PROJECT #1: Design of an E-Differential for a Small Hub-Motor Vehicle (Emir Kutluay)

Hub motored vehicles are of great interest especially in off-road applications and hybrid or all-electric driven vehicles. In this project, students are expected to design and manufacture the prototype of a e-differential module for a small one axle driven vehicle with hub motors.

The classical automobile drivetrain is composed by a single Internal combustion engine providing torque to one or more driving wheels. The most common solution is to use a mechanical device to distribute torque to the wheels. This mechanical differential allows different wheel speeds when cornering. With the emergence of electric vehicles new drive train configurations are possible. Multi-drive systems become easy to implement due to the large power density of electric motors. These systems, usually with one motor per driving wheel, need an additional top-level controller which performs the same task as a mechanical differential.

The E-differential scheme has several advantages over a mechanical differential:

· simplicity - it avoids additional mechanical parts such as a gearbox or clutch;· independent torque for each wheel allows additional capabilities (e.g., traction control, stability control);· reconfigurable - it is reprogrammable in order to include new features or tuned according to the driver’s preferences;· allows distributed regenerative braking;· the torque is not limited by the wheel with least traction, as it is with a mechanical differential.· faster response times;· accurate knowledge of traction torque per wheel.

Expected Outcome of the Project:

1. A very detailed and well-structured literature survey of the state of the art. The survey must include scientific and engineering aspects, as well as contemporary applications.2. A report which details the developed control algorithms and required equations, as well as system simulations and virtual proof-of-concept.3. A report which details the design of the E-differential system hardware.4. An ECU unit and driver units to control 2 electric motors.5. A test-bed with a steerable front axle and driven rear axle (which can be readily bought or manufactured) to demonstrate the functionality of the E-differential. The maneuvers to be performed:

a. Very low speed circle maneuvers.b. High speed steady state cornering maneuvers.c. Straight take off with one wheel on very low friction surface.

In case, it is not possible to build the physical prototype due to pandemic, the alternative outcomes are:

1. A very detailed and well-structured literature survey of the state of the art. The survey must include scientific and engineering aspects, as well as contemporary applications.2. A report which details the developed control algorithms and required equations, as well as system simulations and virtual proof-of-concept.3. A report which details the design of the E-differential system hardware.4. Models of an ECU unit and driver units to control 2 electric motors., which need to be modelled a well.5. A detailed model of a test-bed with a steerable front axle and driven rear axle (which can be readily bought or manufactured) to demonstrate the functionality of the E-differential. The maneuvers to be performed:

a. Very low speed circle maneuvers.

b. High speed steady state cornering maneuvers.c. Straight take off with one wheel on very low friction surface.

PROJECT #2: Design of a Radial Fan of a Dryer (Murat Köksal, Özgür Ekici)

This project is to be carried in collaboration with Vestel. Efficient fan designs will be investigated/sought using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Acoustic analysis can also be performed. The scope of the project and design requirements will be finalized together with Vestel R&D department.

1 project group with 3 members (max). is required. Students with prior CFD experience and strong motivation/interest in fluid mechanics will be preferred.

Courtesy of Vestel.

PROJECT #3: Heat Exchanger Design of a Dryer Heat Pump System (Murat Köksal, Özgür Ekici)

This project is to be carried in collaboration with Vestel. Novel heat exchanger designs will be investigated/sought using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to improve the efficiency of the heat pump systems used in dryers. The scope of the project and design requirements will be finalized together with Vestel R&D department.

1 project group with 3 members (max). is required. Students with prior CFD experience and strong motivation/interest in fluid mechanics/heat transfer will be preferred.

Courtesy of Vestel.

PROJECT #4: Soft Gripper Project (Volkan Parlaktaş)

https://youtu.be/X0XGure7mak

Contact Project Supervisor for details.

PROJECT #5: Design of a Rotatable Seat for Autonomous Cars (Selçuk Himmetoğlu)

Customers would like to have unconventional seating positions in autonomous cars which are

different than the forward-facing seats that are common in today's passenger cars. In this project, a

rotatable seat will be designed which will allow a single axis rotation at the seat base. When there is

a high risk of car crash as determined by the sensors, the seat will be rotated into a favorable

position just before the impact. For further details and questions about the project, please contact

the project supervisor.

PROJECT #6: Design of a Pro-active Head Restraint (Selçuk Himmetoğlu)

Head restraint is an essential part of a car seat which reduces neck injuries. It is important for a head

restraint to be positioned close to the head before an impact occurs. On the other hand, the head

restraint should not cause discomfort during normal daily use. In this project, a driving mechanism

for the head restraint will be designed which will be driven by sensor data and positions the head

restraint close to the head to provide protection during impact. For further details and questions

about the project, please contact the project supervisor.

PROJECT#7: Choosing an Optimum Floor Panel Structure in Aircraft (Bora Maviş)

This project is to be carried in collaboration with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).

Within the scope of the project, the panels used in aircraft cabin floors will be examined, and the

most appropriate design studies for the panel material and structure will be made for the methods

deemed appropriate as a result of the literature review.

The scope of the project and design requirements will be finalized together with Turkish Aerospace

Industries LIFT UP department.

1 project group with 3 members (max.) is required.

Terms and information regarding Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI):

https://liftup.tusas.com/

The project team's GPA must be 2.75 and above.

As a result of the project studies, a paper booklet is prepared and published on the LIFT UP website.

At the same time, publication of project outputs in national / international scientific meetings

(congresses, symposiums, workshops, conferences, etc.) and refereed journals is encouraged.

In the relevant program, employment opportunities can be evaluated for the students in the project

team in line with TAI recruitment criteria. It is considered and recommended that it would be beneficial

to provide information on the completion of the graduation project with TUSAŞ in the recruitment

interviews.

If there are expenditure items in the projects, a budget of up to 5.000 TL (excluding the corporate

share including VAT) approved by the industry consultant is provided with the invoice issued for the

expenditure made by the University. In this context, support is provided for the following budget items.

Machinery, equipment and software expenses

Consumable expenses

Service purchases

Travel expenses

Other expenses directly or indirectly related to the project

PROJECT#8 : Single Axis Impedance Controlled Assistive Rehabilitation Robot (Özgür Ünver)

In this Project the goal is to help paraplegic patients to recover faster during their treatment. This

system is worn by the patient and it helps the patient to lift his/her leg up to the horizontal surface

with given assist ratio. Paraplegic patients have some difficulties to apply enough torque to their legs,

therefore, during physical therapy, physiotherapists help them to lift their legs. In this project,

instead of a physiotherapist, this robot will assist the leg of the patient at given ratio, for example

50%, 75%, the rest of the job should be done by the patient itself willingly. Therefore, this robot

should follow the motion of the patient, calculates the torque needed at that moment, and only

applies the amount of torque which is set as a ratio by the physiotherapist.

PROJECT#9: Vertical Guided Jumping Robot with Series Elastic Actuation (Özgür Ünver)

In this project, it is aimed to design a jumping robot which moves in the vertical direction only

(guided). User only enters the desired jump height and the robot tries to jump at that height and

it should keep jumping at the input height until new height is entered by the user. Jump height

should be adjusted by the user between 10-50 cm. The robot should start from stand still as in

the video given below. Here is one of the examples of this type of robots;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq7Pp7Y309M