Thermal management and thermal safety integrated system, control method thereof and energy storage system

Abstract

The invention provides a heat management and heat safety integrated system, a control method thereof and an energy storage system. The heat management and heat safety integrated system comprises a control device, a heat adjusting device, a valve device and a heat exchange pipeline. The heat adjusting device is connected with the heat exchange pipeline and the battery pack through the valve device. The control device is connected with the heat adjusting device. Wherein the control device is configured to obtain working parameters of the energy storage system, and determine a working mode of the integrated system based on the working parameters; the heat adjusting device is configured to heat or refrigerate a working fluid medium in the heat adjusting device based on the working mode; the valve device is configured to control the working fluid medium to flow into the heat exchange pipeline or the battery pack based on the working mode; and the heat exchange pipeline is configured to absorb or release heat of the battery pack based on the working fluid medium. The integrated system is high in integration level, and the complexity and the cost of the system can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of energy storage system protection, and in particular to a thermal management and thermal safety integrated system and a control method thereof, and an energy storage system. Background Art

[0002] Electrochemical energy storage is one of the leading energy storage technologies at present, among which lithium battery energy storage system accounts for the largest proportion. Thermal management technology in energy storage system is a necessary means to ensure the efficient and reliable operation of lithium batteries. At the same time, thermal runaway pretreatment and prevention of thermal runaway of lithium batteries are the last guarantee before energy storage accidents occur and should not be ignored.

[0003] At present, in energy storage systems, the thermal management system and thermal safety system need to be installed and designed separately, that is, the pipelines, fluid media, communications, etc. of the two need to be installed separately, which leads to increased complexity of system design and overall cost. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a thermal management and thermal safety integrated system and a control method thereof, and an energy storage system, which integrate thermal management and thermal safety into one system to reduce the complexity and cost of the system.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an integrated thermal management and thermal safety system, the integrated system comprising a control device, a heat regulating device, a valve device and a heat exchange pipeline; the heat regulating device is respectively connected to the heat exchange pipeline and the battery pack through a valve device, and the control device is connected to the heat regulating device; wherein the control device is configured to obtain the working parameters of the energy storage system and determine the working mode of the integrated system based on the working parameters; the heat regulating device is configured to heat or cool the working fluid medium inside the heat regulating device based on the working mode; the valve device is configured to control the working fluid medium to flow into the heat exchange pipeline or the battery pack based on the working mode; the heat exchange pipeline is configured to absorb or release heat to the battery pack based on the working fluid medium.

[0006] In some embodiments, the valve device includes a first valve unit and a second valve unit; the thermal regulation device is connected to the heat exchange pipeline through the first valve unit, and the thermal regulation device is connected to the battery pack through the second valve unit.

[0007] In some embodiments, the first valve unit includes a first valve sub-unit and a second valve sub-unit, the second valve unit includes a third valve sub-unit, the number of the battery packs is at least two, the heat exchange pipeline includes at least two first pipelines and at least two cold plates, and there is a one-to-one correspondence between the first pipelines, the cold plates and the battery packs; the output port of the heat regulating device is connected to the input port of the first pipeline through the first valve sub-unit, the first output port of the first pipeline is connected to the input port of the corresponding cold plate, the output port of the cold plate is connected to the input port of the heat regulating device through the second valve sub-unit, and the output port of the heat regulating device is also connected to the inside of the battery pack through the third valve sub-unit.

[0008] In some embodiments, the second valve unit includes at least two of the third valve sub-units; there is a one-to-one correspondence between the first pipeline and the third valve sub-unit; and the second output port of the first pipeline is connected to the corresponding interior of the battery pack through the corresponding third valve sub-unit.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first valve unit also includes at least two fourth valve sub-units; the fourth valve sub-units correspond one-to-one to the first pipeline; the fourth valve sub-unit is connected between the corresponding input port of the first pipeline and the corresponding first output port of the first pipeline, and the fourth valve sub-unit is connected between the corresponding input port of the first pipeline and the corresponding second output port of the first pipeline.

[0010] In some embodiments, the control unit includes a control module and a parameter detection module; the parameter detection module is connected to the control module; the parameter detection module is configured to obtain the working parameters and send the working parameters to the control module; the control module is configured to determine the working mode based on the working parameters.

[0011] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a control method for a thermal management and thermal safety integrated system, characterized in that, when applied to a thermal management and thermal safety integrated system as described in any embodiment of the first aspect, the control method includes: obtaining operating parameters of the energy storage system; determining a target operating mode based on the operating parameters and a plurality of preset operating modes; and controlling the thermal regulation device and the valve device to operate based on the target operating mode.

[0012] In some embodiments, based on the target operating mode, controlling the heat regulating device and the valve device to work includes: when the target operating mode is a cooling mode, controlling the heat regulating device to cool the working fluid medium, opening the first valve subunit and the second valve subunit, and closing the third valve subunit; when the target operating mode is a heating mode, controlling the heat regulating device to cool the working fluid medium, opening the first valve subunit and the second valve subunit, and closing the third valve subunit; when the target operating mode is a standby mode, controlling the heat regulating device to standby, closing the first valve subunit, the second valve subunit and the third valve subunit; when the target operating mode is a warning mode, controlling the heat regulating device to cool the working fluid medium at maximum power, opening the first valve subunit and the second valve subunit, and closing the third valve subunit; when the target operating mode is a protection mode, controlling the heat regulating device to standby, and opening at least one of the third valve subunits.

