Here’s How Heat Shielding Benefits Your Automobile

 

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 What Is Heat Shielding?

Heat shielding is the method of protecting objects from reaching undesired temperatures by dissipating, reflecting or absorbing the heat before it reaches a protected object. The engine bay of virtually any automobile, whether a battery-operated one, naturally aspirated or anything in between, generates heat. Radiators, fans, shrouds and fluids help cool down the engine, which keeps the vehicle at an operable temperature.

However, the motor still puts off a lot of heat, and the exhaust that leaves the engine often produces high levels of heat inside the engine compartment. This causes unnecessary heat through the underbelly of the car, which can raise the temperature inside the cabin. To remedy this, a thermal barrier can lower the temperature and reflect the heat away from the unintended source. For instance, placing a heat shield externally under the automobile between the cabin and the exhaust.

Thermal barriers also prevent overheating of other internal components of an automobile, including alternators, power steering and the interior of the vehicle. These benefits extend to anything that moves, such as brake and fuel lines, differentials and more.

How Heat Shielding Works

Automotive heat shields improve performance and efficiency by dissipating, reflecting, or absorbing heat before it reaches protected components. These shields help prevent overheating of engine components, extending their lifespan. By lowering temperatures to certain areas of the engine bay and keeping components within safe operating ranges, heat shields ensure optimal performance and efficiency.

Without proper routing and thermal protection, an automobile can experience a variety of issues. High heat sources can affect cabin luxuries, decrease battery life, reduce fuel efficiency, lead to vapor lock and, in the most extreme circumstances, cause engine failure. Engineers design wire and cable systems to withstand these high heats and to route into ‘cooler’ zones of the engine compartment to avoid overheating of supporting hardware inside the compartment. By utilizing automotive heat shields strategically, engineers can effectively manage heat distribution within a vehicle, ensuring optimal performance and fuel efficiency. These shields not only protect critical engine wiring and prevent vapor lock but also contribute to improving overall output and efficiency of the vehicle. With the right placement of automotive heat shields, designers can enhance a car's fuel economy, component reliability, and performance, ultimately leading to reduced costs over the lifetime of a vehicle.

Why Heat Shielding Is Important

The most common places where flexible heat shielding systems exist are the sensors and/or wires that must pass closely to and interface with the motor itself. Heat barriers applied to these areas can keep equipment within a safe operating temperature. These materials reflect the radiating heat from the motor to cause a lower temperature to exist on the opposing side of the material from the side facing the motor. Keeping the sensor below its max operating temperature can extend the life of the component and ensure that it is performing its task of monitoring the engine. This in turn allows your engine to be used to its fullest potential.

Moreover, automotive heat shields play a vital role in managing heat effectively and enhancing vehicle performance. They keep heat away from critical areas such as sensors, wires, hoses, and even areas close to the vehicle interior.  Managing heat and protecting these areas of the vehicle can have many benefits.  From a design standpoint, protecting sensors and engine components keeps the vehicle operating at its maximum efficiency.  From an operating standpoint, maintaining comfortable interior cabin temperatures can improve driver comfort and contribute to better fuel economy and long-term cost savings.  Using heat shielding effectively can also prevent major problems like vapor lock, melted hoses, shorted wiring, and failed components. 

Selecting the right material, considering factors like performance, flexibility, and cost, is crucial for effective heat shielding. Additionally, easy installation and accessibility to components are key factors to consider when choosing a heat protection solution.  This meticulous selection of materials and consideration for installation ease are essential for maximizing the benefits of automotive heat shielding for enhanced performance and operational efficiency.  The next sections will discuss these considerations for materials and installation. 

Selecting Heat Shielding Materials

Determining the type of shielding to use is always on a case-by-case basis. It is important to understand the temperature drop needed for a specific application and to know if the heat source is convection or radiant. The majority of automotive applications, deal with radiant heat sources. Because of this, an initial reflective surface is often ideal to reflect the radiant heat from the component. When a further drop in temperature is needed, the thickness and type of backing layer opposing the reflective surface will bring the temperature down further. This is possible by creating distance and air pockets to absorb and dissipate additional heat after the initial heat reflects.

A variety of materials work well with heat reflectance for the automotive industry, such as aluminized coated fiberglass and closures with stainless steel reinforced Kevlar thread. Heat shielding materials can also be equipped with high-temp snaps to cover items like a sensor, preventing the item from malfunctioning due to overexposure to heat.

The use of certain adhesives with some shielding materials can also help ensure the wires themselves do not overheat and melt. A melted cable or wire can be dangerous as it can lead to shorts in the system and electrical difficulties throughout the vehicle.

Moreover, heat shields installed as an added layer against the firewall of a system facing into the engine bay can reduce heat coming through the firewall as well as reduce the air conditioning load to keep the inside of the cabin cool.

When selecting a material, you’ll need to weigh the needs of performance, flexibility and cost to meet the needs of an application.

Heat Shielding Installation

A heat shielding product that is easy to install and conforms to ISO and/or IATF automotive certifications is the primary need for most automotive manufacturers. When installing heat shielding in a manufacturing facility, speed of installation is always a consideration, which means installation involving closures like snaps or adhesives may be the only choice.

Whatever the case may be, there are heat shielding solutions for virtually any automotive application or requirement. Everything from easy-to-install, cut-to-size, adhesive-backed thermal protection to wrap-around heat solutions that can protect diesel exhaust systems from temperatures up to 1,202°F.

Keep in mind, when a vehicle has hoses, wires or other components not yet fully installed, pull-through thermal barrier products, which require no tools for installation, are an alternative option.

Thermal management of automotive systems can be complex, and thermal management of any system can introduce additional challenges. By understanding the basics of heat shielding, you’ll have the knowledge to start narrowing down solutions to shield systems from excessive heat.