Volvo Cars Takes on Safety Challenges Surrounding Electric Cars - VIDEO ENHANCED
MARLOW, UNITED KINGDOM – September 23, 2009: Volvo is currently conducting advanced analysis and research to ensure any future electric powered cars meet the extremely high safety standards Volvo imposes on all its cars products irrespective of car type, fuel or power source. Advanced monitoring of battery status and by enclosing the battery and protecting it effectively in a collision, results in a comprehensive safety package.
Volvo has theoretically identified all the electric-related safety scenarios in the stages before, during and after a collision. After careful study of these scenarios, the company's engineers will create solutions for handling each and every situation identified, guaranteeing that all future electric cars fully match Volvo's renowned safety standards in every respect.
"A holistic approach and results from real-life traffic conditions are always the starting-point for Volvo's safety work. Based on our massive database featuring input from actual road accidents, we know where the focus must lie in everyday traffic conditions. The solutions we have developed for our forthcoming electric cars therefore take into account the situations that are unique to this type of car," says Volvo Cars' safety expert, Thomas Broberg.
Click PLAY to watch VIDEO
Work on electrification is naturally being approached with a great deal of open-mindedness. Everything from the way the cars are produced, used and serviced to the way they are recycled is analysed thoroughly and the information obtained is used to shape the development of the final production car.
Comprehensive testing under way
Volvo's safety tests take
place in several different stages. First at component level, then for whole
systems and finally the complete car is safety-tested, both virtually on
computers, and physically in Volvo's technically advanced crash-test
centre.
"At present we are conducting tests at component level to see how the battery is affected by harsh braking and the subsequent collision, examining the results from several different angles. We are also carrying out, for the first time, advanced crash tests in full scale to evaluate the technology in electrically powered cars," reveals Thomas Broberg.
Volvo is using its unique know-how from actual traffic conditions when carrying out detailed testing and verification. Furthermore, the company bases its entire test regime on the general requirements and protocols of the industry's safety institutes.
"We may well see further down the line that cars powered solely by electricity can be made even safer than cars with combustion engines. We like to see electrification technology as an exciting challenge - even from the safety viewpoint," says Thomas Broberg.
Preparation for every phase of the accident sequence
When
Volvo analyses safety scenarios on the basis of actual traffic situations,
the engineers use a model that illustrates the sequence of events in a
real-life road accident. The whole process is divided into five phases:
from the normal driving situation to after the accident has occurred. Based
on these five phases, Volvo develops new safety solutions and improves
existing ones.
This approach covers the entire sequence from giving the driver optimal preconditions for safe driving, for instance by providing excellent comfort and stability-enhancement functions, to systems that alert the driver or automatically step in to avoid a collision. And if a collision is unavoidable, Volvo's cars offer highly-advanced impact protection as well as solutions that assist both the driver and the emergency rescue services after the accident has occurred.
Unique solutions for electric cars
All Volvo's existing safety
systems will also be available in the company's electric cars. However,
electric power also adds new possible safety scenarios to the overall
picture and these too must be dealt with.
In the safety work that is currently being undertaken in the field of electrification, Volvo's safety experts have meticulously analysed the five accident sequence phases and developed unique solutions for the battery and for protection of the occupants as necessary.
Through Volvo's studies of actual traffic accidents, the safety engineers know that this location helps protect the battery in rear end collisions. Steel beams and other parts of the structure around the battery are reinforced to protect the battery from being affected in the case of a collision.
If the battery is damaged, resulting in gas leakage, there are special evacuation ducts that lead the gas out under the car without any contact with the occupants. In the event of extreme heat, the occupants are shielded by the battery's casing.
At the very moment of impact, crash sensors linked to the battery send information about the collision to the car's computer, which automatically shuts off the power supply to prevent the risk of a short-circuit.
Servicing safety
The cars are equipped with a service cut-out
to quickly and safely disconnect the car's power supply.
Recycling and safety
Volvo Cars and the battery manufacturers
have far-reaching product responsibility with regard to both production and
recycling. This ensures proper handling of the battery when it comes to the
end of its life in the car