[0013] In some embodiments, controlling the thermal regulating device and the valve device to operate based on the target operating mode also includes: when the target operating mode is the early warning mode, determining the battery pack that triggers the early warning, and increasing the flow rate of the working fluid medium delivered by the fourth valve subunit corresponding to the battery pack that triggers the early warning, and reducing the flow rate of the working fluid medium delivered by the fourth valve subunit corresponding to the battery pack that does not trigger the early warning.

[0014] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides an energy storage system, which includes a battery pack and a thermal management and thermal safety integrated system as described in any embodiment of the second aspect; the thermal regulation device is connected to the battery pack via a valve device.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present application are as follows: Different from the prior art, the embodiment of the present application provides a thermal management and thermal safety integrated system and its control method, and an energy storage system, wherein the integrated system includes a control device, a thermal adjustment device, a valve device, and a heat exchange pipeline; the thermal adjustment device is connected to the heat exchange pipeline and the battery pack respectively through the valve device, and the control device is connected to the thermal adjustment device; wherein the control device is configured to obtain the working parameters of the energy storage system and determine the working mode of the integrated system based on the working parameters; the thermal adjustment device is configured to heat or cool the working fluid medium inside the thermal adjustment device based on the working mode; the valve device is configured to control the working fluid medium to flow into the heat exchange pipeline or the battery pack based on the working mode; the heat exchange pipeline is configured to absorb or release heat to the battery pack based on the working fluid medium. The integrated system integrates the thermal management and thermal safety systems together, so that the two share some pipelines, devices, and working fluid medium, so that thermal management can be performed and thermal runaway protection can be realized. The system has a high degree of integration, simplifies the system structure, and can reduce the complexity and cost of the system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] One or more embodiments are exemplarily described by pictures in the corresponding drawings, and these exemplified descriptions do not constitute limitations on the embodiments. Elements / modules and steps with the same reference numerals in the drawings are represented as similar elements / modules and steps. Unless otherwise specified, the figures in the drawings do not constitute proportional limitations.

[0017] Figure 1 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of an energy storage system provided in the prior art;

[0018] Figure 2 is a structural block diagram of an energy storage system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 3 is a structural block diagram of another energy storage system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 4 It is a structural block diagram of another energy storage system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 5 is a structural diagram of an energy storage system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 6 is a structural diagram of another energy storage system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 7 is a structural diagram of another energy storage system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 8It is a flow chart of a control method provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The present application is described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments. The following embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present application, but do not limit the present application in any form. It should be noted that, for those of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can also be made without departing from the concept of the present application. These all belong to the protection scope of the present application.

[0026] For ease of understanding of the present application, the present application is described in more detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this specification have the same meaning as those generally understood by those skilled in the art of the present application. The terms used in the specification of the present application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not used to limit the present application. The term "and / or" used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.

[0027] It should be noted that, if there is no conflict, the various features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other, all within the scope of protection of the present application. In addition, although the functional module division is performed in the unit schematic diagram, in some cases, the module division can be different from that in the unit. In addition, the words "first", "second", etc. used herein do not limit the data and execution order, but only distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and effects.

[0028] With the continuous progress and improvement of electrochemical energy storage technology, the safety prevention of lithium battery thermal accidents has become an indispensable part in the field of batteries and power equipment. In order to improve the safety of energy storage systems, thermal management systems and thermal safety systems must be equipped. The current settings are usually as follows: Figure 1As shown, the thermal management system includes a thermal management control subsystem 1, a thermal management parameter detection device 2 and a thermal management subsystem 3, and the thermal safety system includes a thermal safety control subsystem 4, a thermal safety parameter detection device 5 and a thermal safety subsystem 6. After the thermal management parameter detection device collects the sensor data, it transmits the data to the thermal management control subsystem 1, and the thermal management control subsystem 1 processes the data and controls the thermal management subsystem 3 to work. The thermal management subsystem 3 controls whether the internal working fluid medium is transported to the cold plate 7 through the thermal safety pipeline according to the working mode. In addition, after the thermal safety parameter detection device 5 collects the sensor data, it transmits the data to the thermal safety control subsystem 4, and the thermal safety control subsystem 4 processes the data and controls the thermal safety subsystem 6 to work. The thermal safety subsystem 6 controls whether the internal working fluid medium is transported to the battery pack 8 through the thermal safety pipeline according to the working mode. It can be seen that under this structure, the pipelines, working fluid media and communications of the thermal management system and the thermal safety system are independent of each other, which undoubtedly increases the complexity and cost of the system. In addition, as two independent subsystems in the energy storage system, the thermal management system and the thermal safety system both need to communicate with the energy management system (EMS) to exchange information, which will inevitably lead to a certain amount of information delay. In the event of an emergency situation where the battery has thermal runaway, this delay may prevent the system from making a timely linkage response, thereby failing to effectively reduce the losses caused by thermal runaway.

[0029] In order to solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a thermal management and thermal safety integrated system and control method, and an energy storage system. By integrating the thermal management system with the thermal safety system, the two share some pipelines, working fluid media and thermal regulation devices, thereby reducing the complexity and cost of the system. In addition, the two are regulated by the same control unit, which can reduce the response time.

[0030] In a first aspect, the present application provides a thermal management and thermal safety integrated system, referring to Figure 2 The integrated system 100 includes a control device 10 , a heat regulating device 20 , a valve device 30 and a heat exchange pipeline 40 .

