speeds. To this end, via another
AutoCRC project, Swinburne has joined with
Deakin University, RMIT University and
VPAC to investigate and produce a lighter car
structure.
The AutoCRC’s project leader on this study,
Dr Matthew Dingle, says although engine fuel
efficiency has steadily improved over the past
decade, fuel economy of typical vehicles has
Key points
With other universities
and CSIRO, Swinburne is
collaborating to research
and develop lightweight
battery-charged electric
cars.
The challenge is to develop
a strong, but light electric
car, which can cover longer
distances at acceptable
speeds.
New and retrofitted electric
cars will reduce emissions
and help the environment.
,,
Background
gains to come
from the
research will
be increasing
public
awareness of
advances in
electric cars and
a generation
of university
graduates able
to supply the
automotive
industry
with skills in
electric car
development.
largely plateaued due to increasing vehicle
mass. “A key enabler for reductions in fuel
consumption is reduced vehicle mass, which
determines the mass of many other components
including suspension and powertrain,” he says.
Swinburne’s contribution to this work
is spearheaded by Dr Tracy Ruan, Dr Yat
Choy Wong and Professor Chris Berndt. The
research focuses on the structural response
and energy-absorbing performance of
sandwich structures – two composite skin
sheets and aluminium foam/honeycomb cores
– a technology used in the aircraft industry.
Professor Berndt is optimistic that the
weight reductions will be dramatic without
compromising road-worthiness or crash
resistance, with associated benefits including
fuel savings, reduced carbon ‘wheel print’
and materials recycling.
But perhaps the most marketable of the
many projects has been the student electric
car project, initiated by Professor Kapoor
and Dr Ektesabi and supervised by Ambarish
Kulkarni. Last year, 15 undergraduates
produced an electric car that can reach a top
speed of 100 kilometres an hour, with enough
battery power to last two-and-a-half hours.
Dr Steele, who joined Swinburne this
year and is a senior lecturer at the FEIS, is
academic adviser for a project to design and
build an electric Formula SAE (Society of
Automotive Engineers) race car.
Dr Steele is confident the team of students
and graduates will soon have an electric race
car that is competitive with a petrol race car
and which will also regenerate the energy that
is recovered during braking. Construction of
this car is about to start.
Background gains to come from the
research will be increasing public awareness
of advances in electric cars and a generation
of university graduates able to supply the
automotive industry with skills in electric car
development.
Dr Steele can already see the skill sets
required in the auto industry changing. “We
will also see an increase in the need for
qualifications in robotics and mechatronics.
And we will need engineers who are part
mechanical and part electrical.”
Professor Kapoor says the team is
optimistic about its work and its future
impact. “Road transport contributes an eighth
of total carbon dioxide emissions in Australia.
New and retrofitted electric cars will reduce
those emissions and help the environment. We
are very excited by these projects.” ••
CONTACT. .
Swinburne University of Technology
1300 275 788
magazine@swinburne.edu.au
www.swinburne.edu.au/magazine
Electric cars drive industry
training opportunities
Growing interest in electric cars has seen a wide
range of small operations across Australia taking
up the electric car slack and offering to switch
petrol or diesel cars into electric models.
According to industry website GoAuto.com.au,
the drive for electric cars is happening at the same
time as a boom in electric scooters, and bicycles
with electric motors, as city commuters look for
green and cheap transport.
“When it comes to the electric car industry, some
organisations trying their hand at the new technology
are backyard outfits doing the odd conversion,
while a handful of operations are planning serious
production levels,” the website says.
All this opens up opportunities for institutions
such as TAFEs to offer structured courses.
The Victorian Government, through its
Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional
Development (DIIRD), has recognised the benefits
of developing a ‘green collar economy’ and has
provided financial support to institutions such as
Swinburne to develop training programs.
Swinburne TAFE’s Wantirna campus is
collaborating with the Centre for Education and
Research in Environmental Strategies (CERES) to
develop two electric vehicle (EV) courses.
The project has attracted $140,000 in funding
support from DIIRD, which includes $40,000 from
Skills Victoria for course development.
The structure and content of these are based
on work that students and staff at Swinburne
Wantirna have done in ‘building’ a working
electric vehicle from a Holden ‘Combo’ van using
100Ah lithium batteries and a water-cooled,
three-phase 60kW motor. The courses are aimed
at both professionals – mechanics and auto
electricians – as well as passionate hobbyists.
Lecturer Martin Lewis, an electrician by
training, became involved in the project after
converting his own vehicle in 2008. “The idea is
to smooth out the process by avoiding common
mistakes and hazards. Being aware of the latest
technology and methods not only saves time but
produces a better result,” Mr Lewis says.
Two courses have been developed: Battery
Electric Vehicle (BEV) Servicing and Maintaining
and BEV Retrofitting. The first is currently being
accredited and will be available later this year.
The second is on hold until new Australian Design
Rules regarding EV conversion are in place.
The courses will be driven by Swinburne’s
National Centre for Sustainability and its TAFE
School of Engineering, Technology and Trades, with
involvement by CERES.
CERES researcher Rhys Freeman believes
the growing interest in EVs opens up all sorts of
opportunities for a range of participants. “The
business opportunities for universities in training
contractors is already looking very positive,”
he says.
– BARRY PESTANA
SUSTAINABILITY
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