Structure Design and Performance Analysis of Battery Pack Cover Composed of Fiber-Steel Laminates for New Energy Vehicles

Alternative energy sources are becoming increasingly important and in some cases are replacing traditional types of fuel. Therefore, any questions regarding the creation and operation of vehicles using alternative energy sources are of significant interest. The battery pack is the most important element for the efficient operation of modern electric vehicles. The improvement of the battery pack top cover for new energy vehicles provided a cost-effective way to produce lightweight vehicle components with high performance. To produce a lightweight, high-performance battery pack top cover for new energy vehicles, glass fiber-steel plate laminated composite was selected, and the structures of composites and battery pack top cover were designed. Further, static strength and modal characteristics of the top cover were analyzed using a HyperWorks software. On the basis of structural design and numerical simulation, a top cover was trial- produced by a PCM molding process, and its performances were tested. Results indicated that using a structural composite composed of a layer of DP590 high-strength steel plate and 3 layers of glass fiber prepreg, the top cover presented a maximum deformation of 0.001-3.58 mm, and a maximum stress of 0.44-96.66 MPa, less than the required values (5 mm, 480 MPa) under extreme working conditions. The first six orders of intrinsic frequencies were in the range of 35.25-67.94 Hz, greater than the required frequency of 30 Hz. Even with a weight reduction of 39.7%, the produced top cover showed a tensile strength and bending strength of 566, 901 MPa, respectively, much greater than the required values. The results verified the feasibility of producing battery pack top cover efficiently through materials selection, structural design and simulation on the basis of targeting performances.