Energy storage container battery cluster air duct and working method thereof

Abstract

The application provides an energy storage container battery cluster air duct and a working method thereof, wherein the energy storage container battery cluster air duct comprises a first air port, a second air port, and at least one auxiliary air supply channel which forms a complete battery cluster air duct together with the first air port and the second air port; the auxiliary air supply channel comprises a first stand, a second stand and a flow guide plate; the first stand and the second stand are oppositely arranged, the two sides of the flow guide plate are connected with the first stand and the second stand respectively, and the flow guide plate and the first stand and the second stand form an included angle along the air inlet direction, the angle of the included angle increases along the air inlet direction, and the angle range is 0-45°. By arranging the auxiliary air supply channel, the air conditioner cold air is evenly blown into each layer of space of the energy storage container, meanwhile, the flow guide plate and the stand form an included angle along the air inlet direction, which to some extent relieves the problem that the air is attenuated along the direction away from the air inlet.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of cooling, and more specifically to an air duct for a battery cluster in an energy storage container and its operating method. Background Technology

[0002] Electrochemical energy storage is gradually entering the gigawatt-scale market, with lithium-ion batteries playing a dominant role. The batteries used in my country's energy storage container systems are primarily lithium-ion batteries. When the temperature inside the container is too high, the batteries are prone to lifespan degradation, safety issues, and performance reduction. Therefore, heat dissipation within the container is crucial.

[0003] Air cooling is widely used in energy storage containers. A well-designed and effective air duct structure delivers cool air from the air conditioner to the battery pack. Optimizing the air duct structure is one of the effective ways to improve the heat dissipation performance of lithium batteries. Existing air duct guide plates are a single, solid plate from top to bottom, lacking ease of installation and structural flexibility. Secondly, in existing air duct structures, after the air conditioner's cool air is introduced, a phenomenon occurs in the side air ducts of the battery cluster where the upper layer has a higher air velocity and the lower layer has a lower air velocity. This results in uneven distribution of cool air volume in each layer of the battery pack, leading to uneven temperature distribution among the batteries and a large overall temperature difference in the battery cluster, which is detrimental to battery performance and lifespan.

[0004] The above-mentioned problems urgently need to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide an air duct for battery clusters in an energy storage container and its operating method.

[0006] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention provides an energy storage container battery cluster air duct, comprising: a first air outlet, a second air outlet, and at least one auxiliary air supply channel, forming a complete battery cluster air duct with the first air outlet and the second air outlet; the auxiliary air supply channel comprises: a first column, a second column, and a guide plate; the first column and the second column are arranged opposite to each other, and the two sides of the guide plate are respectively connected to the first column and the second column, forming an angle with the first column and the second column along the air inlet direction, the angle of which increases sequentially along the air inlet direction, and the angle range is 0-45°.

[0007] Furthermore, the guide plate includes multiple guide sub-assemblies;

[0008] One end of the flow guide sub-assembly is fixedly mounted on the first column, and the other end of the flow guide sub-assembly is fixedly mounted on the second column;

[0009] Multiple airflow guide sub-assemblies are connected end to end from top to bottom, and are connected to the first column and the second column to form a ventilation cavity suitable for the circulation of air conditioning cold air;

[0010] The airflow guide component is adapted to direct a portion of the cold air into the corresponding space of the energy storage container for cooling when the air conditioner blows in.

[0011] Furthermore, the width of the air inlet of the air guide sub-assembly is greater than the width of the air outlet of the air guide sub-assembly;

[0012] The air outlet of the first air guide component is positioned opposite the air inlet of the second air guide component.

[0013] Furthermore, the flow guide sub-assembly includes two flow guide ramps disposed opposite to each other;

[0014] Connecting plates extend from both sides of the guide plate;

[0015] Hooks extend from the connecting plate;

[0016] The first column and the second column have slots at positions corresponding to the hooks.

[0017] Furthermore, the energy storage container battery cluster air duct also includes multiple steel frames;

[0018] The steel frame is mounted on the first column and the second column, and the steel frame is adapted to support the battery;

[0019] A bent plate is provided at the top of the guide plate;

[0020] The bent plate is sealed to the steel frame by foam.

[0021] Furthermore, the guide plate is provided with multiple ventilation holes;

[0022] The number of ventilation slots on the multiple airflow sub-assemblies on the airflow guide plate increases sequentially along the air inlet direction.

[0023] Furthermore, the ventilation hole is elongated.

[0024] Furthermore, the battery cluster air duct is arranged vertically.

[0025] Furthermore, the battery cluster air duct is arranged horizontally.

