TAGS: Waterborne Adhesives
DuPont Mobility & Materials showcased proven innovative solutions for vehicle electrification at Auto Shanghai, held on April 21, 2021.
Despite facing challenges from the pandemic, global sales of electric vehicles (EV) continue to grow based on strong consumer demand.
DuPont is poised to capture this growth through new innovative materials and technology that address the need for sustainable advanced mobility solutions that don’t compromise on safety, durability and performance.
Thermal Management, Lightweighting, Safety & NVH
The megatrends continue to push innovation for hybrid and EV platforms.
Thermal management and light-weighting, for example, are closely tied to achieving extended vehicle range between charges. This is considered a hallmark of success for OEMs. DuPont offers solutions that impact these two crucial areas as well as overall safety and NVH performance.
Thermal management plays a key role in vehicle range. Operating in extreme temperatures – either cold or hot – can cause a strain on batteries, thus reducing efficiency and range.
BETATECH™ thermal interface material helps maintain optimal battery temperatures during both charging and operation, thus extending vehicle range and enhancing vehicle safety due to decreasing the chance of thermal runaway. BETATECH™ is a robotically or manually dispensed material applied between the battery cell and the cooling unit. It exhibits low press-in and pull-out force for ease of battery repair or replacement.
BETAFORCE™ TC thermal-conductive 2K adhesives for battery pack assembly can be used to bond an active cooling unit to battery cells or modulus, enabling reduction of battery pack weight by up to 30kg. These adhesives can also significantly reduce the number of components needed, optimizing cost for battery pack design. Additionally, BETAFORCE™ TC allows for the fast dispensing needed to support high-volume production.
Efficient cooling systems and reliable sensors also impact thermal management and safety. For instance, cooling pipes made from DuPont™ Zytel® PA612 LCPA provide an excellent combination of high flexibility, light-weighting, strength, hydrolysis, and automotive fluid resistance in comparison to rubber cooling hoses.
Structural & Multi-material Bonding Adhesives for Battery Assemblies
BETAMATE™ structural adhesives and BETAFORCE™ multi-material bonding adhesives help enable the design and assembly of lightweight body structures and battery assemblies. These adhesives help bond dissimilar substrates including high-strength steel, aluminum, plastics, composites, and carbon fiber.
The continuous bond lines in these structures add stiffness and strength for safety while eliminating weight associated with heavier metal structures utilizing mechanical fasteners. Lighter vehicle weight helps extend vehicle range.
In addition, NVH improvement, particularly important in the quieter passenger environments of electric vehicles, is enhanced by these continuous bonds that reduce squeaks, rattles, and vibrations associated with welds and mechanical fasteners.
The requirements of EV drivetrains demand plastic solutions that are reliable in high-voltage applications and durable for the long run. Zytel® and Crastin® orange materials provide high-performance and enhanced properties for use in high-voltage terminals and connectors, busbars, and high-voltage switches and relays.
In addition, Zytel® and Crastin® are available in other electrically-friendly grades for sophisticated sensor systems and electronic components like switches, connectors, and ECU (Electronic Control Units). These two product families are specifically formulated to increase the durability of components for better reliability, efficiency, and connectivity performance at different temperature levels.
Incorporating Circular Economy & Safer-by-design Principles
In 2019 DuPont established robust 2030 Sustainability Goals that include reducing greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions 30 percent and sourcing 60 of electricity from renewable energy by 2030 and delivering carbon neutral operations by 2050.
DuPont is committed to developing new processes and products that not only improve the efficiency of our manufacturing operations but incorporate circular economy and safer-by-design principles to decrease waste and emissions or are made from renewable feedstocks. Some examples include:
New BETASEAL™ primerless-to-glass/enamel glass bonding adhesives that adhere directly to the glass or enamel substrate with no need for cleaners, primers, or activators. This results in less energy usage through fewer processing steps in the vehicle glass assembly process – all while helping meet OEM durability specifications and safety requirements for barrier, rollover, and roof crush regulations.
New DuPont™ Delrin® RA that is made using renewable feedstocks enable sustainable design options for thinner, lighter, and more durable parts. For the automotive industry, Delrin® RA can be used for gears, safety restraint systems, door systems, and fasteners and clips.
MEGUM™ water-based specialty adhesives also demonstrate DuPont’s commitment to sustainability with high performance bonding from a water-based formulation. MEGUM™ is particularly effective for rubber-to-substrate bonding and is used in chassis and powertrain applications.
Source: DuPont