Battery Box Final Selection
After considering the three selected designs to pursue for a final battery box, a similar process was used to select one final design.
QFD
A QFD similar to the previous QFD was used to determine which battery box design to go forward with. This QFD evaluated all the same criteria as the previous QFD with the same results. The QFD that was used is shown below in Figure 6.1.
Figure 6.1 – Initial design selection QFD
From the above QFD, the wood box with one vent in the rear was decided upon to be the final design. To ensure that wood would be of sufficient strength for the battery boxes, some simple calculations were performed and it was determined that wood would be sufficiently strong (see Appendix A1)The advantages to the wood box and the reasons it was decided upon include:
- Inexpensive
- Light
- Durable
- Strong
- Non-conductive and electrolyte-resistant
- Easy to construct
3D Model
After modeling the initial wood box with one vent, some minor changes were made in order to better interface with the solar car chassis. These changes include:
- Lengthening the box about 4 cm.
- Widening the box slightly by about 2 cm.
The redesigned final battery box can be seen below in Figure 6.2 and please see the Appendix A2 for a 2D Engineering Drawing of the battery box assembly.
Figure 6.2 - Final battery box design by Ryan Jamison
The battery box that was finally decided upon was a box made of wood with one vent in the rear. The rear vent will have an electric fan that will force the air out the rear of the vehicle. This ventilation will interact with the solar car ventilation system designed by Jonathan Evans. Also, the battery boxes will interact with the electric systems designed by Richard Goetz. This battery box will satisfy all the needs and requirements that a solar powered vehicle has. It is believed that by pursuing this option, the battery box will be reliable and able to perform to all expectations.
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