[0031] The heat regulating device 20 is respectively connected to the heat exchange pipeline 40 and the battery pack 200 through the valve device 30, and the control device 10 is connected to the heat regulating device 20. Among them, the control device 10 is configured to obtain the working parameters of the energy storage system 1000, and determine the working mode of the integrated system 100 based on the working parameters. The heat regulating device 20 is configured to heat or cool the working fluid medium inside the heat regulating device 20 based on the working mode. The valve device 30 is configured to control the working fluid medium to flow into the heat exchange pipeline 40 or the battery pack 200 based on the working mode. The heat exchange pipeline 40 is configured to absorb heat or release heat from the battery pack 200 based on the working fluid medium.

[0032] The battery pack 200 may include a housing and a plurality of battery cells disposed inside the housing, and the battery cells may be connected in parallel or in series. The energy storage system 1000 stores electrical energy through the battery cells in the battery pack 200 and releases it when needed. The number of battery packs 200 may be one or more than two, and may be set according to actual needs.

[0033] The heat regulating device 20 refers to a device that can heat or absorb heat from the internal working fluid medium based on the compression principle, such as a compression refrigeration and heating device, which may include a compressor, a heat exchanger, a throttle valve and other devices in the prior art that can achieve compression refrigeration and heating.

[0034] The working fluid medium is not limited and can be any refrigerant that meets the compression refrigeration cycle, and has a phase change to achieve cooling or heating. At the same time, the working fluid medium has good latent heat of vaporization, is non-conductive, non-flammable, has good thermal stability and can be isolated from air, so that it can meet the fire extinguishing use. In this way, when the working fluid medium is discharged into the battery pack 200 through the valve device 30, it can absorb a large amount of heat generated by thermal runaway and isolate the air to achieve the fire extinguishing function.

[0035] The valve device 30 refers to a device that can control the on / off and flow rate of the working fluid medium in the heat regulating device 20, and may include a solenoid valve, an electronic regulating valve or other valve bodies.

[0036] The heat exchange pipe 40 refers to a device that can exchange heat with the battery pack 200, and can transfer the heat of the battery pack 200 to the working fluid medium inside the heat exchange pipe 40 to achieve heat absorption of the battery pack 200 to reduce the temperature of the battery pack 200, and transfer the heat of the working fluid medium inside the heat exchange pipe 40 to the battery pack 200 to achieve heat release of the battery pack 200 to increase the temperature of the battery pack 200. By absorbing or releasing heat from the battery pack 200 through the heat exchange pipe 40, the temperature of the battery pack 200 can be maintained within a certain range. In actual applications, the heat exchange pipe 40 can be connected to the battery pack 200 through a heat conductive device to achieve heat transfer with the battery pack 200, or the heat exchange pipe 40 can be directly arranged inside the battery pack 200 and connected to the battery cells of the battery pack 200 through a heat conductive device to achieve heat transfer with the battery cells.

[0037] The control device 10 may include a microcontroller for receiving, processing and sending data, and its specific model may refer to the prior art. The control device 10 is connected to the heat regulating device 20, which means that the control device 10 is connected to the heat regulating device 20 by wired electrical connection or wireless communication. The wired electrical connection may be connected via an RS485 bus or a CAN bus, and the wireless communication connection means that the two can be connected by wireless means such as WIFI, Bluetooth, etc. to exchange information. It can be understood that the use of wired electrical connection can improve the stability of data transmission.

[0038] The operating parameters may include a first operating parameter related to thermal management control and a second operating parameter related to thermal safety control. The first operating parameter may be the temperature and electrical parameters inside each battery pack 200, such as the temperature of each battery cell inside each battery pack 200, the current and voltage of each battery cell, and the second operating parameter may be the smoke concentration, combustible gas concentration, ambient temperature, and other parameters inside the energy storage system 1000.

[0039] In the integrated system 100, the control device 10 determines the working mode of the integrated system 100 according to the working parameters of the energy storage system 1000, and sends the working mode to the heat regulating device 20. The heat regulating device 20 can work based on the working mode. In addition, the valve device 30 is controlled to work based on the working mode by the heat regulating device 20 or by the control device 10. The working mode of the integrated system 100 may include a cooling mode, a heating mode, a standby mode, a warning mode, and a protection mode. Specifically, in the cooling mode, the heat regulating device 20 is controlled to cool the working fluid medium, and the valve device 30 is controlled to make the working fluid medium flow into the heat exchange pipeline 40, so that the heat exchange pipeline 40 transfers the heat of the battery pack 200 to the working fluid medium to absorb heat from the battery pack 200. In the heating mode, the heat regulating device 20 is controlled to heat the working fluid medium, and the valve device 30 is controlled to make the working fluid medium flow into the heat exchange pipeline 40, so that the heat exchange pipeline 40 transfers the heat of the working fluid medium to the battery pack 200 to release heat from the battery pack 200. In standby mode, the heat regulating device 20 is controlled to be in standby mode, that is, the heat regulating device 20 neither cools nor heats the working fluid medium, and the valve device 30 is controlled to be closed, so that the working fluid medium neither flows into the heat exchange pipeline 40 nor flows into the battery pack 200. In early warning mode, the heat regulating device 20 is controlled to cool the working fluid medium at maximum power, and the valve device 30 is controlled to make the working fluid medium flow into the heat exchange pipeline 40, so that the heat exchange pipeline 40 transfers the heat of the battery pack 200 to the working fluid medium, so as to absorb heat from the battery pack 200 and increase the cooling speed. In protection mode, the heat regulating device 20 is controlled to be in standby mode, and the valve device 30 is controlled to make the working fluid medium flow into the battery pack 200. Subsequently, the working fluid medium can be sprayed inside the battery pack 200 to extinguish fire and insulate, thereby reducing the loss caused by the spread of thermal runaway.

