Titanium Now Used In Tesla’s New Underbody Shield

About a year ago, the media revealed reports that a number of Tesla Model S cars in the United States have caught fire after striking road debris. The incidents led to a four-month investigation conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that concluded this week.

Tesla Motors Inc. recently said they have done some modifications on their new Model S units. They have now started building cars with titanium underbody shields that can put a stop against battery fires. Last year, two fire incidents involving the electric car’s batteries occurred in the United States, after the car drivers hit some road debris.

According to Tesla, since running into road debris is unavoidable, they are raising the car’s height by upgrading a software program, and introducing the titanium underbody shield, which can lower the chances of such unfortunate occurrences.

teslatitaniumWhy Titanium? 

Titanium is a metallic element that is silver-gray in color. It is known for its strength, durability, versatility, and lightweightedness.

Many industrial applications today make use of titanium. In the aerospace field, titanium is used to make body frames, engines, and other aircraft parts. In the medical industry, it is used in the production of surgical implants, medical tools and instruments, and other implements. In automobiles, it is used to make frames, engine parts, and other components. In the sports and outdoors field, it is utilized to make camping and sports equipment, utensils, gear, and others. Titanium is also used to make different pieces of jewelry. It is supplied as titanium tube, titanium bar and titanium sheet.

Tesla S’ Titanium Underbody Shield 

Tesla announced that the titanium shields they have added to the new Model S cars are made up of three layers. Layer 1 is a rounded and hollow aluminum bar that can deflect approaching objects.  Layer 2 is a military-grade titanium plate. Layer 3 is made up of aluminum that can absorb energy from certain types of impact.

After conducting 152 tests, Tesla found out that the titanium shield was able to stop damages that resulted to a fire.

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