ELCA – SafeBat
Developing a multifunctional lightweight battery housing that provides a higher safety to passengers.
SafeBat – Secure applications for electric Battery housings
ELCA partners involved – IWU and RISE
Functional integration and lightweight design are important tasks, especially for modern electric vehicles. The development of multi-functional assemblies for the battery box of the future is one of the challenges in the field of electric mobility. The housing must perform many tasks: structural stiffening and sealing (waterproofness) as well as crash protection and thermal management for the batteries. The goal of this project is to develop a multifunctional lightweight battery housing that provides a higher safety to passengers and a faster charging than current systems based on these requirements.
The battery frame will be designed stiff enough to withstand impacting parts (vehicle parts, bollard, pole,
stones, etc.), in the event of a crash using a sandwich structure with an aluminium foam core, one aluminium and one FRP cover sheet. Passive thermal management functions are integrated into the sandwich core realized with switchable air-cooling and phase-change-material integrated into the foam.
Additionally, sensors for structural health monitoring, temperature as well as humidity sensors will be integrated. The outer housing shell is an automotive SMC formed and joined at the same time as the aluminium component. A demonstrator will be manufactured, tested and validated with a focus on flexibility and efficient production.
Joining Swedish and German know-how in electric mobility applications, lightweight design and process technology will lead to an innovative lightweight multifunctional battery housing.
Picture: Simulation of mechanical behaviour (left) and thermal functionality (right)
© Fraunhofer IWU | Rico Schmerler
For more information, contact:
Rico.Schmerler@iwu.fraunhofer.de
