Ryan Giardina: Team Lead 

Charlotte LaGasse: Analysis Lead 

Jeremiah Teele: Design Lead

Luke Martin: Manufacturing Lead 

Kevin Hines: Evaluation Lead

Abstract:

Racing enthusiasts in temperate climates often experience a range of ambient temperatures during the racing season. These can range from 110 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the vehicle. Despite these temperatures, driver comfort is essential for performance and safety while racing, as it allows a driver to be alert and dexterous enough to maintain control. At the extremes of temperature detailed above, drivers may suffer reduced hand dexterity, heat exhaustion, dehydration, and loss of feeling, all of which could lead to substantial issues while maintaining speed through complex racetracks. In some capacity, this issue has been solved, but heating and cooling have yet to be combined into one system.  Other companies have focused on cooling of race car drivers, namely CoolShirt Systems, and they use ice water that the driver must refill prior to use. Refilling with ice water results in the only power requirement for the system being the water pump; however, refilling a reservoir with ice can be inconvenient for drivers and does not address heating. We approached this issue by utilizing readily available Peltier modules, which can both heat and cool the system. In an equivalent manner to the products developed by CoolShirt, this system has a module mounted off the person that heats or cools a supply of water. This water is then recirculated through an undershirt woven with tubing to distribute the hot or cold water to the driver.