Thermal management unit control system and operation method thereof
By integrating the coolant liquid-cooled circulation system with the fire protection system, using shared pipelines and controllable recycling devices, the problem of independent space occupied by the cooling system and fire protection system is solved, and the energy storage system is highly integrated and safe fire extinguishing is achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202510660985.9
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-05-21
- Publication Date
- 2025-08-26
Smart Images

Figure CN120545563A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field related to power batteries, and more specifically, to a thermal management unit control system and an operating method of the thermal management unit control system. Background Art
[0002] With the rapid development of energy storage systems, the demand for highly integrated space utilization is increasing. Due to the high degree of integration of energy storage systems, the space available for cooling and fire protection systems is limited.
[0003] However, the cooling system and the fire protection system are currently two independent systems, each with its own independent outlet and return pipes, which take up a large space and seriously affect the high integration of the energy storage system. Summary of the Invention
[0004] (1) Technical issues
[0005] In summary, how to optimize the structure of the cooling system and fire protection system in the existing technology, thereby integrating the two independent systems to reduce the system structure and improve the integration level of the energy storage system, has become an urgent problem to be solved by those skilled in the art.
[0006] (2) Technical solution
[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:
[0008] The present invention provides a thermal management unit control system, which is applied to a battery pack. In the present invention, the thermal management unit control system includes:
[0009] A coolant cooling circulation system, wherein the coolant cooling circulation system is a controllable coolant circulation self-closing system, and the coolant cooling circulation system has a coolant return end for coolant return and a coolant output end for coolant output;
[0010] a fire fighting system having a fire extinguishing agent output terminal for outputting a fire extinguishing agent, wherein the fire extinguishing agent is different from the coolant;
[0011] a coolant recovery device connected to the coolant liquid cooling circulation system and configured to recover the coolant in the coolant liquid cooling circulation system when thermal runaway occurs in the battery pack and before the fire protection system is activated;
[0012] A nozzle, provided in the battery pack, for spraying the fire extinguishing agent;
[0013] A water return pipe, one end of which is connected to the water outlet of the liquid cooling plate in the battery pack, and the other end of which is connected to the coolant return end;
[0014] A water outlet pipe is a common pipe, one end of which is connected to the water inlet of the liquid cooling plate in the battery pack and the nozzle, and the other end of which is connected to the coolant output end and the fire extinguishing agent output end. The water outlet pipe is connected to the coolant recovery device through a branch pipe.
[0015] Preferably, the thermal management unit control system provided by the present invention also includes a controllable multi-way valve, and the nozzle and the water inlet of the liquid cooling plate in the battery pack are connected in parallel through the multi-way valve, which is used for spraying the fire extinguishing agent through the nozzle or inputting the coolant into the liquid cooling plate in the battery pack.
[0016] Preferably, in the thermal management unit control system provided by the present invention, the coolant liquid cooling circulation system also includes a coolant storage tank, a coolant storage tank output pipe is provided on the coolant storage tank, and the coolant storage tank output pipe is connected to the coolant return end; a first valve is provided on the coolant storage tank output pipe.
[0017] Preferably, in the thermal management unit control system provided by the present invention, the fire-fighting system further includes a fire-extinguishing agent storage tank, and the fire-extinguishing agent storage tank is provided with a fire-extinguishing agent storage tank output pipe, and the fire-extinguishing agent storage tank output pipe is connected to the fire-extinguishing agent output end; a second valve is provided on the fire-extinguishing agent storage tank output pipe.
[0018] Preferably, in the thermal management unit control system provided by the present invention, a first water pump is provided downstream of the first valve; and a second water pump is provided downstream of the second valve.
[0019] Preferably, in the thermal management unit control system provided by the present invention, the coolant liquid cooling circulation system includes a temperature control section, one end of the temperature control section is connected to the coolant return end, and the other end of the temperature control section is connected to the coolant output end, and the temperature control section is provided with a temperature regulating device for regulating the coolant temperature.
[0020] Preferably, in the thermal management unit control system provided by the present invention, the temperature regulating device includes a refrigeration component composed of a plate exchanger, a compressor, a condenser and a valve for cooling the coolant, and a heating component for heating the coolant.
