As the most anticipated luxury electric car of 2022, cadillac LYRIQ is getting closer and closer to us! Born on the Universal Aotene platform and opening the era of Pure Electric in Cadillac, this blockbuster has an inherent security advantage. Especially for battery safety, LYRIQ has set a new benchmark for the battery safety of luxury electric vehicles through industry-leading innovative solutions such as exclusive battery cell formulas, super battery pack protection architecture, seven-fold battery thermal management technology, and wireless battery management system. Recently, Zhihu Car Dismantling Tiantuan carried out the first dismantling of the LYRIQ battery pack in the whole network, how is the actual performance? Let's take a look.
5 meters high violent drop test, LYRIQ built a copper wall for the battery pack
The battery pack of pure electric vehicles is generally installed in the chassis position of the vehicle, so the side cushioning and energy absorption space are relatively limited, and the deformation and impact caused by the side collision are also easier to pass to the battery pack. In particular, the side column crash test , which is equivalent to "cutting" the entire vehicle with a rigid pillar , is therefore a serious challenge to the safety of the battery pack. In the national standard test, it is required to perform a column squeeze test on a single position on the side. LYRIQ adopts a more stringent column side-impact standard - by continuously simulating the continuous multi-position column collision from A-column to C-pillar, and examining the strength of each area of each module, so as to more effectively protect the safety of the battery cell and module.
In order to visually verify this statement, the rigor of the side impact test far exceeds that of the vehicle-level column touch test - the LYRIQ battery pack falls freely from a height of 5 meters, and the side impact is a rigid cylinder with a diameter of 25.4 cm. The test results show that the contact surface is deformed after the violent collision on the side of the battery pack, but there is no sign of smoke and fire, and the battery pack has not been significantly heated up by the instrument; the battery pack can be seen by opening the battery pack, and the overall structure absorbs most of the collision energy, even in the position near the collision point, the battery cell is not significantly squeezed, and remains intact.
How does LYRIQ build a copper wall for battery packs? Through disassembly, it can be seen that its battery shell adopts a high-strength tic-tac-toe protective structure, and in key parts such as the internal beam of the battery pack and the side guard beam of the battery pack upper cover assembly, it is reinforced by ultra-high-strength steel with tensile strength of up to 1500MPa. Secondly, the battery package of high-strength steel and ultra-high-strength steel materials accounted for about 99.9%, innovative architecture with hard-core materials, LYRIQ battery pack anti-extrusion performance up to 3 times the national standard requirements, ranking the highest level in the same industry.
It is understood that the LYRIQ battery pack housing also adopts advanced laser welding technology, the application of remote laser welding 23.2 meters in the housing, laser wire filling welding 15.5 meters, not only can provide a solid connection for the battery pack, but also meet the 42 stringent battery housing performance requirements of GM. Through the above measures, LYRIQ successfully increased the torsional stiffness of the battery shell to the vehicle by about 45.8%, which not only strengthened the safety of the battery itself, but also greatly improved the rigidity of the vehicle.
Seven-fold core battery thermal management technology, perfect clearance of acupuncture experiments
In addition to the safety weakness of the battery pack side collision, the thermal runaway of the battery cell and the resulting fire problem are particularly concerned. In terms of cell safety, LYRIQ has developed and formulated an exclusive high thermal stability cell formula through technologies such as the positive electrode clad structure of the battery, the directional doping of rare earth elements and the negative electrode to build a conductive ion ring, which will increase the thermal stability by 10% and improve the ability of the battery cell to resist thermal runaway from the root. Even if the battery cell is thermally out of control under extreme conditions, LYRIQ can still build a multi-dimensional "firewall" for battery safety through seven-core battery thermal management technology.
For example, the LYRIQ battery pack uses a new generation of aerogel between the cells, and its thermal insulation temperature can reach 600 °C, which can effectively prevent the heat from spreading to adjacent cells after a single cell is thermally out of control. At the same time, different from the traditional package cooling plate design, LYRIQ uses a battery module to integrate a liquid cold plate, which increases the heat exchange efficiency of the battery cell by 10%, and can take away the heat of the battery cell in a more timely manner. In addition, the innovative design of the fast exhaust channel + large-area explosion-proof valve can quickly discharge the high-temperature gas generated by the thermal runaway of the battery cell to cool down the entire battery pack in time; if the battery pack also has an open flame after the above measures, the aerogel fire blanket on the surface of the upper cover can also prevent the heat from spreading to the cockpit.
It is based on this safety strength that LYRIQ dares to face up to the most stringent battery acupuncture experiments that the industry regards. Official tests show that the LYRIQ battery was pierced by a steel needle into the moment when the battery cell was thermally out of control, the exhaust channel quickly discharged high-temperature gas, the cell temperature dropped smoothly after reaching the peak for a short time, the whole process did not catch fire, explode, and the state was stable; after standing for 50 minutes, the battery pack still did not heat up, and no thermal diffusion occurred, which can be described as a perfect customs clearance acupuncture experiment.
The world's first wBMS wireless battery management system, without fear of external interference, no radiation worries
The first meaning of safety is to prevent problems before they occur, and the battery's brain center, BMS battery management system, plays such a role. As a key part of the seven-core battery thermal management technology, LYRIQ used the wBMS wireless battery management system for the first time in the industry, which can "kill" safety hazards in the cradle through 7x24-hour uninterrupted monitoring.
From the wBMS harness disassembly and comparison experiment, it can be seen that the internal communication of the LYRIQ battery pack has been upgraded from the past "wired Internet" to the "wireless WiFi" era, which brings multiple benefits. First of all, the LYRIQ battery pack has reduced the wiring harness by 90% and increased the space by 15%, which can make the extremely valuable space in the bag more cells and improve the battery life. Secondly, once a wired signal transmission problem occurs, it will cause communication interruptions, and troubleshooting is also quite troublesome; LYRIQ uses mature 2.4GHz band wireless technology, using its own channel and communication protocol, and the smooth security of battery communication is more secure.
Tests have shown that whether it is signal shielding or mobile phone interference, the wBMS system can work safely and unharmed, and users never have to worry about "WiFi disconnection". In terms of radiation, whether it is a comparison test with Bluetooth headsets, smart watches, or professional EMC electromagnetic compatibility laboratory tests, LYRIQ battery packs show a radiation field strength similar to that of everyday electronic products. It can be said that the world's first wireless BMS equipped with LYRIQ has no fear of external interference, let alone radiation.
I have to say that this battery disassembly LYRIQ has once again brought us a surprise. Through the dismantling and rigorous testing from the outside and inside, LYRIQ not only shows the public its safety performance that far exceeds national standards, but also shows the industry what a luxury pure electric vehicle should look like. The LYRIQ that makes "electric from now on amazing" deserves more expectations!