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Automotive Electronic Engineering MSc

Taught Module Summaries

Please note that these are indicative summaries and may change

Automotive Control Systems (term 2)

Automotive and engine modelling : motion equations, modelling of linear and non-linear systems, numerical methods, system responses
Automotive control systems: analogue and digital control methods, stability augmentation, control augmentation, cruise control, traction control, actuator limiting, wind-up, gain scheduling, adaptive control
Engine management testing: Engine management system strategies and implementation. Case studies. Simulation and implementation methods.

Power Train Engineering (term 1)

Forms of power plant used in automotive applications in cars, commercial vehicles and for high performance.  Petrol and gas engines, diesel engines, electric motors and control systems.  Methods of improving engine performance and efficiency.  Emission control.  Developments in existing engine forms (direct gasoline injection etc.) and alternative and hybrid designs (solar power, electric/gasoline, LPG, fuel cells).  Transmission systems, clutches, gearboxes and final drive units. Different forms of gearbox, (manual, automatic, semi-automatic, sequential). Matching of input/output characteristics.

Sustainable Automotive Power Technology (term 2)

Critical review and evaluation of conventional power systems leading to an appreciation of their advantages and deficiencies in an environmental context.
Critical review of types of sustainable motive power system, including electric vehicles, IC-electric hybrids, bio-fuelled units, fuel-cells, hydrogen power units, novel power units and those concept power units at the research stage.
Energy management strategies for example, regenerative breaking, start-stop, torque boost.  Sensing and control systems.
Energy storage components and systems for example, batteries, reversible fuel cells, ultra-capacitors, flywheels.
Electric vehicles, electric drives, charging systems and control systems.
Hybrid vehicle paradigms and sub-systems: series and parallel topologies, drive trains and clutches, control systems.
Energy infrastructure and vectors of sustainable transport systems: grid capacity for electric vehicle charging; smart grids; hydrogen infrastructure, photo-voltaics, solar-thermal electric power.
Legislative drivers to sustainability; social reporting influences and public opinion.  Triple bottom line accounting.  Full life-cycle analysis.
System modelling and simulation with MATLAB

Automotive Communication Systems (term 1)

Data communications standards.  Introduction to the concept of a digital communications link, serial communications standards and a local area network.  Evaluation of the characteristics of networks, to include topics such as topology, safety critical issues and reliability.   Relevance of internet protocols, such as TCP/IP for automotive applications.  Wireless LANs standards, such as Bluetooth, IEEE802.11x.  Communications protocols for automotive applications, such as CAN and FlexRay.  Introduction to the application of Telematics, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), for use in an automotive environment.

Embedded Processor Systems (term 1)

Critical review of microprocessors:

  • History of microprocessor, microcontroller and digital signal processor development
  • History of development within within the automotive context.
  • Current developments and issues
  • Future trends

Architecture of an 8-bit microcontroller including

  • Ports
  • Timer/counters
  • Interrupts
  • Watch-dog timers
  • PWM
  • High-level language programming in ‘C’ with particular reference to:
  • Operators – including bit-wise
  • Control constructs
  • Pointers

Real-Time Programme Design:

  • Pointers to physical addresses and linking
  • Input and Output device programming
  • Timers and interrupts, latency, watch-dog timers

Program Development:

Engine Control Unit Design (term 2)

Extension of high-level language programming in ‘C’ with particular reference to:

  • Arrays and strings
  • Pointers to functions
  • In-line assembler code and assembler-level functions
  • Input and Output device programming
  • Timers, Exceptions and multiple interrupts

Programme Development:

  • Software development strategies
  • Compiling and linking
  • Software testing and debugging
  • Use of a professional development system

With respect to the PowerPC™ microcontroller:

  • The PowerPC family of ICs
  • Core processor operation
  • Exception processing and interrupts
  • Chip set - peripheral devices e.g.: timers, communications, analogue interfaces

Application Specific

  • Time criticality
  • Multiple interrupts and prioritisation
  • Representation, storage and manipulation of data
    • Engine maps
  • Commercial ECU technology
    • On-board-diagnostics

Sensors and Interfacing (term 1)

The following in-vehicle sensors will be discussed including their principles of operation, limitations and use within the automotive context:

  • Temperature eg coolant, air intake
  • Position eg crankshaft, throttle plate
  • Pressure eg manifold, exhaust differential, tyre
  • Lambda
  • Distance eg anti-collision
  • Velocity eg speedometer, anti-skid
  • Torque eg automatic transmission

Interfacing of the above sensors to in-vehicle processing or communications nodes will be discussed including principles of operation, topologies and limitations:

  • Operational amplifier circuits, instrumentation amplifiers, comparators
  • ADC’s, D/A converters, sampling theorem
  • Interfacing electronics, level shifting, wave-shaping, filters

Noise mechanisms and reduction

Power Electronics and Actuators (term 2)

Electric Drives (dc motors, steppers, solenoid valves, fuel injectors) with applications in engine cooling, automated manual transmission, diesel injectors, throttle drives etc
Alternators and charging, battery technology
Ignition systems
Pulse-width-modulation
EMC (legislation, testing procedures, causes of conducted and radiated emissions, solutions)
dc-dc convertor topologies, control and design
Power devices (IGBT, TRIAC, FET, BJT)
Designing interfaces using power devices, application examples would be ignition coil, fuel injector, high-power LED
Thermal management

Further information

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Study for a Masters in Automative Electronic Engineering

Study for a Masters in Automative Electronic Engineering