Undergraduate And Graduate Research Projects On Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (Phevs) Supported By Centerpoint Energy

This paper will chronicle the implementation of the offer of support for students to do applied research in the area of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) by the area electrical power company into a working program in which both undergraduate and graduate students have participated. The local electrical power distribution and transmission company, CenterPoint Energy, developed an interest in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). They contacted the administration of the College of Technology at the University of Houston to ask if there was an interest in student research projects in PHEVs, and the problems associated with implementing an infrastructure to serve them. The Electrical Power Engineering Technology Program faculty was very interested in the power company proposal since this would be an opportunity for students to learn by working on real world problems. CenterPoint Energy would provide a stipend for the undergraduate students taking special problems courses in PHEV topics, which would be under the guidance of one of the authors, an Electrical Power Engineering Technology faculty member. In addition the CenterPoint Energy would provide the PHEV to study, the necessary data gathering equipment, and advertise the involvement of the College of Technology and CenterPoint in the project. The CenterPoint Representative wanted the product from undergraduate student projects to be a presentation by the students on their research projects to a group of employees of the Power Company. The graduate research activity is being supported by funding a graduate research assistant position for one of the authors who is involved in smart-grid research. The expected outcome of the graduate research component is a contribution of the student to the research results that will be disseminated in technical conferences and journal papers. The undergraduate project activity began fall semester 2008 with two students studying the cost of operation of the company hybrid and PHEV vehicles, the company had one of each, and comparing the cost with data from fleets of similarly sized conventionally fueled vehicles. Delays in obtaining equipment and the PHEV conversion resulted in a late start in the fall semester and the project continued through the spring 2009 semester. The students made their presentation to a group of power company employees with an interest in PHEVs. A graduate student studied smart grid accommodation strategies for PHEVs starting in the summer of 2009. The initial study result has been submitted to an IEEE conference. The undergraduate projects continued during the fall semester of 2009 with five students studying topics relevant to PHEVs. The program is expected to continue through the 2010 spring semester with five more students participating. The goal of the Power Company, and the Electrical Power program, is to continue the student undergraduate and graduate practical research projects of interest to the Power Company in various technical areas. P ge 15290.2 This paper will report on projects through the fall semester of 2009, and the planned projects through the spring semester of 2010. The success of the program will be decided by evaluation of the student talks by the Power Company contacts, and by student comments on the value to them of their participation in the program.