[0040] In summary, the integrated system 100 can exchange the heat of the battery pack 200, and can also realize thermal safety warning and protection for the battery pack 200, quickly cool down and isolate fire, realize joint control of thermal management and thermal safety, integrate thermal management and thermal safety systems together, and make the two share some pipelines, devices and working fluid media, realize thermal management work and reduce the losses caused by thermal runaway, with high integration, simplified system structure, and reduced system complexity and cost. In addition, in addition to the cooling and heating modes in thermal management, the working mode of the integrated system 100 can also design a variety of different levels of working modes for thermal safety, such as the aforementioned warning mode and protection mode. In this way, when the temperature is high but there is no open flame, the integrated system 100 can be controlled to work in the warning mode, and when an open flame appears, the integrated system 100 can be controlled to work in the protection mode. It can be seen that the integrated system 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application can design different control strategies when facing different levels of thermal runaway, thereby improving the flexibility of thermal management and thermal safety design. Moreover, the integrated system 100 can be applied to any occasion that requires thermal management and may have a risk of thermal runaway, for example, it can be applied to energy storage occasions, such as industrial and commercial cabinets, container energy storage, etc., or to power occasions, such as various power cabinets that require heat dissipation and have the risk of thermal runaway.

[0041] In some of these examples, see Figure 3 The valve device 30 includes a first valve unit 31 and a second valve unit 32. The heat regulating device 20 is connected to the heat exchange pipeline 40 through the first valve unit 31, and the heat regulating device 20 is connected to the battery pack 200 through the second valve unit 32.

[0042] The heat regulating device 20 is connected to the battery pack 200 through the second valve unit 32, which can be as follows Figure 3 As shown, the heat regulating device 20 is directly connected to the battery pack 200 through the second valve unit 32, or it can be as follows Figure 4 As shown, the heat regulating device 20 is connected to the battery pack 200 through the first valve unit 31 and the second valve unit 32 pipelines.

[0043] The first valve unit 31 and the second valve unit 32 are both devices that can control the on / off and flow rate of the working fluid medium in the heat regulating device 20, and may include valve bodies such as solenoid valves and electronic regulating valves. The first valve unit 31 can be configured to control whether the working fluid medium flows into the heat exchange pipeline 40, and the second valve unit 32 can be configured to control whether the working fluid medium flows into the battery pack 200.

[0044] In this embodiment, by setting the first valve unit 31 and the second valve unit 32 in the valve device 30, the flow direction of the working fluid medium can be controlled respectively, and when the heat exchange pipeline 40 is repaired, the working fluid medium can be recovered to the inside of the heat regulating device 20 through the first valve unit 31.

[0045] In some of these embodiments, see Figure 5 The first valve unit 31 includes a first valve subunit 311 and a second valve subunit 312, the second valve unit 32 includes a third valve subunit 321, the number of battery packs 200 is at least two, the heat exchange pipeline 40 includes at least two first pipelines 41 and at least two cold plates 42, and the first pipelines 41, the cold plates 42 and the battery packs 200 correspond one to one. The output port of the heat regulating device 20 is connected to the input port of the first pipeline 41 through the first valve subunit 311, the first output port of the first pipeline 41 is connected to the input port of the corresponding cold plate 42, the output port of the cold plate 42 is connected to the input port of the heat regulating device 20 through the second valve subunit 312, and the output port of the heat regulating device 20 is also connected to the inside of the battery pack 200 through the third valve subunit 321.

[0046] The first valve subunit 311 and the second valve subunit 312 may be electronic regulating valves, and the third valve subunit 321 may be a solenoid valve. In practical applications, the first valve subunit 311, the second valve subunit 312 and the third valve subunit 321 may also use other valve devices that can control the flow and on-off of the working fluid medium.

[0047] The cold plate 42 is a device made of a material with a relatively high heat transfer coefficient, and has a pipeline inside the device for circulating the working fluid medium. The structure thereof can refer to the prior art and is not limited here.

[0048] by Figure 5 Taking the illustrated embodiment as an example, the number of the first pipeline 41, the cold plate 42 and the battery pack 200 are all six, the cold plate 42 is attached to the outer surface of the shell of the corresponding battery pack 200 through thermal conductive silicone, or the cold plate 42 is arranged inside the battery pack 200, the first output port of the heat regulating device 20 is connected to the input port of the first valve subunit 311 through a pipeline, the output port of the first valve subunit 311 can be connected to the input port of each first pipeline 41 through a pipeline, the second output port of the heat regulating device 20 is connected to the input port of the third valve subunit 321 through a pipeline, and the output port of the third valve subunit 321 is connected to the inside of each battery pack 200 through a pipeline.