[0021] Preferably, in the thermal management unit control system provided by the present invention, a third valve is provided on the temperature control section.
[0022] Preferably, in the thermal management unit control system provided by the present invention, two branches are arranged between the coolant recovery device and the coolant liquid cooling circulation system, and valves are arranged on the two branches, at least one of which is a pressure valve; the third valve is arranged on the temperature control section between the two branches; the pressure valve has pressure detection and liquid pumping capabilities; or, the pressure valve has a pressure detection function, and a third water pump is arranged on the branch where the pressure valve is arranged for pumping liquid.
[0023] The present invention also provides an operating method for a thermal management unit control system, which is the aforementioned thermal management unit control system. In the present invention, the operating method of the thermal management unit control system is as follows: a coolant cooling circulation system cools the battery pack. When the battery pack experiences thermal runaway, a coolant recovery device recovers the coolant. Thereafter, the coolant cooling circulation system switches to a self-closing state, and the fire protection system activates and immerses the battery pack to extinguish the fire.
[0024] (3) Beneficial effects
[0025] Through the above-mentioned structural design, the coolant liquid cooling circulation system is controlled by the control board to perform cooling and heating conversion, and the coolant is actively cooled and heat-exchanged for the battery pack through the outlet pipe and the return pipe. When the control system (the control system of the original battery pack) detects that thermal runaway has occurred, the coolant liquid cooling circulation system starts the active detection mode, and recovers the excess liquid (coolant) in the coolant liquid cooling circulation system pipeline to the liquid cooling recovery device by controlling the opening of the valve, the switching of the self-closing mode, and the pressure detection self-detection mode. Then, the coolant in other pipelines of the battery pack is returned to the coolant liquid cooling circulation system through the self-detection and the system is self-closed. After that, the fire protection system is turned on to perform pack-level precise immersion and related medium fire extinguishing (perfomone). The present invention is internally provided with a self-circulating self-closing system, which can solve the problem of liquid residue in the fire protection liquid cooling shared set of pipelines in the energy storage system integration, resulting in the medium mixing failing to meet regulatory requirements and relevant certification standards, and at the same time, the liquid cooling and fire protection medium mixed fire extinguishing effect is not good, and the medium mixing may produce chemical reactions and other related problems. The present invention effectively solves the above-mentioned problems and develops a new thermal management unit control system. The present invention is provided with a water outlet pipe, and the water outlet pipe is designed as a common pipeline, so that the pipeline of the cooling system and the fire protection system can be shared. By optimizing the structures of the cooling system and the fire protection system, the two independent systems can be integrated, reducing the hardware composition of the system and improving the integration level of the energy storage system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] The drawings and the accompanying drawings, which constitute part of this application, are intended to provide a further understanding of the present invention. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are intended to explain the present invention and do not constitute an undue limitation of the present invention. Among them:
[0027] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the overall structure of the thermal management unit control system in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a thermal management unit control system in another embodiment of the present invention;
[0029] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure of the coolant cooling circulation system in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0030] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure of the fire protection system in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0031] Figure 2 and Figure 1 The difference is that in the two branches connected to the coolant recovery device, a third water pump is set in the upstream branch.
[0032] exist Figures 1 to 4 , the corresponding relationship between component names and reference numerals is as follows:
[0033] Coolant recovery device 1, nozzle 2, return pipe 3, water outlet 4, water outlet pipe 5, water inlet 6, multi-way valve 7, coolant storage tank 8, coolant storage tank output pipe 9, first valve 10, fire extinguishing agent storage tank 11, fire extinguishing agent storage tank output pipe 12, second valve 13, first water pump 14, second water pump 15, temperature control section 16, plate exchanger 17, compressor 18, heating component 19, third valve 20, pressure valve 21, upstream valve 22, third water pump 23. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0034] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in conjunction with the embodiments. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Indeed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations may be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention. For example, a feature shown or described as part of one embodiment may be used in another embodiment to produce yet another embodiment. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention encompasses such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
[0035] In the description of the present invention, the terms "longitudinal", "transverse", "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and do not require that the present invention must be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be understood as limitations on the present invention. The terms "connected" and "connected" used in the present invention should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection or a detachable connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate component. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms can be understood according to the specific circumstances.
