Battery charge range historically challenged consumer adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). But innovative EV designers have found creative ways to make drastic battery charge range improvements and the electric vehicle industry continues to grow at a rapid pace with EV adoption significantly increasing. Over the last ten years, some estimates suggest that average electric vehicle battery range has increased more than fourfold. This increase in power brings key thermal challenges. Increasing EV adoption elevates the need for more ruggedized EV battery designs to extend lifetime performance and control or reduce warranty claims.

Boyd’s innovative team of experts and design leaders are at the forefront of solving these challenges. We’re helping pioneers in this space accelerate innovation. Our engineers develop integrated thermal and engineered material solutions that enable smaller, ruggedized, lighter, more efficient, and more reliable batteries with faster charge cycles for greater electric vehicle range, safety, and reliability.

Thermal Runaway?

Lithium-Ion thermal runaway occurs when heat generated by a battery exceeds the amount of heat being dissipated. Unmanaged heat can cause an uncontrolled chain reaction to surrounding batteries and li-ion battery cells. When li-ion thermal runaway isn’t handled properly, batteries overheat produce smoke, and combust.

Multiple factors cause thermal runaway, some include internal and external short circuits, overcharging, high ambient temperatures, rapid cycling, and battery age. Effective thermal management is vital not only to an electric vehicle battery, but also to vehicle occupant safety.

How to Prevent Li-ion Thermal Runaway? Battery Thermal Runaway

Need to Be Ruggedized?

Harsh environmental conditions are an everyday reality for electric vehicles. EV batteries and components need to be protected during operation to extend performance lifetime and reduce warranty claims. Ruggedized EV batteries can withstand and perform better against collision impact, ongoing shock and vibration, extreme road conditions, and extreme weather conditions.

How to Protect EV Batteries?

Battery Cell and Battery Module

Design Shields Around the Battery Module

Wrap EV Battery Cells with Electrical Insulation

Dielectric Adhesives on Busbars

How to Maximize Electric Vehicle Battery Power Efficiency and Performance?

Leverage Lightweight, High Performance EV Battery Liquid Cold Plates

EV battery cooling solutions must meet heat challenges and overall design requirements but cannot add weight or bulk to preserve EV battery charge range. Lightweight battery liquid cold plates provide Robust Structural Support (RSS) and maximize battery heat removal for today’s highest performing electric vehicle battery modules and packs. Low-profile cooling plates efficiently cool batteries and create extra design space in the battery compartment, making room for larger, more powerful batteries.

Boyd’s custom EV battery cold plates optimize internal geometry to maximize turbulent flow and external geometry with skylines and pedestals customized to your battery design to maximize heat source contact and thermal dissipation. Boyd’s battery liquid cooling plates have one hundred percent in-line thermal testing and decades of trusted market performance to assure reliability.

Minimize Thermal Resistance with Thermal Interface Material

Standardization of O-Ring Sizes

Donut-shaped rubber seals, called O-rings for their circular cross section, are a ubiquitous component to products across all applications in nearly every industry.

What are O-Rings?

Most mechanical systems require seals. These devices help join mechanisms together by preventing leakage and are crucial to the functionality of machinery. A is a type of seal that is compressed in the area between two or more surfaces.

O-Rings (also known as packing joints) are donut-shaped gaskets that can be used in static or dynamic applications. O-Rings are easily manufactured, inexpensive, and dependable; making them one of the most common seals used in machinery across the globe.

History of the O-Ring

The first U.S. patent for the O-Ring was filed by 72-year-old machinist Niels Christensen. Born in Tørring, Denmark in 1865, Christensen immigrated to the United States in 1891 where he began designing air brake systems for streetcars.

Niels studied rubber in the shape of rings in the quest to find a sealing solution. He discovered, in 1936, that rubber rings set in a groove that measured one and a half times the minor radius of the ring created an ideal seal for applications like pistons and cylinders. He was granted a patent in 1939 after two years of working through the application process.

During World War II, the US government deemed Christensen’s O-Ring patent as a “critical war-related item” and gave the right to manufacture to other companies. Christensen received a payment of $75,000 at the time, and in 1971 further litigation resulted in $100,000 being distributed to Christensen’s heirs.

Varieties and Materials

Although O-rings are typically circular, different shapes are used for various applications including squares, X-shapes and others. O-Rings are produced using a variety of manufacturing techniques like extrusion, compression molding, injection molding, transfer molding or machining. Depending on the application, they can be made from a plethora of materials: nitrile rubber, silicone, polyurethane, neoprene, fluorocarbon as well as other elastomers. O-Ring design considers quality, quantity, cost, application temperature, sealing pressure, chemical compatibility, movement, action, lubrication and other requirements.

Common O-Ring Applications

Transportation

In industries like passenger automotive, heavy duty trucking, and aerospace, severe conditions call for high performance products. Chemical exposure, extreme temperatures and vibration are all factors that affect elastomer selection for O-Rings. Custom compounds have been produced to meet strict OEM and Tier 1 specifications and are continually refined to adhere to biofuel and emissions requirements.

Medical

In the medical field syringe, pump, filtration and connectors require specialty FDA grade O-Rings

Oil, Gas & Industrial

Valves, gas pumps, fittings, dispensers and storage tanks need sealing solutions that can withstand extreme temperatures, noxious chemicals, and high compression. Specialty compounds like peroxide and triazine-cured perfluoroelastomers assure heat and chemical resistance.

Electronics

Semiconductor processing and dust protection in consumer electronics call for O-Rings to be manufactured in clean environments. Particulate and contaminant-free O-Rings are available in a wide range of compounds.

Food & Beverage

Specialty 3A sanitary, NSF-61 and water service O-Rings and seals are ideal for the food processing, beverage dispensing and water filtration markets.

Learn more about our custom and standard O-Rings solutions or contact us below.

O-Rings: The right size for every occasion

O-rings come in different shapes and sizes. Knowing the measurements an application needs can make a difference on how well an O-ring works. If the O-ring is too big for the application, it will not seal properly. If the O-ring is too small for the application, the seal might break. The performance of an O-ring seal can be optimized by choosing the most appropriate size, which can be found by measuring an O-ring.

How to measure an O-Ring

O-Rings have three different measurements: inside diameter, outside diameter, and cross-sectional thickness.

Inside diameter (I.D.) is measured from one inner border to the other with a measuring device (ruler, measuring tape, PI tape, etc.)

Outside diameter (O.D.) is measured from the outer border to another with a measuring device. However, O.D. is not often used.

Cross-sectional thickness (C.S.) can be measured with calipers or a micrometer. Gently clamp the jaws of the device onto the O-ring to avoid warping it.

If the O-ring is not whole, measure the length of the of the O-Ring and divide by π (3.14159), then subtract the cross-sectional thickness.

Length ÷ π = Circumference

Circumference – C.S. = I.D.

For greater accuracy, it is recommended to use digital measurement equipment.

For more information about our sealing solutions, check out our Gaskets & O-Rings or contact us for help in your sealing application!