Hello,
We are Ecurie Aix, the Formula Student team from RWTH Aachen. We design and manufacture a fully electric race car to compete in Formula Student competitions against teams from other universities from around the world. For our electronics, we design and use many different PCBs throughout the entire vehicle. Which are all kindly supported by AISLER. One such board is our Cooling Validation PCB, which is presented in this article.
The Cooling Validation PCB was developed primarily for our cooling system test bench. Its purpose is to collect and process the most important measurement data needed to validate and better understand the behavior of our cooling system.
At its core sits a Teensy 4.1 microcontroller. It collects data from a range of sensors, including temperature sensors, flow-rate sensors, and differential-pressure sensors. This allows us to monitor the relevant parameters of the cooling system in one compact flexible solution,
For accurate temperature measurements, the board uses dedicated high-resolution measurement circuitry for two PT1000 sensors. In addition, it supports two TST-DD-40 Pressure difference sensors and a couple of flow-rate sensors. Together, these measurements give us a detailed picture of how coolant moves through the system and how the pressure and temperature develop during testing.
The board is powered by a 24V supply and includes the required power-conversion stages for the different sensors and electronic components. It also features a CAN interface, allowing the collected data to be exchanged with other vehicle systems or logged and evaluated during test sessions.
By bringing all important cooling measurements together on one PCB, we can simplify our test setup and make the validation process more efficient. Instead of using separate devices for every sensor, the Cooling Validation PCB provides a structured and reliable platform for collecting the data we need.
Reliable, high-quality PCBs are especially important for development boards that are used regularly in demanding test environments. Thanks to AISLER’s support, we can manufacture our boards quickly and precisely, allowing us to test new concepts efficiently and continuously improve our cooling system.
