Powertrain

Powertrain is the “guts” of the vehicle. It is responsible for facilitating and delivering electrical power throughout the vehicle. It consists of three subsystems: Battery, Thermals, and Enclosures. The Battery subsystem handles the design and packaging of a high voltage lithium-ion battery pack. This includes cell selection, pack and bus bar design, battery protection system integration, its enclosure, and mounting. The Thermals subsystem develops active and passive thermal management strategies for power-dense components like the battery, motor controller, and MPPTs to ensure reliability and performance under peak load conditions. The Enclosures subsystem handles design and fabrication of sealed, structurally sound housings for all electronic components, with attention to IP ratings, serviceability, and integration. Powertrain ensures system level coordination between electrical and mechanical and serves as the bridge between many systems, meaning members will learn a large range of concepts with mechanical and electrical overlap. Powertrain utilizes a lot of CAD, FEA, hand calculations, and empirical testing to develop solutions. As for manufacturing, the system utilizes a lot of 3D printing, composite layups, waterjet, and CNC machining. If you are seeking to become a well-rounded engineer with unrestrictive design flexibility, then come to the den!