Forze hydrogen racing car cooling system
MSc student exchange: Alexander Viktor Ohlman
This report explains the design process undertaken for the cooling system of the Forze V hydrogen fuel cell racing car. The Forze V has been developed to compete in the Formula Student inter-university competition in July, 2012. The aim of the cooling system design has been to reach the best possible exergy efficiency of the fuel cell power plant in the car. This was done through simulation of the fuel cell system in Cycle-Tempo, as well as detailed engineering design of the cooling system and its components. Initial testing indicates that the heat load from the fuel cell is lower than expected, which means the cooling system has been over-dimensioned. The pump is able to overcome the pressure drop in the system, even though testing has shown it to be slightly larger than expected. In the near future testing remains for the cooling system with both stacks in parallel, as presently only the performance with a single stack has been tested.
