a section of the powertrain of an electric vehicle

Electric Vehicle Powertrain Systems

Registration Extended! Classes start October 29th.

The market for electric vehicles (EVs) is growing due to inherent benefits such as lower operating costs, higher energy efficiency and superior driving performance, new use cases and environmental improvements. This push for the electrification of automobiles is enabling engineers to improve and change existing designs of various subsystems and systems of vehicles for additional benefits. Automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers have invested significantly towards electrification of the automotive sector. There is a big effort from the automotive OEMs to release more EVs into the market in the next few years. Various nations and provinces have put forward aggressive targets to replace a big market share of conventional IC engine-based vehicles with plug-in EVs. 

Students in this non-credit, two-part program will gain a fundamental knowledge of the creation of state-of-the-art EVs. Learners will be exposed to the essential elements of electric vehicle powertrain systems that will enable them to gather and enhance their knowledge of electric vehicles, apply the knowledge to design various traditional subsystems and parts of the vehicle differently, and electrify different components in the vehicle.

Topics will include: EV powertrain architecture, design of EV powertrain components based on vehicle dynamics and drive cycle, different electric motor technologies, power electronic converters, control of the powertrain, EV powertrain testing, battery energy storage, and charging. 

The course will use case studies and examples from commercially available EVs and provide learners with the opportunity to use software such as Microsoft Excel, Matlab/Simulink and Ansys Motor-CAD.

 

Learners will participate in hands on activities such as:  

  • solving numerical questions
  • writing scripts on Matlab to size EV powertrain
  • analyzing performance of a motor with different parameters and control schemes on Matlab/Simulink
  • designing and analyzing electric motor using Ansys-Motor CAD

 

Introduction to electric vehicle architectures

  • Comparison of electric vehicle architecture compared to conventional IC engine-based architecture
  •  Understand different electric vehicle architectures, pros and cons of each

Vehicle dynamics and drive cycles for electric vehicle powertrain design

  • Understand fundamental vehicle dynamic concepts
  • Understand different drive cycles and their impact on EV performance
  • Size a powertrain based on vehicle dynamics and drive cycle using equations

Electric motor fundamentals for electric vehicles

  • Refresh AC and magnetic circuits to understand electromechanical energy conversion
  • Understand principles and operation of both synchronous and asynchronous motors
  • Understand design variations in commercially available electric vehicles and motors
  • Understand impacts of motor sizing, cooling, drive cycle and material use on performance of the motor

Introduction to power electronic converter for motor drive

  • Understand architecture and operation of conventional DC-AC and AC-DC converters for motor drives
  • Understand design variations in commercially available electric vehicle motor drives

Control of powertrain system

  • Understand different components/circuits involved in controlling a AC motor drive for EVs         
  • Integrate vehicle dynamics, drive cycle and AC motor drive model 

Fundamentals of Energy storage, management and charging

  • Understand pros/cons of different battery chemistry
  • Understand various battery management functions
  • Understand different battery charging schemes

Electric powertrain testing and validation

  • Understand different components necessary for electric powertrain testing
  • Understand different output characteristics, results from a high-speed electric powertrain test platform

Hands-on Case study

  • Design of traction motor for a specific electric vehicle and drive cycle using Ansys Motor CAD and Matlab/Simulink

Learners who complete Part I and Part II of this class will receive a Certificate of Completion in Electric Vehicle Powertrain Systems. Grading for this non-credit course is either complete or incomplete. Learners must attend at least 80% of the class and complete quizzes to receive a Certificate of Completion


Schedule: Choose one section

FALL/WINTER 2024

Part I (Modules 1 to 4):
Tuesdays, October 29 - December 3, 2024
5:30pm - 8:30pm 

Part II (Modules 5 to 8): 
Tuesdays, February 4 - March 18, 2025
5:30pm - 8:30pm 

WINTER/SPRING 2025

Part I (Modules 1 to 4):
Saturdays, February 8 - March 12, 2025
9am - 12pm

Part II (Modules 5 to 8): 
Saturdays, April 5 - May 24, 2025
9am - 12pm

Format: Online Classroom

Fee: $1250 + HST for each part. 
Bundle Discounted Fee (Part I and II together)*: $2250 + HST

  • Payment plan available: Pay in full now or pay a $25.00 deposit (on each part) now, to reserve your seat. The remaining course fees are then due 8 days before the course start date.
  • UWindsor Alumni, staff, students and Hire UWindsor Partners are eligible for discounts*. Contact continue@uwindsor.ca to receive the discount code. 
  • Leaders in their organization who wish to send their team, group rates* are available.
  • *Not valid with any other discount

Dr. Lakshmi Varaha Iyer (Senior Member, IEEE) is currently a Senior Manager, Advanced Powertrain and Chassis, with Magna International’s Corporate R&D division. Dr. Iyer is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Windsor. He received MASc. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of Windsor, Canada and a B.Tech. degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from SASTRA University, India. He has been innovating in the area of electric vehicle powertrain components and systems since 2008. He has also been teaching courses occasionally in the areas of electric vehicles, energy conversion and power systems since 2016.  Dr. Iyer has published over 80 peer-reviewed papers in international conferences and journals has published over 30 patents. He was a recipient of the 2017 Governor General’s Gold Medal in Canada, one among North America’s “30 under 30” honored by Society of Manufacturing Engineers in 2018, and a recipient of NSERC CGS and OGS awards in 2014 during his doctoral studies at the University of Windsor. He was also a recipient of the Magna Innovation Award in 2022. He is an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

It is expected that learners who take this class have:

  • Basic knowledge of Microsoft Excel
  • A minimum of a secondary school diploma (some post-secondary recommended)
  • English language proficiency

Technical Requirements:

  • Learners will require access to a computer with high-speed internet access.
  • Class is delivered online through the Brightspace Learning Management System (for class materials and assignments) and Microsoft Teams for class meetings.

Brightspace and Microsoft Teams Requirements:

  • All course details and resources (including readings and assignments) below can be accessed through Brightspace: https://brightspace.uwindsor.ca/d2l/home
  • Your virtual classroom will be in Microsoft Teams. A link will be provided one day before the start of the class.
  • Once you register for this class you will be issued a UWinID.   Please activate your UWinID as soon as possible. Document your UWinID and password as you will need it to access Brightspace and Teams. If you have any issues, please contact continue@uwindsor.ca.
  • Visit this site for Brightspace technical requirements

About OSAP Micro-credentials Application

  • This program is eligible for the OSAP Micro-credential application (OSAPMC).
  • Participants must be registered into the program prior to applying for OSAPMC.
  • Participants are obligated to pay their fees in full, or decide to withdraw at least one week prior to the course start date should they not receive OSAPMC.
  • Register for this program accordingly to allow ample time for your application to be processed. It takes approximately 10-15 business days for the OSAPMC application to be processed.
REGISTER NOW

Email us at continue@uwindsor.ca if you have questions - we are always happy to help. 

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