Tuesday June 9th, 2009 Update

To date five of the six core members of the elEVen team have been focusing on separate projects that are all key components of making the elEVen come together. Working in the N51 lab today was Mike, Arya, Kevin, Matt and Radu. The team’s 6th member Paul Karplus will soon be joining the rest of the cohort.

Below each member gives a snap shot of the work they have been doing to date.

Radu

At this stage of the project, Radu’s primary focus has been making sure everything is geared up and ready to run by the time the Fusion arrives next week. A batch of A123 cells arrived yesterday and he is working on getting the rest delivered to the shop.

Kevin

Kevin is working on a cooling system for motor and controller. The system will be oil cooled. So far he has found a suitable pump, motor, and filters. It has been difficult because the cooling system specs are for a bus and thus the system might be a bit oversized for the fusion. Later this week he will put together the motor controller and get it spinning.

Matt

Matt is trying to design a drive train for vehicle. He has been focused on finding the drive train components which give best reduction ratio. He is researching three possible options:

1) Utilize existing off-road differential

2) Design our own gearbox and use that in addition to a standard differential

3) Find a gear box that gives the right reduction with standard differential

He is currently researching the components.

Arya

Arya is working on a crucial part of this project: sponsorship. He has been working hard on finding and contacting people who could be potential sponsors for the project.

Mike

Today Mike set up test cells for working with the batteries. He set up a charger that monitors current, voltage, and temperature. The charger was tested with regular double A rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries to make sure things were working. He is also hoping to rapidly charge some of the A123 batteries today.

Other Highlights:

The Porsche has been moved into the N51 lab until the Fusion arrives. The Porsche team has been working on re-aligning the transmission and will soon continue working on the wiring project.