[0026] The present invention also provides a method for operating the energy storage container battery cluster air duct as described above, the method comprising:

[0027] Control the air conditioner to blow cold air into multiple cooling components;

[0028] After the cold air is blown into the auxiliary air supply channel, it is evenly guided to each layer of the energy storage container through the auxiliary air supply channel.

[0029] The present invention also provides an energy storage container, wherein the energy storage container is provided with an energy storage container battery cluster air duct as described above.

[0030] The beneficial effects of this invention are that it provides an energy storage container battery cluster air duct and its working method. The energy storage container battery cluster air duct includes a first air outlet and a second air outlet; it also includes at least one auxiliary air supply channel, which, together with the first and second air outlets, forms a complete battery cluster air duct. The auxiliary air supply channel includes a first column, a second column, and a guide plate. The first and second columns are arranged opposite to each other, and the two sides of the guide plate are respectively connected to the first and second columns, forming an angle with the first and second columns along the air inlet direction. The angle increases sequentially along the air inlet direction, and the angle range is 0-45°. By setting the auxiliary air supply channel, the air conditioning cool air is evenly blown into each layer of the energy storage container. Simultaneously, the angle formed between the guide plate and the column along the air inlet direction alleviates, to some extent, the problem of air attenuation along the direction away from the air inlet. Attached Figure Description

[0031] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0032] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the air duct for the battery cluster in the energy storage container provided by the present invention.

[0033] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the flow guide component provided by the present invention.

[0034] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the air duct of the energy storage container battery cluster provided by the present invention.

[0035] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first column provided by the present invention.

[0036] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the flow guide plate provided by the present invention.

[0037] In the diagram: 100, Energy storage container; 200, Auxiliary air supply duct; 210, First column; 211, Slot; 220, Second column; 230, Air guide assembly; 231, First air outlet; 232, Second air outlet; 233, Air guide ramp; 2331, Connecting plate; 2332, Hook; 2333, Bending plate; 2334, Ventilation hole; 300, Steel frame. Detailed Implementation

[0038] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings are simplified schematic diagrams, illustrating only the basic structure of the invention, and therefore only show the components relevant to the invention.

[0039] Example 1, as shown in the background art, the existing structure of the air duct exhibits uneven cooling during heat dissipation. This problem arises because the existing air duct is uniform vertically, and the natural attenuation of the cold air as it diffuses along the duct results in less air reaching the lower part, causing uneven temperature distribution between the upper and lower battery packs. Existing technologies have also improved the air duct, for example, by setting a baffle at a certain angle near the air inlet to concentrate a certain amount of airflow and guide the airflow, and by setting a larger angle on the baffle further away from the air inlet to obtain more airflow. However, because the incoming cold air still attenuates within the air duct, the total amount of cold air further away from the air inlet is less than that near the air inlet, thus the problem of uneven cooling persists.

[0040] To solve the above problems, such as Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment 1 provides a battery cluster air duct, including a first air outlet 231 and a second air outlet 232; it also includes at least one auxiliary air supply channel 200, which together with the first air outlet 231 and the second air outlet 232 constitute a complete battery cluster air duct; the auxiliary air supply channel 200 includes: a first column 210, a second column 220, and a guide plate; the first column 210 and the second column 220 are arranged opposite to each other, and the two sides of the guide plate are respectively connected to the first column 210 and the second column 220, and form an angle with the first column 210 and the second column 220 along the air inlet direction, the angle of which increases sequentially along the air inlet direction, and the battery cluster air duct is vertically arranged.

[0041] In this embodiment, if there are battery clusters on both sides of the auxiliary air supply channel 200, then there are two guide plates in the auxiliary air supply channel 200. If there are battery clusters on only one side of the auxiliary air supply channel 200, then a guide plate is provided on the side of the auxiliary air supply channel opposite to the battery cluster.

[0042] In this embodiment, the air duct is divided into multiple layers using the steel frame 300 and the guide plate; in this embodiment, as... Figure 2 As shown, the first column 210 and the second column 220 are designed opposite each other, and the auxiliary air supply channel 200 is divided into 9 layers by the steel frame 300 and the guide plate; the guide plate includes 9 guide sub-assemblies 230; one end of the guide sub-assembly 230 is fixedly installed on the first column 210, and the other end of the guide sub-assembly 230 is fixedly installed on the second column 220; the 9 guide sub-assemblies 230 are connected end to end from top to bottom, and are connected with the first column 210 and the second column 220 to form a ventilation cavity suitable for the circulation of air conditioning cold air; the guide sub-assemblies 230 are adapted to guide part of the cold air into the corresponding space of the energy storage container 100 for cooling when the air conditioning cold air is blown in.

