In-depth: Study of Chery Ant's all-aluminum body platform and power battery multi-liquid thermal management technology

Made by Chery New Energy, the 1st Ant electric SUV with all-aluminum body and four-wheel drive technology will be launched recently. Relative to the positioning of the A000 level Chery small ant is different, positioning of medium and large electric SUV Chery ant length, height and width of 4630x1910x1655mm, wheelbase of 2830mm; in the all-aluminum body platform based on the rear-mounted four-wheel-drive version and rear-mounted two (rear) drive version; the use of the battery module based on the power battery multi-liquid thermal management control strategy, the battery loading capacity of 70.1 kWh of electricity, The vehicle weighs 1.76 tons (2WD version) and has a NEDC range of 510 kilometers.

Whether the vehicle size, all-aluminum body lightweight, rear-mounted four-wheel drive \ two-wheel drive mode, range, as well as mastery of algorithms and the integration of chip-level "intelligent driving" program in the ants of the electric SUV embodies the "technology Chery" based on the traditional car, EV and PHEV models **** enjoy the technical standard.

Note: Chery's small ant electric car uses the LSF all-aluminum body platform, and the medium and large-sized ant electric SUV is based on a new pure electric platform - the Green Wisdom Modular Technology Platform.

New Energy Intelligence Analysis Network will be Chery new energy ant electric SUV using medium and large-sized all-aluminum body platform, rear-mounted electric drive technology, the world's unique power battery multi-liquid thermal management control strategy to study and determine. Combined with the continued revision and sale of A000-class electric car small ants all-aluminum body platform, B-class electric SUV ants medium and large all-aluminum body platform and continue to deepen the development of composite materials as the body coverings, it is clear that Chery New Energy will be lightweight as a new energy models to improve the mileage of an important means of range.

1. Chery Ant's lightweight strategy of using composite body coverings:

Composite materials are used for the front hood, front fender (red arrow), front bumper, rear sidewall (yellow arrow), rear tailgate (green arrow), both sides of the charging port cover and rear bumper (blue arrow) of the Chery Ant electric SUV. The front and rear 4 doors are made of steel. The four front and rear doors are made of steel using press-welding technology.

Inside the front powerhouse of the Chery Ant EV SUV, a set of luggage compartments is arranged, with the rest of the location covered by plastic guards. For easy access to items, the luggage compartment lid has a set of hooks that can be fixed to the front powerhouse lid can be opened in one piece.

Red arrow: the front powerhouse lid composed of composite materials has a significant lightweighting effect

Green arrow: the plastic luggage compartment signals the rear-mounted high-voltage charging and discharging system of the Chery Ant electric SUV, with a small axle load on the front subframe.

Replacing exterior coverings that don't have to withstand impacts with lighter composite materials not only helps reduce dead weight, but also reduces the cost of repairs after a collision. And this lightweight technology development strategy, in Chery new energy small ant electric car on the first to use, and after 3 years of terminal market verification is successful.

Note: The LSF all-aluminum model platform adopted by Chery's A000-class Little Ant electric car.

2, Chery ant electric SUV used all-aluminum body platform of lightweight strategy:

The above picture is a close-up of the details of the Chery ant electric SUV front to the driver's side of the powerhouse wing and aluminum body welding links.

Green arrow: front wing panel made of composite material

Red arrow: aluminum wheelhouse cover welded to fix the front shock absorber and wing panel

The composite material composed of the wing panel is fixed by bolts to the aluminum body-welded wheelhouse cover, which is used for the different aluminum materials to be spliced together through welding to make up the relatively large body-welded assembly, which is then spliced or welded together with the other large assembly to make up the complete body-welded assembly. Splicing or welding, constitute a complete aluminum body platform.

Because Chery ant electric SUV front powerhouse is covered by many dust cover (because not listed and can not be disassembled close-up detail shooting), you can compare the Chery small ant electric SUV front aluminum body welding special details of the state of the art close-up. Little Ant's front fascia, front longitudinal beam, front bumper and A-pillar welding and other sub-systems, all made of aluminum welded into a large structural component, Chery Ant electric SUV also uses the same splicing pattern.

