Material selection in Electric Vehicle Engineering Programs

Claes Fredriksson; Boel Ekergard

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Materials Division Technical Session 1
Page Count: 5
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41527
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/41527
Download Count: 237

Paper Authors

biography

Claes Fredriksson

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Currently working as Lead Academic Development Manager at Ansys Academic Program, Cambridge UK (Formerly known as Granta Design). Also, part-time Associate Professor of Materials Science at University West, Sweden, where he was Director of a Master’s Program in Manufacturing Engineering before moving to the UK nine years ago. He has over 20 years of experience teaching materials-related subjects to undergraduate and post graduate students in Sweden, Canada, Belgium and the U.S.A, mainly in Mechanical Engineering, still active in engineering education and doing research on metal Additive Manufacturing.
• PhD in Physics from Linköping University, Sweden, 1993,
• Postdoc at Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal mid 90’s
• Excellence in Teaching Scholarship for teaching at Mercer University, Georgia 2004
• Development of educational resources and training academics in using Software for materials-related applications from the office in Cambridge UK since 2013

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Boel Ekergard

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Abstract

No one could have missed the transition towards electrification in society, with the surge in electric cars and other vehicles on the streets around us. This is partly driven by the realization that fossil fuels need to be phased out and partly by other environmental concerns. It is also boosted by technological developments of battery performance, enabling more energy to be stored electrochemically using new and better materials. Furthermore, there are new appealing modes of transport, such as electric skateboards, hoverboards and monowheels. Such topics are popular with students of mechanical and electrical engineering, as well as in product development and design projects.

In this paper, we describe how sustainability and design have been systematically introduced, using a materials approach, into an undergraduate program of electrical engineering (EE) with electric vehicle specialization as well as in a one-year graduate program on electrical vehicle engineering. This was done using three materials-focused computer labs, dealing progressively with (i) material properties and selection, (ii) eco design and lifecycle thinking and (iii) battery design, each embedded within a different EE class. A well-known materials education software, Granta EduPack, covering all these areas was used as the learning platform.

The purpose of the study was to gauge the interest and perceived usefulness of materials knowledge by around 40 EE students using this approach. It was conducted by integrating 5 survey questions into the end of student assignments before and after the second lab instalment mentioned above (eco design and lifecycle thinking). Both groups think MS&E is quite interesting (3.6-4.0 out of 5). They also think materials and material knowledge are important to their education (4.1-4.4 out of 5). As additional information that could be extracted from the surveys, we learned that the computer lab itself resulted in a significant increase in the self-assessed knowledge and skills linked to the content. We conclude that elements from materials science and engineering can be a successful and well-appreciated approach to introducing sustainability and design into non-mechanical engineering programs, such as electrical vehicle engineering. With this paper, we are hoping to share details and experiences of this materials-led approach and get feed-back from the wider materials community.

Citation
Format

Fredriksson, C., & Ekergard, B. (2022, August), Material selection in Electric Vehicle Engineering Programs Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41527

TY - CPAPER
AB - No one could have missed the transition towards electrification in society, with the surge in electric cars and other vehicles on the streets around us. This is partly driven by the realization that fossil fuels need to be phased out and partly by other environmental concerns. It is also boosted by technological developments of battery performance, enabling more energy to be stored electrochemically using new and better materials. Furthermore, there are new appealing modes of transport, such as electric skateboards, hoverboards and monowheels. Such topics are popular with students of mechanical and electrical engineering, as well as in product development and design projects.

In this paper, we describe how sustainability and design have been systematically introduced, using a materials approach, into an undergraduate program of electrical engineering (EE) with electric vehicle specialization as well as in a one-year graduate program on electrical vehicle engineering. This was done using three materials-focused computer labs, dealing progressively with (i) material properties and selection, (ii) eco design and lifecycle thinking and (iii) battery design, each embedded within a different EE class. A well-known materials education software, Granta EduPack, covering all these areas was used as the learning platform.

The purpose of the study was to gauge the interest and perceived usefulness of materials knowledge by around 40 EE students using this approach. It was conducted by integrating 5 survey questions into the end of student assignments before and after the second lab instalment mentioned above (eco design and lifecycle thinking). Both groups think MS&E is quite interesting (3.6-4.0 out of 5). They also think materials and material knowledge are important to their education (4.1-4.4 out of 5). As additional information that could be extracted from the surveys, we learned that the computer lab itself resulted in a significant increase in the self-assessed knowledge and skills linked to the content. We conclude that elements from materials science and engineering can be a successful and well-appreciated approach to introducing sustainability and design into non-mechanical engineering programs, such as electrical vehicle engineering. With this paper, we are hoping to share details and experiences of this materials-led approach and get feed-back from the wider materials community.

AU - Claes Fredriksson
AU - Boel Ekergard
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Material selection in Electric Vehicle Engineering Programs
UR - https://peer.asee.org/41527
DO - 10.18260/1-2--41527
ER -