[0043] It should be noted that the width of the air inlet of the flow guide sub-assembly 230 is greater than the width of the air outlet of the flow guide sub-assembly 230; the air outlet of the preceding flow guide sub-assembly 230 is arranged opposite to the air inlet of the following flow guide sub-assembly 230.

[0044] In this embodiment, the flow guide sub-assembly 230 includes two opposing flow guide ramps 233; connecting plates 2331 extend from both sides of the flow guide ramps 233; hooks 2332 extend from the connecting plates 2331; and slots 211 are provided at positions corresponding to the hooks 2332 on the first column 210 and the second column 220. Figure 4 As shown, the steel frame 300 is fixed at both ends to the first column 210 and the second column 220. A bending plate 2333 is provided at the top of the guide plate 233. The bending plate 2333 is sealed to the steel frame 300 by foam. In this embodiment, 18 steel frames 300 are used. The number of steel frames 300 is related to the number of layers in the duct; two steel frames 300 are needed for each layer.

[0045] The guide plate 233 and the column form a certain angle along the direction away from the inlet. The angle is acute. Since the guide plates 233 connected to the first column 210 and the second column 220 on both sides of the air duct are provided with certain structures, a V-shaped structure is formed in the air duct. Therefore, the air duct structure is formed with a larger air duct area near the air inlet and a smaller air duct area away from the air inlet.

[0046] In this embodiment, the auxiliary air supply channel 200 is further divided into two parts: an upper air duct and a lower air duct. The upper air duct includes 5 layers, and the lower air duct includes 4 layers. In the 5 layers of the upper air duct, the angle between the guide plate 233 and the first column 210 and the second column 220 is smaller than the angle between the guide plate 233 and the first column 210 and the second column 220 in the 4 layers of the lower air duct. Therefore, the upper air duct has a larger area than the lower air duct, forming an overall conical column-like air duct structure that is larger at the top and smaller at the bottom. This alleviates the problem of air attenuation along the direction away from the air inlet to a certain extent. Even if the air duct is set to a structure that is larger at the top and smaller at the bottom to reduce air attenuation, there is still a difference in air volume. Therefore, in this embodiment, the number of ventilation holes 2334 on the guide plate 233 of the upper air duct is less than the number of ventilation holes 2334 on the guide plate 233 of the lower air duct. This design can make the air volume of the upper and lower battery clusters reach a balance, further improving temperature uniformity.

[0047] It should be noted that ventilation hole 2334 is elongated.

[0048] Example 2: Existing technologies have also proposed making the air duct into a cone-shaped structure resembling a conical column. However, because the upper opening of the cone is large and the lower opening is small, more material is needed in the lower part. Furthermore, when the air duct is long, the required cone is very long, making production, installation, and handling very complex. Therefore, this example provides a more flexible cone-shaped air duct. The difference from Example 1 is that in this example, the air duct divides the entire auxiliary air supply channel 200 into at least three sub-air ducts through the cooperation of the steel frame 300, the first column 210, the second column 220, and the guide plates, modularly assembling the entire air duct. This is suitable for applications with long air ducts. The angles between each guide plate and the first column 210 and the second column 220 in each sub-air duct are also different, increasing sequentially along the direction away from the air inlet, forming a cone-shaped air duct structure that reduces air attenuation. When the air duct is long, the first column 210 and / or the second column 220 can be a column made up of multiple short columns, depending on the actual use.

[0049] Because this solution uses a modular, cone-shaped air duct consisting of a first column 210 and / or a second column 220, a baffle plate, and a steel frame 300, it can be flexibly configured to save materials and reduce costs when the air duct is long.

[0050] Example 3 differs from Example 2 in that the battery cluster air duct of the energy storage container 100 in Example 3 is arranged horizontally. The first air vent 231 and the second air vent 232 are located on the left and right sides respectively. The first column 210, the second column 220, the guide plate, and the steel frame 300 form a horizontal, cone-shaped air duct along the direction away from the air inlet. This can meet the requirement of uniform heat dissipation of the container in the horizontal wind direction.

[0051] Example 4 differs from the above examples in that the angle between the guide plate 233 and the column is a maximum of 45° and a minimum of 0°.

[0052] Example 5 differs from the previous examples in that the installation method of the guide ramp 233 is different. In this example, the guide ramp 233 is equipped with a steering shaft, and the first column 210 and the second column 220 are equipped with mounting structures corresponding to the steering shaft. A drive mechanism is also provided, which is communicatively connected to the control system of the energy storage container 100 and is used to drive the steering shaft, thereby adjusting the angle of the guide ramp 233. In this example, all guide ramps 233 have the same number of ventilation holes 2334.

