Electronics Research Assistant

Designed and built an electric vehicle and a current sensor printed circuit board to test a proof-of-concept bi-directional grid-compatible power converter.

What is a bi-directional grid-compatible power converter?

The Universal and Scalable Smart Grid Power Converter (USSGPC) is intended to allow for AC or DC power at a variable voltage and frequency to be sourced or consumed to or from the grid.

• This allows home batteries (like the Tesla Powerwall) or battery-powered electric vehicles to source power to the grid during power outages or brownouts.

The device is smart grid capable, allowing communication between converters and utility companies.

• Communication between power sourcing converters and utility companies can reduce the need for peaker plants, which run at reduced efficiency to start up quickly.

Electric Vehicle Design

Designed and built an electric recumbent tricycle to test the USSGPC. This involved:

• Learning about the CAN communication protocol.
• Assembling a 48V 20AH Li-Ion battery and battery monitoring system.
• Various metalworking and fabrication tasks including:
  • Designing and fabricating a battery tray, during which, learning to TIG weld.
  • Designing and fabricating a controller mount.
  • Turning and milling a shaft with a keyway.
• 3D modeling frame mounts in Fusion 360 for peripherals including switches, a display, and a key.
• Wiring the battery to the controller and the controller to the peripherals.
• Keeping a well-maintained engineering notebook.
• Communicating individual progress to a cross-functional team on a weekly basis.
• Providing technical documentation including project references and reports.

Printed Circuit Board Design

Designed a PCB in Altium to measure the current passing through the converter. This involved:

• Creating schematic symbol libraries and drawing schematics.
• Creating footprints and adding 3D models.
• Placing components and routing traces.
• Running design rule checks and debugging.
• Generating output files such as PDFs of schematics and 3D models, Gerber and drill files, and a bill of materials.
• Collaborating with graduate students to make more-informed design choices.