Radiator Heat Shield
Redesigned and relocated the radiator shield to resolve driver egress conflicts on the 2026 UWFE vehicle.
What?
FSAE rules mandate cooling components cannot be in the driver's line of sight, requiring a heat shield
At competition, the driver must be able to exit the vehicle within 5 seconds to pass the emergency egress test
The original shield location and mounting design blocked the driver from pushing off the side chassis tubes during egress. The driver was struggling to consistently pass the egress test
After relocating the shield, exposed frame tabs posed a glove-snagging hazard to the driver
How?
Relocated the shield lower on the chassis and moved mounting brackets from bottom to top, freeing the side tubes for driver grip
Designed and 3D printed protective tab covers across 3 rapid prototyping iterations, each time improving alignment and nut clearance issues
Consolidated the previous two-piece design into a single bent 5052 aluminum component (more ductile than 6061), eliminating extra fasteners
Applied sheet metal DFM principles including minimum bend radius, and K-factor considerations to ensure clean bends without cracking
Results?
Improved driver egress timing by 1 second, enabling consistent passes of the 5-second exit test
Simplified assembly by combining two parts into one, eliminating extra fasteners/zip-ties and a secondary waterjet operation
Eliminated glove-snag hazards from exposed frame tabs, passing FSAE technical inspection
