Integration team

This month, Eric Van Gelder, a recent graduate from the University of California, Davis, joined us to share his expertise. He is currently traveling around the world having just been to Uganda and preparing for more adventures in Asia. At UC Davis, Eric got a master's degree in mechanical engineering and developed a prototype super efficient commuter vehicle, the Pedal Electric Tricycle (PET) Project. He also worked for a year at the Institute of Transportation Studies as a researcher developing energy use of models of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

Here at GROEP T Eric has been specifying and sourcing the battery pack for the VISION GT. The advanced lithium iron phospate pack will weigh less than 200 kg and will be able to propell the vehicle more than 100 km per charge and to a total of more than 200000 km over its lifetime. Eric will continue to work with us after he leaves via his laptop, modeling the VISION GT in Imagine.Lab, vehicle modeling software from LMS, to perfect the powertrain design and devleop a controlls system before building it.

The VISION GT is a plug-in electric 5-door cross-over vehicle, based on the VISION 200 design. Our engineers mainly focus on the core business sub-systems: the design, development and production of a lightweight frame, high-efficient electric motor and the motor controller. The integration of these three essential parts will be combined with a substantial number of sub-systems from a donor vehicle: the VISION GT integrates the mechanical drive train, suspension, interior, steering and several electronic control units. The battery pack, drive train architecture and body panels will be co-developed by partner companies.

The VISION GT, the second VISION prototype, is going to show VDS GROEP T’s engineering qualities. Both interior and exterior will be functional in the first place, because of the technical/scientific approach. Similarly, the overall ergonomics and comfort of the end-user are considered less important. Nevertheless, we consider the safety and comfort of the driver a key objective, due to the planned endurance tests.

With respect to the VDS VISION, the VISION GT will be a 100% electric vehicle – not a hybrid. It can also board five adult people, instead of six.

Mid summer of 2008, VDS produced the first VISION prototype in the Turin, Italy. Based on this experience, VDS GROEP T now develops a second prototype, the VISION GT. It will be assembled in spring 2009. The prototype will effectively be used for drive tests and endurance tests. The VISION GT will be a VDS GROEP T car: it will show the lightweight frame, electric motor and motor controller to the maximum. The power train, power steering, suspension and braking systems will be incorporated from another existing car. Our researchers won’t focus on these integration components; the innovative sub systems have our priority.

This academic year, the frame team will focus on composites in particular. They want to develop and build a 100% carbon composite frame. Our researchers also explore the possibilities of flax fibres, because they have an impressive low life cycle impact – which is the de facto target of VDS GROEP T. The frame will be produced in cooperation with several industrial partners.

The motor team finished the design of the PMSM motor in September 2008. This motor is obviously controller by the PMSM controller, which will be finished in Q2 2009. The production of the Switched Reluctance Motor is scheduled in Q1 2009. The VISION GT will be driven by a 30 KW SRM motor. The SRM motor has significantly better results in the life cycle analysis, compared to all other electric motors. Next to a cheap, fast and environment friendly production, it has a very high efficiency while in use.

The motor controller team will focus on two specific domains: the hardware implementation of the PMSM controller algorithm – both controller and high power electronics – and the first develop cycle of the SRM algorithm. In Q2 2009 VDS GROEP T will show their PMSM controller, and a first version of the SRM algorithm.

Arthur was born as the first child of four more to come on August 31 1984 in Heerlen, located in the south of the Netherlands. He grew up and went to school in Valkenburg. After his third year of the highschool he went to a boarding school in Maaseik, Belgium. He then went to Leuven to study electromechanical engineering at GROUP T in Leuven. At the moment he still lives in Leuven, together with his girlfriend Leen (already seven years and both still in love).

Being the leader of several projects Arthur discovered his management capabilities during the past years. This year he was selected and chosen to be the leader of the VDS GROUP T Team. He supervises both technical teams and is in charge of shared tasks, including infrastructure, logistics, events, finance, public relations, sponsorship and marketing.

Hobbies: Computer, Music, PC-games, Piano, Hanging out with friends, ...

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Gert Vos was born on the 20th of June 1985 in Leuven, where he grew up and still lives today. Here he finished his high school at Koninklijk Atheneum Leuven ‘De Ring’. He studies sciences and mathematics, what else did you expect?

Very soon he seemed to be interested in everything that has something to do with computers, hence the choice to study civil engineer computer sciences. But after the first year the studies seemed to be not what he expected them to be, a bit too theoretical, so he decides to study industrial engineer at GROUP T.

