Silicone materials in the application of new energy vehicles, is called strong!


Why is silicone rubber used in new energy automotive cables?


With the increasing global energy shortage and environmental deterioration, energy saving and emission reduction make new energy vehicles become the development direction of the global automotive industry. New energy vehicles include hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), pure electric vehicles (BEV), fuel cell vehicles (FCEV), hydrogen engine vehicles, gas vehicles and alcohol ether gases. Cars and so on.


Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and pure electric vehicles add many high-voltage accessories, such as power batteries, high-voltage distribution boxes, drive motors, motor controllers and so on, which also puts forward new requirements for automotive cables. Because these cables are located in the front cabin engine and chassis area, high temperature and narrow space require flexible cables, small turning radius and good resistance to high and low temperatures; secondly, the road conditions are complex, and the wear resistance of cables must be good and high mechanical strength; moreover, when the speed is high, low, especially when the full load climbing and other adverse conditions, instantaneous. High current requires short-term overload capability of cable.


To sum up, the cables of new energy vehicles must have good electrical insulation performance, thermal stability, weatherability, corrosion resistance, oil resistance and hydrophobicity, excellent flame retardant performance, superior comprehensive mechanical performance, high flexibility and tear resistance, etc.


At present, there are crosslinked polyolefins and thermoplastic elastomers as insulation materials for automotive power cables. The heat resistance of crosslinked polyolefin material can reach 150 C, but the cable of this material is hard. It is inconvenient to install in the narrow car body space, and irradiation crosslinking is needed. The technology is complex, and it is not suitable for large cross-section cables. The thermoplastic elastomer material is not more than 125 C, which is used for power cables with low temperature grade, and the cable of thermoplastic elastomer material will have the risk of cracking in long-term use.


Silicone rubber has high and low temperature resistance, ozone resistance, weather resistance and excellent electrical insulation; silicone rubber wire has large carrying capacity, saves conductor cross section, and can meet the requirements of long-term full-load operation; it can meet the requirements of fire resistance by adding flame retardant; it has high flexibility and is easy to install in limited space; and it has high tear resistance. Glue, trousers tear up to 25N/mm. Therefore, silicone rubber materials can make up for their shortcomings while synthesizing the advantages of crosslinked polyolefin and thermoplastic elastomer materials. Moreover, silicone rubber can reduce vehicle weight and carbon dioxide emissions, which is a good choice for automotive power cables.


Conversion from organosilicon