Battery Box Concept Generation
In beginning to consider how to redesign the University of Utah Solar Car battery boxes, the current battery boxes where considered. The current battery boxes were made of fiberglass with steel bolted connections woven into the fiberglass. The boxes where made longer than necessary for the batteries, but it seems that it was to fit the solar car properly. The current boxes are not high quality, with the fiberglass falling apart and the steel bolted connections uneven on each end. By studying the current battery boxes, further ideas were generated and past mistakes noted.
Furthermore, in beginning concept generation, other solar car teams battery boxes ere benchmarked. A common trend is the use of lightweight materials in the construction of the battery boxes. Composite materials and woods were common materials in the very successful teams. Also, the batteries were separated into two boxes with a single vent to the rear of the vehicle.
Mindmap
In order to start a redesign of the University of Utah Solar Car battery boxes, a simple mindmap was completed. Through the mind map, many different ideas were put down onto paper and considered. The mind map that was generated can be seen below in Figure 4.1.
Figure 4.1 - Mindmap produced by Ryan Jamison
Initial Idea Development
To begin getting an idea of how to design the new battery boxes, some simple sketches were done. These simple sketches helped in visualizing how the battery boxes might look and go together. The general box that is to be investigated includes one and two forced ventilation boxes. Two of these simple sketchers are below. The sketches include one box with one vent and one box with two vents shown in Figure 4.2 and Figure 4.3, respectively.
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| Figure 4.2 - Hand sketch 1 by Ryan Jamison | Figure 4.3 - Hand sketch 2 by Ryan Jamison |
From this point, these simple sketches were taken a step further and a more complicated 2-point perspective sketch was completed for each of the above sketches. These sketches are found below in Figure 4.4 and Figure 4.5, respectively. Again, one sketch is a box with one vent and a box with two vents.
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| Figure 4.4 - Two-point sketch 1 by Ryan Jamison | Figure 4.5 - Two-point sketch 2 by Ryan Jamison |
By generating some simple 2-point perspective sketches along with an uncomplicated mindmap, a general idea of what is wanted in the new battery boxes. Two general ideas have been considered, that is:
- Box with one vent at the rear
- Box with two vents, one in the front and one in the rear
From here, the design was refined slightly to down select on all the possible designs.
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