2023 Cooling System Design

Project Overview

As drivetrain lead for the UT23 FSAE competition, I led the design of our team's first comprehensive electric vehicle cooling system. This was a milestone year for our program - not only was it my first year in a leadership role, but it marked the first time we had a running electric car. The cooling system was designed with a pragmatic approach: create a functional system that works reliably, with optimization and refinement planned for future years as we gather more thermal data and gain better understanding of our powertrain architecture.

Design Philosophy

The 2023 cooling system followed a "design to work" philosophy rather than optimizing for peak efficiency:

• Focus on reliability and functionality over optimization
• Conservative thermal margins to ensure competition reliability
• Modular design allowing for future improvements and data-driven optimization
• Integration with overall vehicle packaging and space constraints

Two-Loop Architecture

We implemented a dual-loop cooling system to separately manage the thermal requirements of different powertrain components:

• Motor Loop: Dedicated cooling circuit for the electric motor, managing high heat loads during acceleration and hill climbing
• Inverter Loop: Separate circuit for power electronics, maintaining optimal operating temperatures for semiconductor components
• Independent Operation: Each loop operates independently, allowing for different flow rates and temperature control strategies
• Future Expansion: Architecture designed to accommodate additional cooling requirements as the powertrain evolves

Full CAD Integration

For the first time in our program's history, the entire cooling system was fully modeled in CAD. This comprehensive approach provided significant benefits:

• Accurate space claim analysis for packaging integration
• Early identification of interference issues with other vehicle systems
• Improved collaboration with other engineering teams (chassis, suspension, aerodynamics)
• Better understanding of hose routing, pump placement, and radiator positioning
• Foundation for future thermal simulation and CFD analysis

Impact & Results

The 2023 cooling system established critical foundations for our electric vehicle program:

• Successful operation of our first running electric FSAE vehicle
• Reliable thermal management during competition events
• Established CAD-based design methodology for future cooling systems
• Created thermal data collection framework for optimization in subsequent years
• Demonstrated effective cross-team integration and space management