[0053] Example 6: This example provides a method for controlling the air duct of Example 5. First, the temperature difference between the battery pack near the air inlet and the battery pack far from the air inlet in the container is obtained; the relationship between the temperature difference and the temperature difference threshold is determined, which is a value preset in the system; when the temperature difference is greater than the temperature difference threshold, a drive signal is sent to the drive mechanism to adjust the angle between the guide plate 233 and the first column 210 and the second column 220, and then the first air outlet 231 and the second seal are swapped.

[0054] For example, before time T, the air duct is vertically arranged, with the air inlet at the top and the air outlet at the bottom. The guide plate 233 and the first column 210 and the second column 220 are set at a certain angle along the direction away from the upper air inlet. The air duct as a whole has a conical structure that is larger at the top and smaller at the bottom. At time T, the BMS of the energy storage container 100 detects that the temperature difference between the battery pack above and below the container is greater than the temperature difference threshold. At time T, the BMS sends a signal to the drive mechanism, which drives the steering shaft to reverse the angle between the guide plate 233 and the first column 210 and the second column 220. The entire air duct then follows a conical structure that is larger at the bottom and smaller at the top, and the air inlet is switched to the lower part of the container. In this embodiment, the switching of the air inlet uses conventional technical means, such as setting an air conditioner at the top. When the top is set as the air inlet, the air conditioner at the top of the container is used to cool the container. When it is necessary to switch to air inlet from the bottom, the air conditioner at the top of the container stops working, and the air conditioner at the bottom of the container is switched to provide cooling.

[0055] In Example 7, unlike Example 6, the air duct is arranged in a horizontal direction.

[0056] Example 8: This example also provides an energy storage container, which is provided with the energy storage container battery cluster air duct as provided in the above examples.

[0057] Based on the above-described preferred embodiments of the present invention, and through the foregoing description, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the inventive concept. The technical scope of this invention is not limited to the contents of the specification, but must be determined according to the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A ventilation duct for a battery cluster in an energy storage container, comprising a first air outlet and a second air outlet, characterized in that, It also includes at least one auxiliary air supply channel, which together with the first air outlet and the second air outlet forms a complete battery cluster air duct; the auxiliary air supply channel includes: a first column, a second column, and a guide plate; the first column and the second column are arranged opposite to each other, and the two sides of the guide plate are respectively connected to the first column and the second column, and form an angle with the first column and the second column along the air inlet direction, the angle of which increases sequentially along the air inlet direction, and the angle range is 0-45°; The flow guide plate includes multiple flow guide sub-assemblies; One end of the flow guide sub-assembly is fixedly mounted on the first column, and the other end of the flow guide sub-assembly is fixedly mounted on the second column; Multiple airflow guide sub-assemblies are connected end to end from top to bottom, and are connected to the first column and the second column to form a ventilation cavity suitable for the circulation of air conditioning cold air; The airflow guide component is adapted to direct a portion of the cold air into the corresponding space of the energy storage container for cooling when the air conditioner blows in.

2. The energy storage container battery cluster air duct as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The width of the air inlet of the air guide sub-assembly is greater than the width of the air outlet of the air guide sub-assembly; The air outlet of the first air guide component is positioned opposite the air inlet of the second air guide component.

3. The energy storage container battery cluster air duct as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The flow guide sub-assembly includes two flow guide ramps arranged opposite each other; Connecting plates extend from both sides of the guide plate; Hooks extend from the connecting plate; The first column and the second column have slots at positions corresponding to the hooks.

4. The energy storage container battery cluster air duct as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The energy storage container battery cluster air duct also includes multiple steel frames; The steel frame is mounted on the first column and the second column, and the steel frame is adapted to support the battery; A bent plate is provided at the top of the guide plate; The bent plate is sealed to the steel frame by foam.

5. The energy storage container battery cluster air duct as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The flow guide plate has multiple ventilation holes; The number of ventilation slots on the multiple airflow sub-assemblies on the airflow guide plate increases sequentially along the air inlet direction.

6. The energy storage container battery cluster air duct as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The ventilation hole is elongated.

7. The energy storage container battery cluster air duct as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The battery cluster air duct is arranged vertically.

8. The energy storage container battery cluster air duct as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The battery cluster air duct is horizontally arranged.

9. A method for operating the air duct of a battery cluster in an energy storage container as described in any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The method includes: Control the air conditioner to blow cold air into multiple cooling components; After the cold air is blown into the auxiliary air supply channel, it is evenly guided to each layer of the energy storage container through the auxiliary air supply channel.

10. An energy storage container, characterized in that, The energy storage container is provided with an energy storage container battery cluster air duct as described in any one of claims 1-8.

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