A Mobile Laboratory as a Venue for Education and Outreach Emphasizing Sustainable Transportation

Jeremy John Worm; John E. Beard; Wayne Weaver; Carl L. Anderson

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Conference: 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Publication Date: June 10, 2012
Start Date: June 10, 2012
End Date: June 13, 2012
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning through Laboratory Experiences
Tagged Division: Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies
Page Count: 16
Page Numbers: 25.67.1 - 25.67.16
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--20827
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/20827
Download Count: 524

Paper Authors

biography

Jeremy John Worm P.E. Michigan Technological University

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Jeremy John Worm is the Director of the Mobile Sustainable Transportation Laboratory at Michigan Tech and a Research Engineer in the Advanced Power Systems Research Center. Worm teaches several courses pertaining to hybrid vehicles, and IC engines. In addition to teaching, his research interests include internal combustion engines, alternative fuels, and vehicle hybridization. Prior to coming to Michigan Tech, Worm was a Lead Engine Development Engineer at General Motors, working on high efficiency engines in hybrid electric vehicle applications.

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Carl L. Anderson is a professor in the Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Department and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in the College of Engineering at Michigan Technological University. He is the Principal Investigator for the Department of Energy project: An Interdisciplinary Program for Education and Outreach in Transportation Electrification. He serves on the governing board of the Michigan Academy for Green Mobility Alliance (MAGMA) that works with the state of Michigan to promote hybrid electric vehicle engineering education.

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Abstract

A Mobile Laboratory as a Venue for Education and Outreach Emphasizing Sustainable TransportationEducators have developed a versatile mobile laboratory that will travel the North Americancontinent serving as a venue for a wide range of educational opportunities including support ofcurriculum based courses, targeted short courses, community education and outreach. The labwas built as part of a US Department of Energy funded program to develop a curriculum inHybrid Electric Vehicle Engineering that include certificates at the undergraduate and graduatelevels.The authors have found hands-on discovery based learning activities to be an effective means ofenabling students to grasp and retain complex topics in engineering and science, andfurthermore, that engineering students excel when they can see how an individual concept fitsthe overall larger context of product development and societal advancement. With an emphasison sustainable transportation systems, the mobile lab provides opportunities for hands-ondiscovery based learning throughout the development process from model based simulation anddesign to optimization of hardware and controls.The mobile lab consists of several elements. The primary laboratory structure is a 53 foot longvan trailer that incorporates an expandable center section for a total of 700 square feet of space.The expandable center section provides for instruction based learning and bench-top activities onfour universal and configurable lab benches. The front and rear of the trailer contain test cellsthat can be operated from the lab benches in a number of modes including a steady state mode tostudy the operation of specific components and as a dynamic system with real-time Hardware-In-The-Loop functionality. The powertrain in the test cells is a match to the powertrain in aconfigurable Hybrid Electric Vehicle. The configurable Hybrid Electric Vehicle allows studentsto change many elements of the vehicle from hardware to embedded software and optimizationparameter sets. Three production Hybrid Vehicles are provided to study the operation ofproduction vehicles in real-world driving scenarios. In addition to driving on the road, theseproduction vehicles, as well as the configurable hybrid vehicle can be tested on the mobile lab’ssingle role chassis dynamometer enabling the students to emulate specific drive cycles.The experimental apparatus and activities on the mobile lab are scalable and configurable. Thisenables educators to tailor the learning experience to many demographics including K-12,college, and the community. Likewise the contact period with the participants can be as short asjust a few minutes in the case of some outreach scenarios, a few days as in the case of some shortcourses, or a full semester in support of curriculum based college courses.This paper provides technical details on the development and capabilities of the mobile lab anddescribes the pedagogy behind the educational activities that are conducted with the mobile lab.The outcomes of select activities are discussed as are ways in which participant assessments areguiding continued development. An image of the Mobile lab and a process flow diagram areshown below.Figure 1: The Mobile Lab with several of its educational vehicles while setup. The Vehicle Development Process Simulation to on-road validation RLM Vehicle Simulation for Coursework and Outreach Predicting vehicle behavior without the vehicle through Carmaker ECU HIL Expanded Classroom and Outreach Powertrain HIL (Batteries, E-Machines, Engines, Drivetrain, etc.) On-Track with On-Road with Configurable HEV’s Production HEV’sFigure 2: Educational process flow through the Mobile Lab.

