OLIN ELECTRIC MOTORSPORTS (FORMULA SAE)
Olin Electric Motorsport is a student-run FSAE team based in Needham, MA. As the current Accumulator Subteam Lead, I manage and mentor a team of 10 engineers, organize subteam meetings, ensuring HV safety, and oversee the project timeline.
In addition, I am designing and fabricating the 400V battery and working closely with our Electrical subteam.
Segment Design
The 400V battery is a critical component to power our electric vehicle.
I specked out the Molicel P45B Cell and a pack configuration that will allow us to finish the 22km Endurance Race while optimizing for weight and motor controller voltage constraints. The final configuration incorporated insights from performance data from previous events to meet the capacity requirements with a factor of safety.
The final configuration of 6x 102s 4p has a max voltage of 428 V, nominal energy of 6.6 kWh, and weight of 28.5 kg.
The structure of each segment includes a polycarbonate structure to hold the cells, a power and thermistor board to measure temperature and fuse cells together, handles for quick removal, locating pins to constrain movement and a touch cover for safety.
Final render of a fully assembled segment
TEST Segment
Before manufacturing the entire battery pack, a Test Segment was made to test the mechanical assembly of the design.
Testing different tolerances
Assembling the Test Segment
Spot-welding the fusible links
segment Manufacturing
To make the repetitive manufacturing process faster, I programed a 3-axis CNC Mill and designed a manufacturing jig to easily align each sheet of polycarb.
Testing tolerances
Segment Jig
Manufacturing on the 3-Axis CNC Mill
segment Assembly
segments in Accumulator battery context
in progress