To get everyone started on the battery box team, I’ve thought it would be good to through the basics of designing a simple battery pack. This exercise will help you understand what you are contributing to this term!
Step 1
Read through these PDFs about designing and building a battery pack. These compile a ton of information - don’t be scared to read them, but be sure to spend the time to understand them. If you have any questions, then message the #mech-battery-box channel on slack and someone will get back to you!
Step 2
Now that you should know how to design a battery pack, we’ll get you to run through the process of choosing a battery configuration for a car, given the following parameters (chosen to loosely represent Midnight Sun XIV):
Car Specs:
Item | Spec | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Race Distance | 3000km | |
Car Average Velocity | 60km/h | Assume average velocity for the entire duration of the race, and that the path is flat. |
Power Consumed travelling at Average Velocity | 1005W | Per Motor |
Number of Motors | 2 | Motors on each of the 2 rear wheels |
Motor Controller Min, Max Voltage | 50V, 165V | |
Single Cell Min, Max Voltage | 2.5V, 4.2V | At the full charge and full discharge limits |
Single Cell Capacity | 3450mAh | Assume all cells are perfectly balanced |
Max Discharge Current of Single Cell | 10A | |
Solar Energy Input | 800W | Assume the sun is always shining for the entire duration of the race |
What do you recommend for the number of cells in series and parallel, and why did you choose those numbers?
Step 3
Submit your answer to the Battery Lead (Micah Black ) through Slack and then we can discuss some more in detail about your answer. I’ll make sure that you understand what you will be contributing to this term!