Battery Compression Pads vs Elmelin Compression Pad Plus
At Elmelin, we continuously strive to find and design solutions that provide better, safer and more effective insulation for our customers’ requirements. One area we are doing more and more work is in developing solutions for batteries, including battery compression pads and particularly the high energy density kind used in applications such as electric vehicles.
Our latest solution in this area is Elmelin Compression Pad Plus.
What is a compression pad?
Compression pads are used to maintain pressure on a battery pack and between battery cells to ensure electrical thermal connections while allowing the package itself to expand and change shape during operation.
Why are compression pads useful?
Compression pads are useful particularly in high energy density lithium-ion battery packs, where high voltages are likely to be reached, in order to provide adequate insulation and compensate for tolerances and breathing in the cell. High energy density LI-ion batteries are commonly used in electric vehicles, where these requirements are particularly pertinent.
What is Elmelin Compression Pad Plus?
Compression Pad Plus uses layers of mica and biosoluble insulation paper bonded with silicone resin instead of the polyurethane foam used in other common solutions to form a rigid sheet.
This offers a number of advantages over other solutions. Let’s explore some of the ways in which Elmelin Compression Pad Plus offers superior performance over other products available on the market.
Superior dielectric strength
Using mica instead of polyurethane means that Compression Pad Plus can withstand 2000V per 0.1mm mica. This is approximately 10 times that of other compression pad solutions, which tend to breakdown at 2000V per 1mm of material.
Superior thermal resistance
Again, because mica has superior thermal properties compared with other insulation materials, Compression Pad Plus has superior thermal resistance at a greater range of temperatures, and up to 1000°C. This means that Elmelin’s solution is useful in slowing down the effects of thermal runaway, a process during which temperatures increase exponentially.
Non-combustible and non-flammable
Similarly, Compression Pad Plus is non-combustible and non-flammable, whereas polyurethane is flammable. Thermal runaway events invariably result in fire, meaning that Elmelin’s solution can help to slow down this process in the event that thermal runaway occurs in a lithium-ion battery.
Custom-made to your requirements
Whereas other products on the market are not customisable, we pride ourselves on working closely with our customers to develop solutions that are tailored specifically to their needs. Compression Pad Plus can support adjustable compression force based on the selection of materials and design of the solution.
Biosoluble and non-hazardous
Elmelin Compression Pad Plus ensures safety for end-users as well as compliance for manufacturers by being biosoluble and non-hazardous. No hazardous fumes are released at higher temperatures, whereas polyurethane can reduce hazardous toxins, particularly at high temperatures.
If you would like to find out more about our Compression Pad Plus solution and how it could work for you, get in touch.