Enhancing Safety of EV Two-Wheelers with DC Power Relays
The EV battery pack which comprises of multiple battery cells and a Battery Management System (BMS) is the heart of Electric Vehicles.
In recent months, the EV industry has come under the scanner and prompted the authorities & industry thought leaders to stress upon the needs for stronger safety measures and checks in the two-wheelers. This has piqued the interest of the industry for exploring more options and arrangements of electronic components used in the
battery charging ecosystem of the vehicle.
The EV battery pack which comprises of multiple battery cells and a Battery Management System (BMS) is the heart of Electric Vehicles. The BMS manages rechargeable batteries and ensures that they operate efficiently and safely. The circuit board of a BMS, which includes several electronic components, contribute towards increasing the ambient temperatures of the battery pack. This entire mechanism works in a confined space, hence heat management becomes very important for vehicle safety.
Taking the recent incidents and technological challenges into consideration, it is imperative to address the heat management issues inside the battery pack and improve the cooling mechanisms. One way of doing this is to use superior electronic components that emit less heat and thus require a smaller number of accessories to cool the system.
DC Power Relays are used in electric and hybrid four-wheelers extensively and it’s time that the growing EV two-wheeler industry also start to use the DC power relays for more applications. One would say that the battery space designated for four-wheelers is much bigger than two-wheelers however, DC power relays can also adjust
to smaller spaces.
If we specifically talk about OMRON’s Automotive DC Power Relays, they offer many advantages that make them the right fit for the EV industry. To share a few:
- Compact: 70% lesser volume than conventional solutions such as contactors
- Ambient Temperature: Can handle temperature of up to 85 degree C
- Power Saving: 30% Less Power consumption.
- Operating Noise: 50% less operating noise
- Gas cooled arc: High pressure inert gas filling in the hermetically sealed chamber helps to quench the arc faster and conduct the heat more efficiently due to the high thermal conductivity of the gases.
- Magnetic arc control: By using permanent magnets, arc can be pushed away from the contact due to electromagnetic force based on Fleming’s left-hand rule.
Household electricity storage systems & bidirectional EV charging stations can also be equipped with DC Power Relays to store and encourage safe exchange of electricity from home to vehicle and vehicle to home but that is a topic for another day. To sum up, the adoption of EVs is being encouraged by the government to safeguard environment. The need of the hour is to realize which technologies can contribute towards this with safety.