[0036] Please refer to Figures 1 to 4 .
[0037] The present invention provides a thermal management unit control system, which can control the temperature of a battery pack and extinguish fires after thermal runaway.
[0038] In the present invention, the thermal management unit control system includes the following components:
[0039] 1. Coolant liquid cooling circulation system.
[0040] The coolant cooling circulation system is a controllable, self-closing coolant circulation system. The "controllable" mentioned above refers to the coolant cooling circulation system being controlled by a control panel, which controls valves to achieve changes in operating state. The "self-closing system" mentioned above means that once the coolant cooling circulation system valves are closed, coolant cannot be discharged from the system and fire extinguishing agent cannot enter the system.
[0041] like Figure 2As shown, the first valve 10 is opened, and the coolant storage tank 8 provides or replenishes the coolant into the system (if there is recovered and stored coolant in the coolant recovery device 1, then the pressure valve 21 is opened, and the coolant recovery device 1 first provides coolant to the system. After the coolant circulates normally, the system pressure is detected. If the pressure value is abnormal, the first valve 10 is opened and the coolant storage tank 8 replenishes the coolant into the system). After the coolant enters the system, it is first cooled or heated through the temperature control section 16. After temperature adjustment, it enters the battery pack through the outlet pipe 5 and then through the multi-way valve 7. After heat exchange with the battery pack, it returns to the system through the return pipe 3 through the outlet 4 for circulation. It should be noted that the pressure valve 21 can be replaced by an electronic valve, which can be opened or closed by system control. Of course, when using the pressure valve 21, the opening pressure value of the pressure valve 21 can be set to open or close according to the pressure value of the system to complete the output and recovery of the coolant (the pressure value of the system filled with coolant and the pressure value of the system filled with gas are different. After multiple tests by technical personnel, a pressure value is set between the pressure values of the system filled with coolant and the pressure values of the system filled with gas. When the system is full of coolant, the pressure valve 21 is closed, and the coolant will not flow into the coolant recovery device 1. When the valve in the control system is closed, the first water pump 14 continues to work, the pressure value in the system increases, the pressure valve 21 opens, and the coolant will flow back to the coolant recovery device 1 to realize the reflux of the coolant. The first water pump 14 continues to work, and all the coolant in the system will flow back to the coolant recovery device 1, clearing the coolant in the system to provide conditions for the start-up of the fire extinguishing system).
[0042] The switching process of the thermal management mode (cooling liquid flowing in the pipeline) and the fire fighting mode (fire extinguishing agent flowing in the pipeline) of the present invention is as follows: the coolant recovery device 1 provided in the present invention is provided with two branches connected to the temperature control section 16, and valves are provided on both branches, and one of the valves is a pressure valve 21 (located downstream), and the other valve is an upstream valve 22. The upstream valve 22 can also adopt a pressure valve structure, or other types of valves. The pressure valve 21 has the ability to detect pressure and pump liquid (regarding liquid pumping, it can be achieved by setting a third water pump 23). When the pressure valve 21 receives the coolant recovery instruction (that is, the pressure valve 21 opens after receiving the opening instruction of the system control module), the pressure valve 21 starts real-time detection of the pressure value, the first valve 10 and the second valve 13 are closed, and the first water pump 14 is turned on to pump the coolant; in the present invention, the diameter of the branch pipe connected to the coolant recovery device 1 is larger than the diameter of the pipeline downstream to the liquid cooling plate. Therefore, when the pressure valve 21 on the downstream branch is fully open, the flow pressure in the branch pipe is lower than the flow pressure inside the pipeline to the liquid cooling plate. Therefore, the coolant will first enter the coolant recovery device 1 and cool most of the inside of the pipeline. The liquid is recovered to the inside of the coolant recovery device 1; valves are provided on both branches. Along the flow direction of the coolant, the valve provided on the downstream branch is the downstream pressure valve (i.e., the pressure valve 21 in the present invention), and the valve provided on the upstream branch is the upstream valve 22. The pressure valve 21 detects that the internal pressure value of the pipeline has decreased (decreased to the minimum value) and then closes. At the same time, the third valve 20 is closed, and the upstream valve 22 remains open. The coolant continues to work through the first water pump 14. The residual liquid in the pipeline will be pumped to the rear end of the first water pump 14 (in the upstream pipeline). At this time, the valve provided on the upstream branch (upstream valve 22) remains open, and the coolant enters the coolant reflux device 1 through the branch, thereby completing the recovery of all the coolant. After closing the upstream valve 22, the coolant recovery process ends. At this time, the second valve 13 is opened, the second water pump 15 is turned on to pump the fire extinguishing agent, and the system switches to the fire fighting mode for fire fighting. The present invention is provided with a pressure valve 21 and a third water pump 23 on the downstream branch. The third water pump 23 is a water pump type that can pump liquid in both directions, so that coolant can be pumped into the coolant recovery device 1 or the coolant in the coolant recovery device 1 can be pumped out through the third water pump 23.
