Thermal Analysis of a DC Motor Cooling System Availing an Engine Test Stand of Electrical Race Car

Thermal analysis of a DC motor cooling system and description of measurement system applied to an engine test stand are the main topics of the paper. The motor that is being tested comes from the electric vehicle of Silesian Greenpower project whose aim is to design and build energy efficient bolids in order to participate in international races in Great Britain. During the designing process of the car, minimizing energy losses and maximizing powertrain efficiency are the main aspects taken into consideration. One of the crucial issues to accomplish these goals is to maintain optimal performance of the motor by applying effective cooling. The engine test stand used in this research was designed especially for Silesian Greenpower vehicles. Thanks to its modular construction and versatility, it enables measuring many different parameters of the motor and powertrain. In this paper the thermal analysis is described as well as how the measuring system of the engine stand works. The thermal analysis described in the article occurred to be very helpful in improving the cooling system and motor performance in the same time. The advanced measuring and control system of the test stand enables conducting versatile analysis of the DC motor and the powertrain.