Projects

Title: Quantitative Analysis of Storage Requirement for Autonomous Vehicles

PI: Weisong Shi

Students: Yuxin Wang, William He, Ruijun Wang

Project Description: This study addresses the critical aspect of data storage requirements for Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). With AVs generating substantial amounts of data daily, understanding these requirements is vital for AV storage systems design, enhancing vehicle safety, efficiency, and operational integrity. Through a comprehensive analysis of onboard sensor and CAN bus data, alongside a novel mathematical model, this research offers insights into the storage needs, assesses system durability, and proposes a tailored storage solution and system architecture. The findings aim to guide the development of future AV storage systems, emphasizing the importance of data-driven decision-making in AV technology advancements.

Title: Planar magnetic components for EV power converters

PI: Caisheng Wang

Students: Truong Duy Duong

Project description: Magnetics, including inductors and transformers, are key components in many electric vehicle (EV) power converters, and they pose a bottleneck for reducing the size and weight of the entire system. The labor-intensive manufacturing of conventional magnetics also hinders the automation of power converter production. Planar magnetics offer a solution for achieving high-frequency, high power density, and cost-effective power converters. We proposed and implemented a planar magnetics transformer for an isolated LLC resonant converter with a 500 kHz switching frequency, achieving soft-switching across the full-load range. The converter uses wide band-gap gallium nitride MOSFETs to reduce switching losses and a planar transformer structure to reduce core loss while maintaining low core volume. Simulation with ANSYS Maxwell verified the design, and the hardware of the LLC converter, operating at 500 kHz with 380 V input, 12 V output, 2.5 kW power, and 97.5% efficiency, is currently being debugged.