The photo above shows a close-up of the aluminum body-welded wheelhouse cover detail on the passenger side of the Chery Ant electric SUV, which is hidden by the soft material wheel liner.

Red arrow: aluminum body-welded wheelhouse cover

Yellow arrow: aluminum body-welded rear floor detail on the side (held in place at the upper end by the steel rear subframe)

The above image shows a close-up of the status of the welded rear floor detail on the body of the Chery Ant electric SUV.

Red area: high-voltage charging and discharging system assembly hidden by the steel cover

Yellow area: body-welded cockpit floor holding the rear seats

Blue arrows: exposed body-welded C-pillar reinforcement beams extending to the rear floor

Still, due to some factors, the steel cover could not be removed, and the high-voltage charging and discharging system is shown in a closer view, away from the rear apron (near the rear seats). near the rear seats) the technical state of the high-voltage charging and discharging system.

The photo above shows a close-up of the rear drive motor assembly and OBC technical details hidden in the lower cover of the luggage compartment behind the rear seats in the cockpit of the Chery Little Ant EV. Comparing the state of each sub-system of the Chery Little Ant's body after welding the floor (with the top cover removed), the mass-produced Chery Little Ant EV in three years' time will adopt more highly integrated charging and discharging technologies.

By zooming in on the details, it can be seen that the aluminum C-pillar reinforcement beam (pointed out by the red arrow) is hollow and adopts a rounded transition to avoid right-angled setting settings, which has the advantage of reducing the length of the material as well as lowering the weight of the material. The yellow arrow points to the aluminum body-welded passenger-side rear longitudinal beam (which extends from the ends of the rear floor to the rear bumper collapse area).

A close-up of the Chery Ant EV SUV's rear apron detail status, taken from the passenger-side rear passenger door.

Red arrow: aluminum rear apron

Blue arrow: aluminum rear bumper bracket reinforcement beam

Although the Chery Ant's front-to-powerhouse and wheelhouse covers, body-welded rear floor and wheelhouse covers, are fitted with a hair dust cover and wheel liners, and most of the aluminum body welds can't be glimpsed, the overall aluminum body architecture is virtually identical to that of Chery's small ant. The same as the Chery ant's aluminum body.

3, Chery ant electric SUV rear-mounted power and aluminum suspension lightweight strategy:

Chery ant electric SUV two (rear) drive will be the first on the market, followed by four-wheel-drive version will be introduced to the market. Both the 2WD and 4WD versions use a rear-mounted power (charging and distribution system assembly) technology setup, and lightweighting based on aluminum structural components is again extended to the drive and suspension.

The Chery Ant electric SUV used for the shoot is a 2 (rear) drive version, with a front suspension lower swing arm + steel front steering knuckle + shock absorber, forming 1 set of standard MacPherson architecture. Only the application of aluminum lower A-type swingarm reduces the load on the front axle. The lightweight front steering drive axle on the 4WD version to follow helps improve handling.

Yellow arrow: aluminum lower A-type swingarm

Green arrow: steel front knuckle

Red arrow: aluminum body-welded front longitudinal beam

According to the technical state of the front suspension on this Chery Ant electric SUV, the front knuckle has holes reserved for the installation of the front drive half-shafts, and there are enough holes for a set of "3x3" air-conditioning units to be installed between the front H-row subframe and the front powerhouse luggage compartment. The front H-row subframe to the front power compartment trunk is sufficiently air-conditioned to accommodate a set of "3-in-1" electric drive assemblies.

The photo above is a close-up of the technical status of the drive motor and rear suspension of the Chery Ant electric SUV candidate.

Red arrow: the steel rear subframe that suspends the rear drive motor

Yellow arrow: the steel rear subframe is fixed to the welded floor of the aluminum body

The Chery Ant electric SUV's rear drive motor has a maximum output of 130 kilowatts, is covered with a noise-reducing liner, and has a liquid-cooled cooling system that is manufactured by Chery New Energy Co. Can not yet confirm the maximum output power of 130 kW drive motor maximum speed, whether the "3 in 1" type of assembly, and other specific parameters can not be confirmed.