Citation
Format

Worm, J. J., & Beard, J. E., & Weaver, W., & Anderson, C. L. (2012, June), A Mobile Laboratory as a Venue for Education and Outreach Emphasizing Sustainable Transportation Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--20827

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -           A Mobile Laboratory as a Venue for Education and Outreach                   Emphasizing Sustainable TransportationEducators have developed a versatile mobile laboratory that will travel the North Americancontinent serving as a venue for a wide range of educational opportunities including support ofcurriculum based courses, targeted short courses, community education and outreach. The labwas built as part of a US Department of Energy funded program to develop a curriculum inHybrid Electric Vehicle Engineering that include certificates at the undergraduate and graduatelevels.The authors have found hands-on discovery based learning activities to be an effective means ofenabling students to grasp and retain complex topics in engineering and science, andfurthermore, that engineering students excel when they can see how an individual concept fitsthe overall larger context of product development and societal advancement. With an emphasison sustainable transportation systems, the mobile lab provides opportunities for hands-ondiscovery based learning throughout the development process from model based simulation anddesign to optimization of hardware and controls.The mobile lab consists of several elements. The primary laboratory structure is a 53 foot longvan trailer that incorporates an expandable center section for a total of 700 square feet of space.The expandable center section provides for instruction based learning and bench-top activities onfour universal and configurable lab benches. The front and rear of the trailer contain test cellsthat can be operated from the lab benches in a number of modes including a steady state mode tostudy the operation of specific components and as a dynamic system with real-time Hardware-In-The-Loop functionality. The powertrain in the test cells is a match to the powertrain in aconfigurable Hybrid Electric Vehicle. The configurable Hybrid Electric Vehicle allows studentsto change many elements of the vehicle from hardware to embedded software and optimizationparameter sets. Three production Hybrid Vehicles are provided to study the operation ofproduction vehicles in real-world driving scenarios. In addition to driving on the road, theseproduction vehicles, as well as the configurable hybrid vehicle can be tested on the mobile lab’ssingle role chassis dynamometer enabling the students to emulate specific drive cycles.The experimental apparatus and activities on the mobile lab are scalable and configurable. Thisenables educators to tailor the learning experience to many demographics including K-12,college, and the community. Likewise the contact period with the participants can be as short asjust a few minutes in the case of some outreach scenarios, a few days as in the case of some shortcourses, or a full semester in support of curriculum based college courses.This paper provides technical details on the development and capabilities of the mobile lab anddescribes the pedagogy behind the educational activities that are conducted with the mobile lab.The outcomes of select activities are discussed as are ways in which participant assessments areguiding continued development. An image of the Mobile lab and a process flow diagram areshown below.Figure 1: The Mobile Lab with several of its educational vehicles while setup.  The Vehicle Development Process  Simulation to on-road validation  RLM                                                                                                   Vehicle Simulation for                                                                                                       Coursework and Outreach  Predicting vehicle behavior without the vehicle                                                         through Carmaker                                                                                             ECU HIL                                                                    Expanded                                                             Classroom and Outreach                         Powertrain HIL                   (Batteries, E-Machines, Engines, Drivetrain, etc.)                                                                          On-Track with             On-Road with                                                                        Configurable HEV’s        Production HEV’sFigure 2: Educational process flow through the Mobile Lab.
AU  - Jeremy John Worm P.E.
AU  - John  E. Beard
AU  - Wayne Weaver
AU  - Carl L. Anderson
CY  - San Antonio, Texas
DA  - 2012/06/10
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - A Mobile Laboratory as a Venue for Education and Outreach Emphasizing Sustainable Transportation
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/20827
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--20827
ER  -