[0049] In this embodiment, in the cooling mode, the control device 10 controls the heat regulating device 20 to cool the working fluid medium, and controls the first valve subunit 311 and the second valve subunit 312 to be opened and the third valve subunit 321 to be closed, so that the cooled working fluid medium will flow into each first pipeline 41 through the first valve subunit 311, and enter each cold plate 42 through each first pipeline 41, so that each cold plate 42 transfers the heat of the battery pack 200 to the working fluid medium. If the cooled working fluid medium is in a liquid state, it will evaporate after reaching the cold plate 42 and absorb heat from the battery pack 200. In the heating mode, the control device 10 controls the heat regulating device 20 to heat the working fluid medium, and controls the first valve subunit 311 and the second valve subunit 312 to open and the third valve subunit 321 to close, so that the heated working fluid medium will flow into each first pipeline 41 through the first valve subunit 311, and enter each cold plate 42 through each first pipeline 41, so that each cold plate 42 transfers the heat of the working fluid medium to the corresponding battery pack 200. If the heated working fluid medium is in a liquid or gaseous state, it will condense after reaching the cold plate 42 and release heat to the battery pack 200. In the standby mode, the control device 10 controls the heat regulating device 20 to be in the standby mode, that is, the heat regulating device 20 neither cools nor heats the working fluid medium, and controls the first valve subunit 311, the second valve subunit 312 and the third valve subunit 321 to be closed, so that the working fluid medium neither flows into the first pipeline 41 nor flows into the battery pack 200. In the early warning mode, the control device 10 controls the heat regulating device 20 to cool the working fluid medium at the maximum power, and controls the first valve subunit 311 and the second valve subunit 312 to be opened, and the third valve subunit 321 to be closed, so that the refrigerated working fluid medium will flow into each first pipeline 41 through the first valve subunit 311, and enter each cold plate 42 through each first pipeline 41, so that each cold plate 42 transfers the heat of the battery pack 200 to the working fluid medium, so as to absorb heat from each battery pack 200 and increase the cooling speed. In the protection mode, the control device 10 controls the heat regulating device 20 to be in the standby mode, and controls the first valve subunit 311 and the second valve subunit 312 to be closed, and the third valve subunit 321 to be opened, so that the working fluid medium flows into each battery pack 200.

[0050] In this embodiment, by setting three valve subunits, thermal management and thermal safety can be integrated into one system, and in the protection mode, the working fluid medium can be sprayed inside each battery pack 200 through the pipe inside each battery pack 200 to extinguish fire and insulate heat, avoid the spread of thermal runaway, and improve the safety of the system. In some implementations, the pipe inside the battery pack 200 has a discharge device, and the discharge device will not open until the temperature inside the battery pack 200 reaches a certain temperature. In this way, when the temperature inside the battery pack 200 does not reach a certain temperature, even if the third valve subunit 321 is opened, the discharge device has not yet opened, and the working fluid medium will still not be discharged into the battery pack 200, thereby improving the accuracy of protection.

[0051] In some of these embodiments, see Figure 6 The second valve unit 32 includes at least two third valve sub-units 321 ; the first pipeline 41 corresponds to the third valve sub-units 321 one by one; the second output port of the first pipeline 41 is connected to the interior of the corresponding battery pack 200 through the corresponding third valve sub-unit 321 .

[0052] by Figure 6 As an example, the number of the first pipeline 41, the cold plate 42, the battery pack 200 and the third valve subunit 321 are all six, and the cold plate 42 is attached to the shell of the corresponding battery pack 200 through thermal conductive silicone, or the cold plate 42 is arranged inside the battery pack 200. Figure 5 The embodiment shown is different in that the input port of the third valve subunit 321 in this embodiment is connected to the second output port of the corresponding first pipeline 41 through a pipeline, and the output port of the third valve subunit 321 is connected to the interior of the corresponding battery pack 200 through a pipeline.

[0053] and Figure 5 The control method of the illustrated embodiment is different in that, in the protection mode of the present embodiment, in addition to controlling the heat regulating device 20 to be in the standby mode, the control device 10 controls the first valve subunit 311 and the second valve subunit 312 to be opened. The control device 10 also determines the battery pack 200 for which protection is triggered based on the working parameters, and the integrated system 100 controls the third valve subunit 321 corresponding to the battery pack 200 for which protection is triggered to be opened and the third valve subunit 321 corresponding to the battery pack 200 for which protection is not triggered to be closed, so that the working fluid medium can flow to the battery pack 200 for which protection is triggered. Compared with the method of opening all the third valve subunits 321, the present control method can accurately control the heat of the battery pack 200 for which protection is triggered and prevent the spread of thermal runaway, thereby improving the accuracy of system operation.

[0054] It can be seen that this embodiment increases the number of third valve sub-units 321 and connects the third valve sub-units 321 to the second output port of the first pipeline 41 through a pipeline, which not only saves the length of pipeline laying and reduces the structural cost, but also can realize targeted spraying of the working fluid medium on the battery pack 200 that triggers the protection in the protection mode, making the control more refined.

[0055] In some of these embodiments, see Figure 7 The first valve unit 31 further includes at least two fourth valve subunits 313. The fourth valve subunits 313 correspond to the first pipelines 41 one by one. The fourth valve subunits 313 are connected between the input port of the corresponding first pipeline 41 and the first output port of the corresponding first pipeline 41, and the fourth valve subunits 313 are connected between the input port of the corresponding first pipeline 41 and the second output port of the corresponding first pipeline 41.

[0056] The fourth valve subunit 313 may be an electronic regulating valve, a solenoid valve or other valve devices that can control the flow rate and on-off of the working fluid medium.

