EVE.6.1 Covers

EV.6.1 Covers

EV.6.1.1 Nonconductive material or covers must prevent inadvertent human contact with any Tractive System voltage.

Covers must be secure and sufficiently rigid.

Removable Bodywork is not suitable to enclose Tractive System connections.

Electrical hazards at High Voltage (HV) have the potential to cause electric burns, electrocution, shock, arc flash/blast, fires, or explosions. One of the major causes of an electrocution hazard is contact with energized sources, which occur when the body becomes part of the electric circuit through direct contact with an energized source or by contact with a conductive material that has become energized.

As for the rigidity and security of the housing, it is important that the physical barrier between HV and potential human contact be non-malleable and fixed. Removable bodywork utilizes very temporary connections to the car, and imposes room for error. The same can be said for a flexible insulator that trades ductility for stiffness.

Picture - Insulated Mount

EV.6.1.2 Contact with any Tractive System connections with a 100 mm long, 6 mm diameter insulated test probe must not be possible when the Tractive System enclosures are in place.

The insulated test probe used during the Electrical Technical Inspection is used to ensure that components within the Tractive System are properly protected, and that it would be impossible to reach any unintentional Tractive Potentials. Ultimately, the goal is to combat potential interference issues within the Electrical System. Shown below is the E-Tech Inspection Form which addresses this rule directly.

Table - Electrical Tech Inspection Form

EV.6.1.3 Tractive System components and Accumulator Containers must be protected from moisture, rain or puddles.

A rating of IP65 is recommended

Table - IP Ratings

Ingress Protection (IP) codes are used to rate the degrees of protection offered by the enclosure of electrical equipment with a rated voltage by means of defining the tests which verify that housings meet these requirements. The IP code is composed of two numbers:

The first number refers to the protection against solid objects and is rated on a scale from 0 (no protection) to 6 (no entrance of dust).
The second number rates the enclosure’s protection against liquids and uses a scale from 0 (no protection) to 9 (high-pressure hot water from different angles).

For the case recommended in EV.6.1.3, An IP65 rating indicates a product is highly resistant to dust and can withstand low-pressure water jets from any direction. Tractive System components, as well as the Accumulator Container, should be shielded to this caliber. This critera is checked in one of the Competition's Static Events: the Rain Test.

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