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AUTHOR(S): Andrew Wong, Brian Chonos, Cesar Garcia, Dennis Nguyen, Fernando Barrera, Ha Thu Le
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TITLE A bi-directional Electric Vehicle Charging System for Experiential and Public Education |
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ABSTRACT As countries around the world transition to electric vehicles (EV), there is an urgent need to develop a workforce for this area where experiential training is indispensable. Further, publication education of electric vehicles is also needed to accelerate adoption of the emission-free vehicles. To serve this purpose, a bi-directional charger for EVs has been designed, implemented in MATLAB Simulink, and built as a physical system. It visualizes EV charging action using computer-based simulation, as well as physical demo of the prototype. The testing results show that a bi-directional charger is not only possible to make but also can be readily used in the near future. The Simulink model shows that Grid-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Grid operation modes work as desired to charge and discharge EV battery appropriately. The physical model confirms this finding. The study contributes a novel approach to EV-related training activities where both the software and physical models are developed for explaining advanced technical concepts, such as battery charging and discharging, microcontroller coding, voltage sensing, state of charge estimation, and converter operation. The Simulink model vividly visualizes the system operation using colorful graphics, which enhance learner understanding and interest in the subject. The physical model connects the theory with hands-on experience, which is a desired approach in current engineering education. The MATLAB Simulink charging and discharging models have been used to teach a graduate course in electric vehicle and energy storage successfully. Overall, both the simulation and the physical systems can be effective tools for EV-related experiential training and for educating the general public. This helps promote the usage of EV for the benefits of the power grid and EV owners, as well as reduce carbon emissions to protect the environment. |
KEYWORDS Bi-directional charger, experiential training, public education, electric vehicle, grid to vehicle, workforce development, vehicle to grid |
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Cite this paper Andrew Wong, Brian Chonos, Cesar Garcia, Dennis Nguyen, Fernando Barrera, Ha Thu Le. (2024) A bi-directional Electric Vehicle Charging System for Experiential and Public Education. International Journal of Circuits and Electronics, 9, 1-12 |
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