[0057] like Figure 7 In the embodiment shown, the first valve unit 31 also includes six fourth valve subunits 313, and the fourth valve subunits 313 correspond to the first pipelines 41 one by one. In this embodiment, by setting the fourth valve subunit 313 on each first pipeline 41, fine control of each first pipeline 41 can be achieved. For example, in the cooling or heating mode, the control can be more refined and accurate by controlling the opening state of each fourth valve subunit 313. For example, in the cooling mode or the heating mode, the battery pack 200 that needs to be cooled or heated can be first determined, and the fourth valve subunit 313 corresponding to the battery pack 200 that needs to be cooled or heated can be controlled to be opened, and the fourth valve subunit 313 corresponding to the battery pack 200 that does not need to be cooled or heated can be controlled to be closed, so that the working fluid medium cooled by the heat regulating device 20 flows into the corresponding cold plate 42 through the first valve subunit 311 and the fourth valve subunit 313 in the open state, so as to achieve cooling or heating of the battery pack 200 that needs to be cooled or heated. For another example, in the early warning mode, the battery pack 200 that triggers the early warning is first determined, and the flow rate of the working fluid medium delivered by the fourth valve subunit 313 corresponding to the battery pack 200 that triggers the early warning is increased, and the flow rate of the working fluid medium delivered by the fourth valve subunit 313 corresponding to the battery pack 200 that does not trigger the early warning is reduced, or the fourth valve subunit 313 corresponding to the battery pack 200 that does not trigger the early warning is directly closed, so that the battery pack 200 that triggers the early warning can quickly absorb heat.

[0058] It can be seen that in this embodiment, by adding the fourth valve subunit 313 to each first pipeline 41, more sophisticated flow management of the working fluid medium in various modes can be achieved, so that the working fluid medium can quickly reach the branch where it is most needed, reducing losses.

[0059] In some of these embodiments, see Figures 5 to 7 The control unit includes a control module 11 and a parameter detection module 12. The parameter detection module 12 is connected to the control module 11. The parameter detection module 12 is configured to obtain working parameters and send the working parameters to the control module 11; the control module 11 is configured to determine the working mode based on the working parameters.

[0060] Specifically, the parameter detection module 12 includes an ambient temperature sensor 121, a smoke sensor 122, a gas concentration sensor 123, and a battery cell temperature sensor 124. The ambient temperature sensor 121, the smoke sensor 122, and the gas concentration sensor 123 may be arranged inside the energy storage system 1000, and a battery cell temperature sensor 124 may be arranged on each battery cell in the battery pack 200. The ambient temperature sensor 121 is configured to detect the ambient temperature inside the energy storage system 1000, the smoke sensor 122 is configured to detect the smoke concentration inside the energy storage system 1000, and the gas concentration sensor 123 is configured to detect the concentration of combustible gas inside the energy storage system 1000, such as detecting the concentration of carbon monoxide inside the energy storage system 1000.

[0061] The control module 11 refers to a microcontroller that may include a microcontroller for receiving, processing and sending data, and its specific model may refer to the prior art.

[0062] Among them, the ambient temperature sensor 121, the smoke sensor 122 and the gas concentration sensor 123 are all connected to the thermal adjustment device 20, and the battery core temperature sensor 124 is connected to the control module 11. The connection method can be wired or wireless. The wired connection can be connected through the RS485 bus or the CAN bus, and the wireless connection means that the two can be connected through wireless methods such as WI FI and Bluetooth to exchange information. It can be understood that the use of a wired connection can improve the stability of data transmission.

[0063] In the integrated system 100, the ambient temperature sensor 121, the smoke sensor 122 and the gas concentration sensor 123 will send the corresponding data to the thermal adjustment device 20 after collecting them, and then the thermal adjustment device 20 will send them to the control module 11, and the battery cell temperature sensor 124 will directly send the corresponding data to the control module 11 after collecting them, or the ambient temperature sensor 121, the smoke sensor 122, the gas concentration sensor 123 and the battery cell temperature sensor 124 will directly send the corresponding data to the control module 11 after collecting them. Then, after receiving the data collected by the parameter detection module 12, the control module 11 will process the data and determine the working mode. Then, the control module 11 will control the thermal adjustment device 20 and each valve subunit to work according to the working mode, or the control module 11 will send the working mode to the thermal adjustment device 20, and the thermal adjustment device 20 will work based on the working mode, and the thermal adjustment device 20 will control each valve subunit to work.

[0064] In the integrated system 100 provided in this embodiment, the parameter detection module 12 can integrate multiple sensors, so as to quickly and simultaneously collect multiple working parameters in the energy storage system 1000, thereby improving the efficiency of data collection. And by continuously monitoring the working parameters through the dedicated parameter detection module 12, it can be ensured that the data received by the control module 11 is accurate, thereby improving the reliability and stability of the entire integrated system 100.

[0065] In a second aspect, the present application also provides a control method for a thermal management and thermal safety integrated system 100, the control method being applied to the thermal management and thermal safety integrated system 100 as in any one of the embodiments of the first aspect, see Figure 8 , the control method comprises the following steps:

[0066] Step S10: Acquire the operating parameters of the energy storage system 1000 .

[0067] The operating parameters may include a first operating parameter related to thermal management control and a second operating parameter related to thermal safety control. The first operating parameter may be a parameter such as smoke concentration, combustible gas concentration, ambient temperature, etc. inside the energy storage system 1000, and the second operating parameter may be a temperature inside each battery pack 200, such as the temperature of each battery cell inside each battery pack 200. The control module 11 may obtain the operating parameters through the parameter detection module 12.

[0068] Step S20: Determine a target operating mode based on the operating parameters and a plurality of preset operating modes.

[0069] Multiple preset operation modes may include heating mode, cooling mode, standby mode, warning mode and protection mode. For example, when the battery cell temperature is lower than the minimum temperature value allowed for the battery cell to work, or when the ambient temperature is too low, the target operation mode needs to be determined as heating mode; when the battery cell temperature is higher than the maximum temperature value allowed for the battery cell to work, or when the ambient temperature is too high, the target operation mode needs to be determined as cooling mode; when the battery cell temperature and ambient temperature are normal, and the gas concentration and smoke concentration are normal, the target operation mode needs to be determined as standby mode; when the battery cell temperature and ambient temperature are within a certain preset temperature range, the target operation mode needs to be determined as warning mode; when the gas concentration and smoke concentration are abnormal, the target operation mode needs to be determined as protection mode. In actual applications, the determination strategy can be set according to actual needs.