The Chery Ant EV SUV's multi-link independent rear suspension is fixed to a steel rear subframe, with the trailing arms (blue arrows) and front tie rods (red arrows) made of aluminum, the stabilizer bar and rear tie rods (green arrows) made of steel, and the rear transmission half-shaft (white arrows) associated with the rear drive motors and the rear steering knuckle.

Based on the lightness of the front and rear suspensions alone, the Chery Ant EV SUV surfaces quite well. In ensuring that the rear power (high-voltage charging and distribution system) assembly with enough space for impact resistance buffer, brought about by the lightweight of the front suspension. The only thing to note is that in general Chinese car users are accustomed to front-powered front-wheel drive models, suddenly driving rear-powered rear-wheel drive medium-sized electric SUV, coupled with sufficient power reserves, the handling technology requirements are relatively high.

4, Chery ant electric SUV power battery multiple liquid thermal management control strategy:

All-aluminum body platform is definitely a technological breakthrough in the scope of the "car", but in the scope of the "electrification", it is a breakthrough in the "car", but in the scope of the "electrification", it is a breakthrough in the "car". But in the "electrification" range, the Chery Ant electric SUV's multi-liquid thermal management control strategy for the power battery is an even heavier upgrade.

The photo above shows a close-up of the back end of the Chery Ant electric SUV's power battery assembly (near the rear drive motor).

Blue arrow: steel upper housing for the power battery

Yellow arrow: additional three-dimensional shield for the power battery assembly

Red arrow: high-voltage cable (positive and negative) interface from the power battery to the rear drive motor

Green arrow: low-voltage cable interface for the power battery

The Chery Ant EV SUV's most basic two-wheel-drive version is the four-wheel-drive version. and 4WD versions, the power battery high-voltage cable connector is set at the very back, the side closest to the rear drive motor. This has the advantage of minimizing the length of the high-voltage cable and reducing the overall heat generation. It can be confirmed that the Chery ant electric SUV suitable for power battery loading capacity of 70.1 kWh, but the ternary lithium core nickel cobalt manganese with as well as the system energy density can not be confirmed.

I noticed that the Chery Ant electric SUV also has an extra layer of steel three-dimensional shielding outside the lower shell of the power battery. Obviously, compared with many electric cars commonly used in the lightweight better aluminum shell (or additional laying side of the lower plate or soft protective coating), but the steel shell should be a little better protection safety. In order to balance safety and weight, this set of guards is also hollowed out and lightweight. Also visible from this angle is the exposed aluminum bodywork that runs through the outer reinforcement beams on the front and rear cockpit floors.

The photo above shows a close-up of the steering gear, the welded aluminum front fascia, and the water-cooled control module that provides high-temperature heat dissipation servoing for the power battery, taken from the front wheel on the driver's side and forward into the powerhouse.

Blue arrow: aluminum body-welded front fascia

Red arrow: water-cooling control module

Yellow area: piping combinations of multiple liquid thermal management controls unique to the Chery Ant EV SUV

Since the Chery Ant EV SUV photographed is an engineering prototype, it's not a production vehicle that will eventually go on sale. The structure of the coolant-filled lines fixed to the front fascia near the very front of the power cell cannot be clearly deciphered, so they are masked.

Based on the standard power battery liquid thermal management control system of mainstream electric vehicles on sale, all of them are equipped with PTC control modules for low-temperature preheating and water-cooled plate control modules for high-temperature heat dissipation. Obviously, the water-cooling plate control module configured in the Chery Ant electric SUV means that a liquid thermal management control system (strategy) for the power battery based on coolant circulation is definitely set.

Looking backward along these lines, one can find a ****5 sets of coolant inlet and outlet pipes (pointed out by the red arrows) into the interior of the power battery. It should be noted that the thermal management control strategy for power batteries in mainstream electric vehicles on sale is mainly based on heating or cooling the coolant and circulating it to the inside of the power battery to bring out the heat or cold. The mode of active or passive air-cooled heat dissipation and direct exchange of air-conditioning refrigerant with the battery for cold volume will either be eliminated or promoted.

