Electric vehicle thermal management (HVAC and Coolant)
LabVIEW data acquisition and controls
Project management
Thermocouple welding
Soldering
Electrical wiring
Drill press
Power tools
Pipe thread tapping
Product specifications and ordering
Thermal Management Chamber at Robert Bosch LLC in Waltham, MA
Purpose Emulate various subsystems of an electric vehicle to gain a greater understanding of EV thermal management and gain a competitive edge for bringing new products to the market Task
Recreate various thermal systems of current electric vehicles on the market in a thermal management chamber
Use and better understand OEM car parts while also implementing readily available residential equipment
Implement controls and data acquisition for each component to monitor heat transfer and thermodynamic properties
Maintain organization and report progress weekly to the team
Solution
Ordered and explored specifications of various HVAC components in electric vehicles today
Ordered, wired, and installedthermocouples, flow meters, pressure transducers, and humidity sensors to quantify thermal management
Improved upon and created multiple LabVIEW VI's to monitor and control all subsystems within the lab
Verified energy balance of the refrigeration loop and coolant loop at various ambient room temperatures
Installed and created flow mixers in the coolant loop to ensure validity in temperature measurements
Maintained an organized bill of materials, presented PowerPoints at weekly meetings, and consistently updated project tracking documents
Conclusions
Worked with contractors and machine shop experts to create and verify a functioning air conditioning and heat pump system using both OEM car parts and residential equipment using R134a. Testing of the system is ongoing at Robert Bosch LLC. My work was instrumental in moving the project forward.