Exploring state-of-the-art temperature and flow control for e-mobility.
E-mobility has changed driving and will continue to do so. Whereas in the past the focus was on acceleration, horsepower or fuel consumption, in the future it will be on the range or the level of autonomous driving. For applications in the field of electromobility, temperature and control systems are required during the development phase as well as in production.
With batteries, temperature control systems are used, for instance, for aging and safety tests. Semiconductors used for autonomous driving are likewise temperature-controlled to ensure that they function under different ambient conditions. Appropriate solutions have been developed for exactly these market requirements.
THE UNIMOTIVE RANGE
Specifically developed for the automotive industry, Peter Huber Kältemaschinenbau’s Unimotive range can be used with a 40/60 water/glysantine mixture. The product range can cover a power range of up to 35kW at a supply temperature of 20°C and up to 8.5kW at a supply temperature of -40°C.
The Unimotive GL (Green Line) range operates in a climate-friendly manner using carbon dioxide (CO2) as a refrigerant. CO2 is a natural component of air and, unlike synthetic refrigerants, has a GWP of only one. Using this climate-friendly refrigerant, the carbon footprint can be kept as low as possible even in the development and testing phase.
The Unimotive GL XT series can be operated with water/glysantine up to 150°C. To enable the plant to reach the 150°C, the Unimotive GL XT operates with an innovative, variable pressure system, which sets new standards. In line with the motto ‘keep it safe and simple’, the plant is atmospherically open and can be operated without additional accessories or utilities. The systems can be integrated into a higher-level control system by means of an ethernet or RS232 interface. The available protocols include OPC-US, EtherCAT-Gateway and Profinet-Gateway.
FLOW CONTROL CUBE
Besides temperature, flow measurement and control play an important role as well. With Huber’s Flow Control Cube (FCC), the flow rate of the water/glycol to the application can be controlled between 0.2l/min to 95l/min with an accuracy of up to +/-0.1l/min.
AUTOMATED DRAIN AND REFILL
Additionally, Huber’s Automated Drain & Refill System (ADR) allows the application to be drained and refilled automatically, facilitating fast and easy changes of test pieces. Once reconnected, the application is filled automatically and the temperature control system can be restarted.
THE UNISTAT RANGE
Lastly, the company’s Unistat range can be used with a broad range of temperature control fluids. The wide operational temperature range makes the Unistat product line ideally suited for applications in the semiconductor industry. Just like the Unimotive series, the Unistats have an Ethernet, RS232 interface and a variety of protocols such as OPC-UA, EtherCAT-Gateway and Profinet-Gateway that give an extremely flexible range of remote communication options. RS485 and AIF interfaces are available as additional accessories.
Stefan Binz belongs to the Strategic Product Management of Peter Huber Kältemaschinenbau SE.