In his third year electronics-ICT he noticed that he was more interested in electronics than ICT. Also during the bachelor project, where he was team leader of an international team of 15 students, he became more interested in a large international project like VDS. During this bachelor project he mostly worked with low-power digital electronics. This time he will take the challenge with VDS to work with high powers and so design the motor controller. As the team leader of the Electrical Motor Team he will also be involved in the project management.

Hobbies:

* Computers: websites, networking, ...

* Elektronica: what did you think!

* Music: guitar, piano, recording, ...

www.linkedin.com/pub/5/122/621 gertvos

Stijn was born on the 6th of February 1986 in Geel. He is the second child of a series of four. As a young boy he grew up in a little village named Ham, where he still lives today. When he finished 6th grade, it was time to go to high school in the Free Technical Institute at Beringen, to study Industrial Science. There he got interested in mathematics and science. After 6 years he chose to go study at GroupT. In his first three bachelor years he did several projects. It began with the research of a surfboard and ended by making a small solar car. When he wanted to begin his master he got the opportunity to join VDS. Stijn was immediately interested and joined the frame team. His goals in this project are: to expand his knowledge, to improve his skills as an engineer and help to build for a better future.

Hobbies: Cycling, Fitness, Music and Books

stijn.de.l.arbre

Since 11 februari 1986 this guy is rooting in the small city of borgloon. Thanks to the local fertile soil, he was able to successfully grow as far as Leuven. A technical direction was the obvious choice, so GROUP T suited him perfectly. And because of a youth in the green, he could only choose this ecological project. The international character, the motivated team and the ambitious challenge, are a nice surplus he wants to take advantage off.

Interests: scouting, urban exploring, hiking, cars, a good pint

July 15 1986, D-day for Jelle. Since then he lives in Olmen, a little village. After 18 years he leaves his hometown during the week, to go study at Group T. 3 years and a lot of study later he joins the Vehicle Design Summit project. This because it’s a good thing for the environment. If everyone had a car like this, there would be a lot less consequences for the environment. The time there is left, he works for Bruudruuster Visuals Productions as director, cameraman and photographer. He also likes Walt Disney and themeparks.

jelle.collignon

April 3th, 1985, a year no longer only known for it’s good wines. 5h48 in the morning somewhere in Hasselt. For the first time ever, he left the mother ship for a first short reconnaissance trip across the planet. He saw that it was good and decided to stay. Not in Hasselt, but in Cologne for the first 5 years of his young and inexperienced life. Afterwards he returned to his roots and after living in Wilsele for some years he moved to Heverlee, hometown of all that is good and pure. At the moment he enjoys the beauty of life, living in a student house in the centre of Leuven.

As a little boy, he started rebuilding lawnmowers into turbo-meadow-pirate-ships. In between these rebuilding projects this rascal also finished secondary school at the Heilige-Drievuldigheidscollege, a school located on the Oude Markt in the centre of Leuven. He then decided to take a higher education in Industrial Engineering at GROUP T University College. At GROUP T, yet again, he got the chance to build a turbo-high-tech-lawnmower. But this time it had to be a model capable of transporting 4 passengers, it had to be lightweighted and yet superstrong, with a minimum mileage of 200 mpg and fully recyclable. Another major requirement was crashworthiness, so being able to withstand the bumpy night rides through the meadows like in the good ol’days was not sufficient for this vehicle.

Designing, developing and building your own car, having ambitious goals laying ahead, coming up with inventive solutions to complex problems, facing huge challenges and working in team on the car of the future, building up international relations and making business trips to foreign countries… reasons enough for Pieter to give the VDS-project his full devotion and to spent all of his energy on the project (and of course on the fight for world peace as well).

Interests: Chatting with people, making noise, practising swimming pool sports and parties, bar tending and bar sitting, solving IT-problems (for a living), travelling, ...

www.linkedin.com/pub/4/432/388 pieter.roels

It was January 20 1986, when Jan made his first steps into this world. After graduating high school in 2004, he decided to study for Master of Industrial Science in Electromechanical Engineering. When the time came to decide what to do as master thesis, he noticed the opportunity to implement it in a big project, this project.

A technical challenge with a clear goal you can work towards, coupled to the factor of teamwork is what this guy needs.

Hobbies: Football (Am: soccer)

www.linkedin.com/in/jannolens jan.nolens