[0070] Step S30: Based on the target operation mode, control the heat adjustment device 20 and the valve device 30 to work.

[0071] Finally, after obtaining the target operating mode, the control module 11 can control the thermal adjustment device 20 and each valve sub-unit to operate based on the target operating mode, or the control module 11 sends the target operating mode to the thermal adjustment device 20, and the thermal adjustment device 20 operates based on the target operating mode and controls the operation of each valve sub-unit.

[0072] In this embodiment, the integrated system 100 can exchange the heat of the battery pack 200, implement thermal safety warning and protection for the battery pack 200, quickly cool down and isolate fire, realize joint control of thermal management and thermal safety, integrate thermal management and thermal safety control methods together, have a high degree of integration, and simplify the control process.

[0073] In some embodiments, step S30 may include the following steps:

[0074] Step S31 : when the target operation mode is the cooling mode, the heat regulating device 20 is controlled to cool the working fluid medium, the first valve subunit 311 and the second valve subunit 312 are opened, and the third valve subunit 321 is closed.

[0075] See also Figure 5 or Figure 6 After executing step S31, the refrigerated working fluid medium will flow into each first pipeline 41 through the first valve subunit 311, and enter each cold plate 42 through each first pipeline 41, so that each cold plate 42 transfers the heat of the battery pack 200 to the working fluid medium. If the refrigerated working fluid medium is in a liquid state, it will evaporate after reaching the cold plate 42 and absorb heat from the battery pack 200.

[0076] Step S32 : when the target operation mode is the heating mode, the heat regulating device 20 is controlled to cool the working fluid medium, the first valve subunit 311 and the second valve subunit 312 are opened, and the third valve subunit 321 is closed.

[0077] See also Figure 5 or Figure 6 After executing step S32, the heated working fluid medium will flow into each first pipeline 41 through the first valve subunit 311, and enter each cold plate 42 through each first pipeline 41, so that each cold plate 42 transfers the heat of the working fluid medium to the corresponding battery pack 200. If the heated working fluid medium is in a liquid or gaseous state, it will condense after reaching the cold plate 42 and release heat to the battery pack 200.

[0078] Step S33 : when the target operation mode is the standby mode, the heat regulating device 20 is controlled to be in standby mode, and the first valve subunit 311 , the second valve subunit 312 and the third valve subunit 321 are closed.

[0079] participate Figure 5 or Figure 6 In the standby mode, the control device 10 controls the heat regulating device 20 to be in the standby mode, that is, the heat regulating device 20 neither cools nor heats the working fluid medium, and controls the first valve subunit 311, the second valve subunit 312 and the third valve subunit 321 to be closed, so that the working fluid medium neither flows into the first pipeline 41 nor flows into the battery pack 200.

[0080] Step S34 : when the target operation mode is the early warning mode, the heat regulating device 20 is controlled to cool the working fluid medium at maximum power, the first valve subunit 311 and the second valve subunit 312 are opened, and the third valve subunit 321 is closed.

[0081] See also Figure 5 or Figure 6 The refrigerated working fluid medium will flow into each first pipeline 41 through the first valve subunit 311, and enter into each cold plate 42 through each first pipeline 41, so that each cold plate 42 transfers the heat of the battery pack 200 to the working fluid medium, so as to absorb heat from each battery pack 200 and increase the cooling speed.

[0082] Step S35: when the target operation mode is the protection mode, the heat regulating device 20 is controlled to be in standby mode and at least one third valve subunit 321 is opened.

[0083] See also Figure 5In the protection mode, the control device 10 controls the first valve subunit 311 and the second valve subunit 312 to close and the third valve subunit 321 to open, so that the working fluid medium can flow into each battery pack 200, thereby realizing thermal runaway protection for each battery pack 200 and improving the safety of the system.

[0084] Alternatively, see Figure 6 In the protection mode, the control device 10 controls the first valve subunit 311 and the second valve subunit 312 to open, and controls all the third valve subunits 321 to open, so that the working fluid medium can flow into each battery pack 200, thereby realizing thermal runaway protection for each battery pack 200 and improving the safety of the system.

[0085] Alternatively, see Figure 6 In the protection mode, the control device 10 controls the first valve subunit 311 and the second valve subunit 312 to open, and determines the battery pack 200 for which protection is triggered based on the working parameters, and controls the third valve subunit 321 corresponding to the battery pack 200 for which protection is triggered to open, and the third valve subunit 321 corresponding to the battery pack 200 for which protection is not triggered to close, so that the working fluid medium can flow to the battery pack 200 for which protection is triggered. Compared with the method of opening all the third valve subunits 321, this method can accurately control the heat of the battery pack 200 for which protection is triggered and prevent the spread of thermal runaway, thereby improving the accuracy of system operation.

[0086] In this embodiment, thermal management and thermal runaway protection can be achieved by controlling the operation of the thermal regulation yellow paper 20 and each valve subunit based on the operation mode.

[0087] In some of the embodiments, step S30 may further include the following steps: Step S36: When the target operating mode is the warning mode, determine the battery pack 200 that triggers the warning, and increase the flow rate of the working fluid medium delivered by the fourth valve subunit 313 corresponding to the battery pack 200 that triggers the warning, and reduce the flow rate of the working fluid medium delivered by the fourth valve subunit 313 corresponding to the battery pack 200 that does not trigger the warning.

