MAE 3870

Fundamentals of Electric-Drive Vehicle Engineering

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

The course covers the engineering fundamentals and basic design of electric-drive vehicles by analyzing the relevant physics and applying the relevant equations and simple models. The course reviews transportation electrification history, electric vehicle architecture, powertrain components and their modeling and control.

Prerequisites REF-FA25/Corequisites REF-FA25 PHYS 2213, MAE 2030, and MATH 2930. Corequisites: None.

Exploratory Studies (CU-SBY)

Last 4 terms offered (None)

Outcomes REF-FA25

• Students will be able to explain the fundamental concepts of range and energy storage.
• Students will be able to perform calculations using efficiencies and loads to estimate range.
• Students will be able to perform calculations relating to the combination of cells to form battery packs, and the tradeoffs of voltage versus capacity.
• Students will be able to describe the key operating characteristics of induction electric motors.
• Students will be able calculate the mpge and other efficiency metrics for various drive cycles.
• Students will be able to perform modeling of some specific electric vehicle systems, using MATLAB and/or Python scripts.
• Students will be able to describe the performance and model the control systems of specialized low-speed electric vehicle systems such as wheelchairs, assistive scooters, and material handling equipment.

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