EV Integration and Testing

The above two components such as EVPT and EVESS will be integrated into the already developed EV prototype at the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SMME), NUST which is at the forefront of research in sustainable energy.

In this context, we have successfully developed functional prototypes for electric cars and bikes which are being tested on campus to shuttle between faculties and departments. The school also has a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility that has CNC machines and a material resource center for conventional manufacturing and fabrication. Already Prof. Dr. Imran, the co-PI from SMME has extensive experience in the fields of design and manufacturing, particularly machining, welding, and the use of design software (ProE/Creo and Solidworks).

He brings with him over 5-year industrial experience, especially in the design and integration of aerospace vehicle systems and has also carried out research relevant to this project, especially in the field of design and manufacturing, as well as the testing and use of PV-based electric vehicle technologies including solar charging stations. This research has already been published in leading international journals of repute as well as international conference

In this project, full-scale electric vehicles will be analyzed and road-tested for the designed ECPT and EVES components. A modular design approach will be adopted for ease of integration, testing, and identification and troubleshooting of errors during lab as well as road testing. Mechanical and structural as well as aerodynamic stability of the carriages and track will simultaneously be carried out. Also, technical validation will be carried out for future commercialization. Overall, the digital design, manufacturing, and assembly of the mechanical systems, and the overall integration of the systems into the EV. The mechanical design will include exterior and interior design using suitable CAD software like ProE/Creo/Solidworks. Effective utilization of modular design theory will be implemented using the design of manufacturing (DfM) and design for assembly (DfA) approaches. After design verification through the virtual model, manufacturing drawings will be generated, and using them, a fully functional prototype will be manufactured. The prototype will be road tested after assembly and integration of electrical systems, power train, and sensors using real-time data acquisition of environmental and performance parameters (battery state, mileage, solar insolation, speed, acceleration, vibrations, energy consumption, etc.)

Project KPIs

Design, development, and testing of EV Powertrain. (up to 5kW motor with power converter and control will be manufactured).

Local design of Li-Ion cells. (Establishment of local facility for designing, manufacturing, and testing of Li-ion cells at the end of project)

Testing and comparison of designed local cells with imported cells.

Design, development, and testing of BMS. (Features like cell balancing, monitoring, and protection along with thermal management).

Designing and testing of locally manufactured Battery pack for an electric vehicle. (Battery pack up to 15kW will be target for this project and integrated with above BMS)

Integration of designed EVESS and EVPT into the existing vehicle. (Final analysis and testing of the designed systems by running the test driving cycles).

Establishment of EV-HUB platform at the CoE for future R&D, testing, and training activities. (Testing facilities will be marketed and trainings will be conducted for skill development towards the end of project)

A ‘Knowledge Hub’ platform with a dedicated project website allowing stakeholder engagement, sharing of data, and remaining the key point-of-contact for players interested in the area.

Development of viable/ local supply chain leading to indigenization (such as that in the motorbike and certain car manufacturing sectors in Pakistan).