[0088] In this embodiment, by adding a fourth valve subunit 313 in the integrated system 100, the flow of the fourth valve subunit 313 can be controlled so that the working fluid medium can quickly reach the branch where it is most needed, thereby further reducing the loss.

[0089] In a third aspect, the present application also provides an energy storage system, see Figure 2 The energy storage system includes a battery pack 200 and a thermal management and thermal safety integrated system 100 according to any one of the embodiments of the second aspect. The thermal regulating device 20 is connected to the battery pack 200 via a valve device 30.

[0090] In this embodiment, the thermal management and thermal safety integrated system has the thermal management and thermal safety integrated system as described in any embodiment of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0091] It should be noted that the unit embodiments described above are merely illustrative, wherein the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0092] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that each implementation method can be implemented by means of software plus a general hardware platform, and of course, by hardware. Based on this understanding, the above technical solution is essentially or the part that contributes to the relevant technology can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, a disk, an optical disk, etc., including a number of instructions to use at least one computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment or some parts of the embodiment.

[0093] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Under the concept of the present application, the technical features in the above embodiments or different embodiments can also be combined, the steps can be implemented in any order, and there are many other changes in different aspects of the present application as described above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of simplicity. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, a person of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments can still be modified, or some of the technical features can be replaced by equivalents. These modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A thermal management and thermal safety integrated system, characterized in that: The integrated system includes a control device, a heat regulating device, a valve device and a heat exchange pipeline; The heat regulating device is respectively connected to the heat exchange pipeline and the battery pack through a valve device, and the control device is connected to the heat regulating device; Wherein, the control device is configured to obtain operating parameters of the energy storage system and determine the operating mode of the integrated system based on the operating parameters; The heat regulating device is configured to heat or cool the working fluid medium inside the heat regulating device based on the working mode; The valve device is configured to control the working fluid medium to flow into the heat exchange pipeline or the interior of the battery pack based on the working mode; The heat exchange circuit is configured to absorb or release heat from the battery pack based on the working fluid medium.

2. The integrated system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The valve device comprises a first valve unit and a second valve unit; The heat regulating device is connected to the heat exchange pipeline through the first valve unit, and the heat regulating device is connected to the battery pack through the second valve unit.

3. The integrated system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first valve unit includes a first valve subunit and a second valve subunit, the second valve unit includes a third valve subunit, the number of the battery packs is at least two, the heat exchange pipeline includes at least two first pipelines and at least two cold plates, and there is a one-to-one correspondence between the first pipelines, the cold plates and the battery packs; The output port of the heat regulating device is connected to the input port of the first pipeline through the first valve subunit, the first output port of the first pipeline is connected to the input port of the corresponding cold plate, the output port of the cold plate is connected to the input port of the heat regulating device through the second valve subunit, and the output port of the heat regulating device is also connected to the interior of the battery pack through the third valve subunit.

4. The integrated system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The second valve unit comprises at least two of the third valve sub-units; There is a one-to-one correspondence between the first pipeline and the third valve subunit; The second output port of the first pipeline is connected to the interior of the corresponding battery pack through the corresponding third valve subunit.

5. The integrated system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The first valve unit further includes at least two fourth valve sub-units; The fourth valve subunit corresponds one-to-one to the first pipeline; The fourth valve subunit is connected between the corresponding input port of the first pipeline and the corresponding first output port of the first pipeline, and the fourth valve subunit is connected between the corresponding input port of the first pipeline and the corresponding second output port of the first pipeline.

6. The integrated system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The control unit includes a control module and a parameter detection module; The parameter detection module is connected to the control module; The parameter detection module is configured to obtain the operating parameters and send the operating parameters to the control module; The control module is configured to determine the operating mode based on the operating parameters.

7. A control method for a thermal management and thermal safety integrated system, characterized in that: Applied to the thermal management and thermal safety integrated system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the control method comprises: Obtaining the working parameters of the energy storage system; Determining a target operating mode based on the operating parameters and a plurality of preset operating modes; Based on the target operation mode, the heat adjustment device and the valve device are controlled to operate.

8. The control method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The step of controlling the heat regulating device and the valve device to operate based on the target operation mode includes: When the target operation mode is a cooling mode, controlling the heat regulating device to cool the working fluid medium, opening the first valve subunit and the second valve subunit, and closing the third valve subunit; When the target operation mode is a heating mode, controlling the heat regulating device to cool the working fluid medium, opening the first valve subunit and the second valve subunit, and closing the third valve subunit; When the target operation mode is the standby mode, controlling the heat regulating device to be in standby mode, closing the first valve subunit, the second valve subunit and the third valve subunit; When the target operation mode is the early warning mode, controlling the heat regulating device to cool the working fluid medium at maximum power, opening the first valve subunit and the second valve subunit, and closing the third valve subunit; When the target operation mode is the protection mode, the heat regulating device is controlled to be in standby mode and at least one of the third valve sub-units is opened.

9. The control method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The controlling the heat regulating device and the valve device to operate based on the target operation mode further includes: When the target operating mode is the early warning mode, the battery pack that triggers the early warning is determined, and the flow rate of the working fluid medium delivered by the fourth valve subunit corresponding to the battery pack that triggers the early warning is increased, and the flow rate of the working fluid medium delivered by the fourth valve subunit corresponding to the battery pack that does not trigger the early warning is reduced.

10. An energy storage system, characterized in that: Comprising a battery pack, and a thermal management and thermal safety integrated system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6; The thermal regulating device is connected to the battery pack via a valve device.

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