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Advanced Energy Vehicle Design-Build Project for First-Year Engineering Students

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Conference

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Vancouver, BC

Publication Date

June 26, 2011

Start Date

June 26, 2011

End Date

June 29, 2011

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

FPD X: First-Year Design with Projects, Modeling, and Simulation

Tagged Division

First-Year Programs

Page Count

10

Page Numbers

22.147.1 - 22.147.10

DOI

10.18260/1-2--17428

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/17428

Download Count

387

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Paper Authors

biography

Clifford A. Whitfield Ohio State University

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Graduated from The Ohio State University with B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering and currently working as a Lecturer-BE and a Senior Research Associate for the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department and the Engineering Education Innovation Center's First-Year Engineering Program at The Ohio State University.

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Philip Schlosser Ohio State University

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Dr. Schlosser teaches First-Year Engineering courses and Freshman Seminars at The Ohio State University. He graduated from Ohio State University with B.Sc. degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering and M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering. Early in his career, he was Professor of Nuclear and Mechanical Engineering at OSU where he taught courses and conducted research in nuclear medical imaging systems. Over the past two decades, he has started several successful companies in the central Ohio area. He holds 22 U.S. and foreign patents for inventing various electronic devices and systems.

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biography

John A Merrill Ohio State University

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John A. Merrill is the Director for the First-Year Engineering Program at The Ohio State University College of Engineering, and has served in this capacity for over nine years. As part of the Engineering Education Innovation Center, the Program serves approximately 1800 students annually in courses organized to ensure student success through rigorous academics in a team-based environment. His responsibilities include operations, faculty recruiting, curriculum management, student retention, and program assessment. Dr. Merrill received his Ph.D. in Instructional Design and Technology from The Ohio State University in 1985, and has an extensive background in public education, corporate training, and contract research. He has made frequent presentations at conferences held by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and its affiliate conference, Frontiers in Education (FIE). He is part of the research team that was recently awarded an NSF grant to study strategies for maximizing success among students with learning disabilities. Dr. Merrill currently serves as an advisor for Engineers for Community Service (ECOS), a student-run organization at Ohio State. He teaches a Service-Learning course for Engineering students, which also involves traveling to Honduras with his students over Spring Break to implement projects on behalf of a rural orphanage. He is a two-time recipient of the College of Engineering’s Boyer Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Address: The Ohio State University, 2070 Neil Ave., 244E Hitchcock Hall, Columbus, OH 43210-1278; Telephone: (+1) 614-292-0650; fax: (+1) 614-247-6255; Email: merrill.25@osu.edu.

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biography

Elizabeth Riter Ohio State University

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Elizabeth is currently a Graduate Teaching Associate for the First-Year Engineering Program and a Graduate Administrative Assistant for the Engineering Scholars Program, a living-learning community. She is also the co-founder and Vice President of the Ohio State student chapter of the Structural Engineers Association of Ohio. Elizabeth graduated with her B.S. in Civil Engineering from The Ohio State University in 2007. She worked as a Structural Engineer for J.D. Stevenson & Associates in Chicago, IL for two years doing nuclear power plant design. She returned to Ohio State in 2009 to work on her M.S. in Structural Engineering.

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biography

Kuldeep Agarwal Ohio State University

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Kuldeep Agarwal is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering at The Ohio State University. He is also a Teaching Associate with the Engineering Education Innovation Center at the university. He holds a Masters in Applied Statistics and Masters in Industrial Engineering both from The Ohio State University. Prior to starting his Ph.D, he worked as Quality Engineer and then Plant Manager for Manufacturing industry in Delhi, India. His duties involved development of products and quality and reliability system solutions for various industries like the automotive, medical device and energy. He did his Bachelor's in Manufacturing Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur.

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Abstract

Advanced Energy Vehicle Design-Build Project for First-Year Engineering StudentsA design-build course with a focus on energy efficiency and management through studentdesigned, built, and tested model-scale Advance Energy Vehicles (AEVs) was developed forfirst-year engineering [Institution Program] students at [Institution]. The [Institution’s Center],comprised of 144 students, provides a multidisciplinary approach through lecture and laboratoryexperiences to the wide variety of engineering majors offered. The program increases studentawareness of green energy principles, innovation, and social responsibility through academic andco-curricular activities. The AEV design-build experience was developed specifically tofacilitate innovation through energy management concepts within the multidisciplinary nature ofdesign – complementing the acquisition of life-long learning skills offered through the[Institution Program].AEVs are small (< 500grams), autonomous, electric motor-powered, propeller-driven vehiclesthat are suspended from and maneuver along monorail track systems hung from the laboratoryceilings. Teams of four [Institution Program] students receive an AEV Kit which includes a 2-cell lithium polymer battery and an in-house, custom-made automatic controller and performancerecorder system featuring an Arduino Nano microcontroller and speed controllers.Each student is introduced to fundamental energy conservation and loss measurement techniquesin designing energy efficient AEVs. Each team takes a hands-on approach in designing,building, and testing AEVs and AEV components with the use of desktop wind tunnels anddesktop and classroom monorail track systems to measure, record, download, and analyze energyefficiency performances. The AEV design and build process offers student development inengineering intuition through the inductive/deductive processes, using experimentally gatheredand analyzed data. The laboratory experiences provide opportunities for improvement of thestudents' self-learning ability, the ability to work in teams, and communication skills with bothcolleagues and peers.Teams will be formed, managed, and monitored using Team-Maker software to ensure that thestudents receive timely feedback on their team formation and performance. Project managementthroughout the design process is regularly evaluated by requiring an updated AEV ProjectNotebook. Each team tracks and manages the design-build project through notebook records thatcontain initial AEV concepts, brainstorming notes, weekly performance test summaries, andlaboratory team memos.The teams’ final designs are evaluated during individual competitions and scored based on thatyear’s design criteria. At the end of the project each team develops a final report and PowerPointpresentation to present as a team to the class and for evaluation by the instructional team. A finalpublic competition, open to student family members and the general public, brings all [InstitutionProgram] students together to compete with their AEVs in an AEV Champion’s Series Race. Figure 1: Example AEV on Classroom TrackLimited References:1. Dominick P.G., Demel, J.T., Lawbaugh, W.M., Freuler, R.J., Kinzel, G. L., “Tools and Tactics of Design” Wiley, John & Sons, Inc., November 2000.2. Team-Maker; A Tool for Criterion-Based Team Assignment, www.catme.org

Whitfield, C. A., & Schlosser, P., & Merrill, J. A., & Riter, E., & Agarwal, K. (2011, June), Advanced Energy Vehicle Design-Build Project for First-Year Engineering Students Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC. 10.18260/1-2--17428

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