How to prevent electric cars from exploding after a collision? Their method is to make them explode first

After an electric vehicle accident, there are still huge secondary safety risks.

Several news reports of electric vehicles catching fire have forced people to shift their attention to the issue of vehicle battery safety.

This is an inevitable result. More and more electric cars are running on the road. These products are still "new species" to people, and there are many completely different new hidden dangers.

Since a large number of batteries are laid out in the chassis of the car, car companies must customize a battery management system for it to ensure that the battery's efficiency, temperature and power are kept stable at an appropriate state during charging and discharging. This is something that fuel car companies did not need to consider before.

In addition, electric vehicles are heavier than fuel vehicles. Once a car accident occurs, combustion or leakage will put the driver and passengers in a very dangerous situation. In response to the dangerous situation of leakage after an electric car accident, some companies have provided solutions.

Bosch recently announced the launch of an electric vehicle anti-electric shock system. When the vehicle collides, the internal device will automatically cut off the power supply to prevent leakage.

The specific implementation process is also quite creative. First, in order to detect how a vehicle collides, Bosch designed and produced a chip that uses the vehicle's deceleration and other data to identify and judge collisions. This chip is called CG912 and was originally developed to trigger airbags. According to Bosch, the chip has safely performed millions of airbag deployment tasks.

CG912 can effectively trigger airbags | Bosch

There is a set of micro explosions connected to the back of CG912. Once a collision is detected, the explosions attached to the battery pack will automatically trigger a micro "explosion", which will quickly cut off the connection between the power battery and the car, making the battery ineffective and avoiding a bigger accident. It should be noted that the micro "explosion" in the car is completely controllable and will not cause harm to the driver and passengers in the car. If it is easy to understand, this system is a bit like the mechanism of a fuse. Once the system is overloaded or reaches a certain level, the fuse will automatically blow to prevent damage to electronic equipment due to internal failure.

Bosch says the system is able to "shut down the vehicle's power circuits in a fraction of a second" after a crash.

The CG912 chip is responsible for detecting vehicle collisions and cutting off power | Bosch

In fact, the society has an urgent need for safety after an accident involving electric or hybrid vehicles. The voltage platform of common electric vehicles is mostly 400V, and Porsche's latest pure electric model Taycan reaches 800V. If an accident occurs and the battery is damaged, the high voltage will be transmitted to the metal frame, causing great harm to the driver and passengers.

Not only that, leakage is also a big problem for rescuers. Cutting off the power in the car allows emergency personnel to start work faster. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has issued instructions for emergency personnel and firefighters, and will issue special warnings when dealing with such vehicles. These warnings include: "High voltage (HV) battery fires may take longer to extinguish than traditional fires."

Bosch says the system can ensure the safety of electric vehicles | Network

Bosch said the system also helps eliminate the risk of fire. "Bosch semiconductor technology can play a crucial role in the safety of hybrid and electric vehicles," said Jens Fabrowsky, a member of the executive management of Bosch's automotive electronics division.

Karl-Heinz Knorr, vice-president of the German Fire Protection Association (DFV), said: "In the face of the growing potential risk of accidents involving electric vehicles, such systems are becoming increasingly necessary, as they can help us achieve our mission of rescuing road accident victims as quickly and safely as possible."

In addition to Bosch, other companies have also considered the importance of this solution for electric vehicles and put it into practice. Swedish automotive supplier Autoliv has launched a similar safety switch system (Pyro safety switch) that quickly cuts off power in a traffic accident to prevent high voltage from rushing into the frame, battery damage or fire.

Autoliv launches power safety switch, similar in principle to Bosch's system | Autoliv

Tesla has previously applied for a similar patent to ensure that the power battery can be disconnected in the event of danger. In addition, the patent mentions that the immediate interruption of a large current will produce an arc, which may cause further damage, so in addition to the power disconnection device, arc management is also included in the patent.

In other words, as the automotive industry rapidly advances toward electrification, new problems will arise in energy management. It takes a process to discover and solve them. However, as energy changes, technology also changes. When industry participants begin to solve problems, the speed of safety evolution may only be faster.