Through no less than 2 groups of variable flow electronic water pump, at least 2 or 3 groups of "3-way" solenoid valve body and 5 pipelines for "open-lock" and "closed-lock" arrangement combination

Of course, the specific control strategy and technical architecture will have to wait until the Chery Ant electric SUV is in mass production before final confirmation.

3, Chery Ant electric SUV L2.99 level "intelligent control" strategy:

August 7, 2020, Chery New Energy and InBev Supercomputing (Nanjing) Technology Co. jointly released China's first production L2.99 intelligent driving system with independent core intellectual property rights. model - Little Ant Intelligent Driving Edition. This set of "intelligent driving" solutions based on the electric vehicle platform, architecture, hardware, software, algorithms to AI acceleration chip and other core technologies all have domestic independent core intellectual property rights, realizing China's mass production models independent intellectual property rights L2 + intelligent driving system "zero breakthrough! "

This is the first time that we've seen a L2+ intelligent driving system in China.

For the upcoming Chery Ant electric SUV, 将搭载基于@Pilot2.5技术实现L2+ level "intelligent control" program consists of 20 intelligent sensors (12 ultrasonic radar, 1 front view camera, 4 surround view cameras, 3 millimeter wave radar), which can realize AEB active braking, LKA lane keeping, ACC adaptive cruise control, APA automatic parking and nearly 20 other driver assistance functions.

Blue arrow: manufacturer's confirmation required

Red arrow: manufacturer's confirmation required

What I have to say:

The earliest marketed Chery Little Ant EV, although positioned in the A000 market, uses the LFS all-aluminum body platform, "3R-BODY" Ring body structure design, weight reduction of 40% compared with traditional cars. As the most difficult technical point of the aluminum body is how to integrate aluminum with different rigidity requirements, in the small ants LFS-type green car body, Chery applied complex section design, high strength aluminum and magnesium alloy extrusion molding, 3D space precision bending, laser combination welding and other technologies.

The medium and large-sized all-aluminum body platform used in the Chery Ant electric SUV now can be said to have been developed on the basis of the small ant LFS all-aluminum body. Chery ant electric SUV wheelbase 2830mm, meaning that the size of the model platform has been enlarged aluminum material sub-system utilization rate exceeded 86%, the vehicle weight reduction of nearly 30%, torsional steel up to 27000N?m/deg, to ensure that the body will not be corroded in the whole life cycle.

From small aluminum body rear power rear-wheel drive, to medium and large aluminum body + a variety of welding technology + L2.99 level "intelligent driving" technology program rear power four-wheel drive, whether lightweight, intelligent or a variety of drive modes evolution, can be seen in the new energy models Chery platform and technology. The "iterative" development of Chery's new energy vehicle platform and technology can be seen in the clear strategy. In fact, the mass production of the ant electric SUV, is in Chery has established a "full range + four, five, seven" of new energy technology planning, including four new energy product platforms, five general subsystems and seven core technologies, covering the full size of the full range of passenger cars pure electric and plug-in hybrid technology platform products.

After the launch of the first ant electric SUV on the basis of this new medium and large-sized aluminum body platform, the EV model or PHEV model with modular technology will also be mass-produced in the form of a car family. The continued addition of intelligence will also be an important technology point for Chery's new new energy models in the future.

It is reasonable to believe that this technology will continue to lighten the weight of the aluminum body platform at the "car" level, introduce the industry's unique multi-liquid thermal management control strategy for power batteries at the "electrification" level, and provide a more efficient and effective way of driving in the "intelligent driving" mode. In the "intelligent driving" level, the integration of more in-depth and in line with China's road and car habits of the ant electric SUV market sales will be exceptionally dazzling.

New Energy Intelligence Analysis Network Review Group

This article was written by the author of Automotive Home, and does not represent the views of Automotive Home.