Wevo highlights role of silicones in vehicle electronics

Ostfildern-Kemnat, Germany - Higher charging performance and the increasing relevance of bi-directional charging are key priorities in the ongoing development of on-board chargers (OBCs) for electric vehicles.

That’s according to Wevo-Chemie GmbH, which supplies thermally conductive silicone potting compounds, gap fillers and gels for these applications.

As well as meeting essential thermal management requirements, these products are tailored to enable the fast cycle times needed for efficient serial production, said the German company.

Moreover, it said, the latest two-component silicones can be customised in a number of ways, for example in terms of flow behaviour, pot life, hardness and basic adhesion.

For the very high operating temperatures typically seen with OBCs, potting compounds, gap fillers and silicone gels can help sensitive components function reliably over their entire life cycle, added Wevo.

To permit fast charging, the thermal conductivity of two-component silicones can be adjusted over a wide range: from 1 W/m·K for potting compounds to highly thermally conductive gap fillers with 4 W/m·K, it noted.

At the same time, due to their pronounced tackiness, silicone gels for electronic components adhere very well to the housing, even when fully cured – despite the high operating temperatures.

Silicone-based potting compounds, gap fillers and gels can additionally be customised with regard to flow behaviour, continued Wevo.

This, it said, improves heat removal of inductive components, while ensuring an efficient production process and reliable filling, even in the smallest gaps.

Specially optimised products can also support trends to integrate DC/DC converters into larger units of the electric drive train such as the HV battery, the main inverter or the OBC,” said Wevo.