An Investigation on the Ground Impact of Electric Vehicle

Ground impact caused by road debris can result in very severe fire accidents of Electric Vehicles (EVs). To improve the mechanical safety of EVs, the test and verification conditions of Bottom scraping and Bottom supporting for ground impact safety of EVs are formulated through market safety accident investigation. Moreover, the assessment method and verification equipment are developed to satisfy the consumer’s demands. The investigations of ground impact show that whether the battery pack is at the lowest point has a great impact on the safety under the Bottom scraping condition, while the material of the Bottom guard plate has a great impact on the safety under the Bottom supporting test condition. Finally, 11 EVs are tested to evaluate the safety performance against ground impact by the scoring rule of multiple indicators. The results provide important guidance for the safety design of the ground impact of EVs.