How is the experience of Summer 2024? Invariably, people from almost all parts of the world will henceforth say in unison, “This heat is unprecedented. If the heat continues to increase like this year after year, how many more years it can be tolerated that is debatable.”
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, “Global temperature is projected to warm by about 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7° degrees Fahrenheit) by 2050 and 2-4 degrees Celsius (3.6-7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100.” Also, several reports communicate that all areas of the Indian sub-continent are expected to experience a rise in average temperature of 50C by 2100.
With this background, many research and development works are being conducted around the world to mitigate the effects of the rising temperatures. Today, I would like to present here the information of a few recent, high-potential developments across the globe.
Nano Cooling Films
Application of air conditioners may create a good environment inside the closed spaces, but whether it is peak summer or winter, a group of people always needs to work outside under the sun. For example, vehicle drivers can’t avoid their duties during day time, so they need protection from scorching heat using economic ways.
Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor) has recently launched the world’s first application of Nano Cooling Film, a revolutionary vehicle window tint that offers a significant improvement in interior cooling performance compared to conventional tint films.
Nano Cooling Film maximizes heat dissipation by incorporating a nanostructure with excellent heat transfer characteristics. This innovative transparent film is expected to be more effective in hot and dry climates, as the cooling effect is optimized at higher outdoor temperatures.
To prove its effectiveness in a real-world application, the company has launched a ‘Made Cooler By Hyundai’ campaign, applying the film to 70 customer vehicles in Lahore, Pakistan, where daily summer temperatures can top 50°C.
Nano Cooling Film surpasses conventional tint films in its ability to block heat while maintaining high transparency and unobstructed vision. Unlike dark tint shades that can negatively impact nighttime visibility and release absorbed heat into the vehicle, Nano Cooling Film effectively blocks external heat energy and emits internal radiant heat to the outside. This is achieved through its unique composition of three layers that selectively block or emit specific wavelengths of solar heat.
The film’s outer layer radiates heat at mid-infrared wavelengths from the interior of the vehicle to the exterior, while the inner two layers reflect incoming heat at near-infrared wavelengths, reducing the total amount of heat that reaches the inside of the vehicle.
Moreover, Nano Cooling Film can be applied in tandem with conventional tint films in countries where car tints are less regulated. If regular tint films are added on the back side of the Nano Cooling Film, the overall heat reflection and radiation are enhanced, resulting in greater cooling effects.
Hyundai Motor selected the Lahore market to introduce its transparent film, as attaching tinted film to vehicle windows is prohibited for security reasons in Lahore. Nano Cooling Film reduces the interior temperature by over 10°C without darkening the windows and complies with local (Lahore) laws.
Background of the development: Hyundai Motor first revealed Nano Cooling Film at the ‘Nano Tech Day’ media event in July 2023, showcasing its innovations in material technology. At that event, the company announced its plan to further develop advanced material technologies before the development of parts or systems and to apply them to actual mobility products.
Hyundai Motor’s experiments with Nano Cooling Film have confirmed its effectiveness. In a study comparing the interior temperature of vehicles during daylight hours in the summer, it was found that Nano Cooling Film reduced the temperature near the driver’s head by up to 10.98°C compared to conventional tint film, and up to 12.33°C compared to the same vehicle without window tinting. Additionally, the crash pad temperature of the vehicle with Nano Cooling Film was 15.38°C lower than the same vehicle with conventional tinting, and 22°C lower than the same vehicle without tinting.
Target behind the campaign: This innovative solution aims to provide relief to local drivers who face the challenges of scorching summer heat exceeding 50°C and high energy costs. The application of the film is offered at no cost to these customers, demonstrating the company’s commitment to improving the driving experience in hot climates.
The campaign aims to show that Nano Cooling Film effectively controls the vehicle’s interior temperature to greatly improve driving comfort and reduce energy consumption caused by excessive use of air conditioning.
Hyundai Motor has planned to use empirical data from this pilot campaign to ensure quality and enter mass production of the film in the future.
Liquid Cooling for High-Performance Computing
Digital infrastructures have been an integral part of today’s life. However, these high-density setups need appropriate cooling to deliver the desired performance. With the days passing, the need for cooling is growing in data centres and other such areas hosting sophisticated devices, which is posing a big challenge to the solution providers.
Recently, Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, has showcased its newest products and solutions at Data Centre World, the world’s largest gathering of data centre professionals and end-users at ExCeL London. Vertiv presented the latest advancements in power, cooling, and IT infrastructure solutions for data centres, offering visitors the opportunity to learn from its team of experts and experience its innovative technology, firsthand.
Vertiv Liebert XDU is a new generation of thermal management systems that supports liquid-cooled servers and enables the control of liquid quality, flow and pressure. As high-density computing applications such as data analytics and machine learning increase, rack densities and temperatures are exceeding the cooling capabilities of traditional air-cooled units and require more efficient and sustainable solutions. The Liebert XDU coolant distribution system enables the deployment of liquid cooled server applications into any data centre environment, from core to edge computing sites.
History of the development: At the end of 2023, Vertiv acquired CoolTera Ltd., a designer and manufacturer of data centre liquid cooling technology. For the first time in Data Centre World, Vertiv presented the incredibly efficient and versatile CoolTera-designed Vertiv Liebert XDU Coolant Distribution Units. The units are suitable for chip and rear door cooling applications that allow easy, cost-effective deployment in any data centre. The Liebert XDU family offers systems that operate with or without facility water, allowing organisations to tap into the benefits of liquid-cooled servers to more efficiently support higher rack densities without incurring the costs of major infrastructure changes.
Immersion-Cooled Battery
Globally, the automotive sector is passing through a phase of big transformation. The way Electric Vehicles (EVs) are replacing the gasoline-based vehicles, perhaps by the turn of this century, the IC engines will be visible in the museums only. Batteries play a major role in smooth running of EVs. Thus, maintaining their respective right temperature is crucial.
Recently, BASF, the world’s leading provider of materials solutions in the plastics sector, has supported RML Group in the development of an innovative, immersion-cooled battery for a high-performance hybrid hypercar that sets new performance and safety standards using next-generation plastic materials. The 800V battery features a capacity of 4.2 kWh and a discharge rate of >100C, weighing in at less than 75kg.
The technology: The extremely high-power output, especially during rapid acceleration and regeneration, requires a cooling system capable of rejecting the heat generated by the cells. To prevent extreme temperatures and ensure a more even temperature distribution throughout the pack, immersion cooling is used, which greatly improves the entire battery system’s efficiency and service life. Two BASF plastics are used in RML’s battery unit.
First, there is Ultramid B3EG7 (PA6GF35) both as the housing material for the battery unit itself and in the housing of the high-voltage electrical components of the battery control system. This plastic is noted for its robustness and high resistance to mechanical stressing, which is particularly important for the battery housing. The design not only has to satisfy crash requirements, but also must pass the UNCE Reg 100.03 fuel fire test. Protected only by a thin carbon sheet integrated into the test as a body part, Ultramid B3EG7 passes the fire test without damage to the housing, making it ideal for this application.
Second, Ultramid A3EG6 EQ (PA66GF30) is used as the material for the individual battery cell holders within the battery housing. The Ultramid EQ grades (EQ = Electronic Quality) are extremely pure-grade, i.e., they contain hardly any electrically active or corrosion-promoting contents and still deliver outstanding heat aging resistance. In contact with the dielectric fluid, the material minimizes any kind of diffusion out of the material. Since dielectric fluids are used for electrical insulation and as coolants in high-voltage applications, contamination by contact materials must be avoided at all costs.
By P. K. Chatterjee (PK)
