Projects

Prototype Module Thermal Testing:

During my co-op, the prototyping team was working on the early stages of developing and proving concepts for a new line of energy storage systems. I had the opportunity to work with my supervisor to construct the first prototype module which would be used for initial thermal testing, informing the mechanical design of the cooling system, as well as providing experimental data to validate the computational model.

Construction:

The construction of the prototype was done completely in house and included reworking past parts to build the enclosure, precise placement of over 120 thermocouples, and validated adhesive layouts which I determined through iterative testing and analysis.

Data Acquisition:

Many streams of data were recorded including cell temperatures (at various locations on the cells), enclosure temperatures, voltage of key cells, current, fluid flow rates, and coolant temperatures. While there weren’t enough channels in the DAQ to constantly read all cell voltages, I wired pickups which could be read manually during cycling to ensure balance.

Data Analysis:

I was solely responsible for processing the data of the commissioning, calibration, and the first set of cycling profiles. Data analysis consisted of determining key performance parameters, plotting them, and documenting the findings in a way that members of other teams could quickly understand. The first stage of testing involved cycling the module at various C rates and comparing different methods of cooling. The findings of the initial tests were critical for determining the overall validity of the new product.

TR Module Construction:

Thermal runaway tests are a key part of early module design for maritime energy storage systems to ensure that single cell isolation can be achieved. I was was solely responsible for constructing one of the TR modules during my co-op.

Construction of prototype modules required a high level of attention to detail to ensure that the module was built according to the design specifications. Thermocouples had to be precisely placed, routed, and labeled. The specific TR module I built also contained two different types of cells (as there performance was being compared) which had very slight differences in overall dimensions, requiring on the fly adjustments to properly constrain the cells.

Lifting Tool Proof of Concept

In the marine industry, battery room space can be very limited so maximizing the number of modules stacked vertically is crucial. To address this, one of the senior engineers design a low profile lifting tool to minimize the space taken up by the lifting system. The design required a functional prototype to be built to allow the mechanism’s concept to be proven. I was responsible for building a low cost functional prototype to test the mechanism and inform further design.

Design

The original design was made of a series of aluminum plates, and custom shafts. I modified the plates to be made from MDF, and reduced the overall length of the jig by shortening the longest support plates which allowed the plates to be made in house on the CNC router and left the core mechanism unchanged. I replaced the custom shafts with a series of hollow rod, 3D printed spacers, and ready rod.

Mechanism Validation

To test the effectiveness of the mechanism I designed 3D-printable pickup points which had the same geometry as the pickup points of the real module. I then built a frame from 8020 extrusion with the dimensions of the scaled module, which allowed the pickup points to simulate a real module. To simulate the weight of the module a bucket with water was attached in the center, with the mass was scaled down to account for the difference in strength between aluminum and MDF. Finally the device was tested by picking up, moving, and shaking the stand in module repeatedly.

Result

The prototype build and testing was able to successfully validate the mechanism and inform design improvements.

Other Work