Motor Selection for 4WD FSAE Vehicle

I evaluated the specs of 350+ motors from 80+ companies and used simulation to select the optimal product for MIT FSAE's 2019 front powertrain.

• Simulated motor torque-speed curves against desired vehicle output in MATLAB to predict acceleration performance with various powertrain configurations.

• Performed simulations for different vehicle masses, gear ratios, custom windings, and battery bus voltages and states of charge.

• Utilized 32 core server to multithread thousands of simulations.

• Collaborated with team leaders to select 3 motors for unique 4WD architecture.

Sensitivity to front motor power and vehicle mass, showing tradeoff inherent in 4WD architecture

Vehicle tractive force speed profile (blue) overlaid with scaled motor torque speed curve (red)

Gear ratio selection simulation