Automotive Engineering
Automotive Engineering focuses on the design and manufacturing of automobiles, relevant components, and assemblies. This includes a wide array of products, including passenger cars, trucks, military multi-wheeled vehicles, motorcycles, devices for intelligent transportation systems, as well as innovative technologies, such as autonomous vehicles.
Our curriculum emphasizes the design and manufacturing of automobiles—and their related components—including engines and their analysis and design, vehicle dynamics, and autonomous vehicle technologies. We offer the only Automotive Engineering program in Canada. This program prepares engineers to meet the advances of the automotive sector by accelerating research and developing alternative technologies (e.g. electric and fuel-driven vehicles).
Consider Automotive Engineering if you find yourself asking questions such as:
- How will advances in electric and hybrid vehicles impact the future of traditional internal combustion automobiles?
- What is the role of humans in autonomous vehicles?
- Should vehicles have the ability to communicate with each other— independently of their drivers—to improve highway safety?
- How will modern vehicle design evolve and what features will distinguish them?
- How will advances in fuel cells impact future vehicle design?
The only accredited program of its kind in Canada
Graduates prepared for employment directly within the automotive industry
State-of-the-art facilities for powertrain & chassis systems design
After graduating you can...
- Design and develop innovative technologies for the continuously advancing automotive sector.
- Serve as engineers for OEMs, tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers.
- Participate in activities for manufacturing and production logistics.
- Design and develop systems and intelligent vehicles.
- Automotive design, production, maintenance, repair and testing.
- Automotive research and development.
...and many more!
Sample Courses:
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Automotive Systems Design
The increasing complexity of automotive systems and the pressure to deliver these systems to market faster is driving the need for better engineering design approaches to product development. This course covers design theory, operation, and testing of systems found in modern automobiles, as well as the impact of automotive design on society. Students work in small groups of three or four and complete a series of projects in which they integrate efficient production methods, cost effectiveness, modern materials utilization, etc. Their work includes a comprehensive presentation of the latest systems and technologies and covers the fundamentals of design of passenger cars, trucks, etc.; layout of major vehicle subsystems to arrive at a preliminary vehicle design; use of systems engineering to define requirements, generate design concept and predict performance; design for vehicle safety. The “best” solutions are chosen from a group of solutions presented to them, based on specified criteria. Modelling and design validation is performed, in some instances, using a computational design and simulation environment. A special requirement for students in engineering and management programs is that, because of the dual orientation of such programs, some of the design projects must be of an engineering-management type and involve business and/or management.
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Combustion and Engines
Combustion fundamentals, including flame stoichiometry, chemical kinetics, flame temperature, pre-mixed and diffusion flames. Applications to engineered combustion systems such as furnaces and fossil-fuelled engines. Continuous and unsteady combustion systems. Internal combustion engines, including cycles, fuels and lubricants, supercharging, carburetion, valving, manifolding, combustion chamber ignition and fuel injection; engine performance and testing. Design of combustors and engines. Methods for increasing combustion efficiency and reducing pollutant formation. Pollution reduction techniques.
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Vehicle Dynamics and Control
Total vehicle dynamics; dynamical properties of vehicle parts; the longitudinal, lateral and vertical dynamics; mathematical models of vehicles to predict their road performance; suppression of forces, moments, and movements under external road disturbances; steady-state handling and vehicle directional behaviour; transient response and stability in small disturbance maneuvers; nonlinear effects in tire modelling, classification and analysis of suspension systems; ride quality; driving stability; vehicle control factors such as driver modelling, occupant comfort and driver interfaces; introduction to active suspension systems, traction control, and yaw-moment control; introduction to advanced vehicle control systems for intelligent vehicle-highway systems.
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Automotive Component Design
Component design of powertrain: manual and automatic transmissions, transfer case, planetary gears, final drive including differential lock system, propshaft, synchronizing element, helical and bevel gears. Design of transmission systems; need for an automatic transmission, function of manual and automatic transmission system; design of planetary gear train transmissions, and peripheral components; Hydraulic power supply, electronic and hydraulic controls in automatic transmissions; transmission arrangements and performance characteristics; chassis design. Heating and cooling systems design for passenger comfort; design of engine cooling and exhaust systems.