[0043] The pressure valve 21 has pressure detection and opening and closing functions. The opening or closing of the pressure valve 21 is a controlled action, that is, the external control system or controller sends a control instruction to the pressure valve 21, and the pressure valve 21 performs the corresponding action according to the control instruction. When the thermal management unit control system detects that thermal runaway is about to occur (the original battery system has a thermal runaway monitoring function), the system control module will send an opening control instruction to the pressure valve 21. The pressure valve 21 opens after receiving the instruction. After the pressure valve 21 opens, the coolant recovery device 1 is equivalent to the open state, so that the coolant in the pipeline begins to be recovered. At the same time as the recovery, the first water pump 14 will also start at the same time to provide coolant reflux power. After the coolant is recovered, the pressure valve 21 determines through the pressure value (the pressure value of the coolant gradually decreases during the recovery process) that 90% of the coolant capacity has been basically recovered, and the pressure value is at the lowest pressure value.
[0044] The coolant cooling circulation system is a system composed of pipes, valves, and various functional devices. (The system is a semi-closed system and cannot independently circulate the coolant. It can only achieve unidirectional circulation of the coolant after being connected to the downstream return pipe 3 and outlet pipe 5.) The coolant cooling circulation system has a coolant return port for coolant return (coolant located downstream flows back into the coolant cooling circulation system through the return pipe 3) and a coolant output port for coolant output (coolant in the coolant cooling circulation system can be transported downstream through the coolant output port).
[0045] The coolant liquid cooling circulation system has at least two devices that can load a large amount of coolant, namely a coolant storage tank 8 and a coolant recovery device 1. Specifically, a coolant storage tank output pipe 9 is provided on the coolant storage tank 8, and the coolant storage tank output pipe 9 is connected to the pipeline of the coolant liquid cooling circulation system. Further, the coolant storage tank output pipe 9 is connected to the coolant return end. In order to realize the control of the coolant output and input of the coolant storage tank 8, the present invention is provided with a first valve 10 on the coolant storage tank output pipe 9. After opening the first valve 10, the coolant storage tank 8 can provide (replenish) coolant to the coolant liquid cooling circulation system. At the same time, the coolant in the coolant liquid cooling circulation system can also flow back to the coolant storage tank 8. Specifically, the coolant recovery device 1 is connected to the coolant liquid cooling circulation system, and is used to recover the coolant in the coolant liquid cooling circulation system when thermal runaway occurs in the battery pack.
[0046] Furthermore, the present invention is provided with a pressure valve 21 on the branch pipe connecting the coolant recovery device 1 and the coolant liquid cooling circulation system. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, two branch pipes are provided between the coolant recovery device 1 and the coolant liquid cooling circulation system, and the two branch pipes are respectively connected to the two ends of the coolant recovery device 1. Specifically, the two branch pipes are connected to the temperature control section 16. For the convenience of description, the temperature control section 16 between the two branches can be defined as a reflux control section. Valves (upstream valve 22 and pressure valve 21) are provided on both branches. The valves provided on the two branches are connected to the control module of the thermal management unit control system and are controlled by the control module. At least one of the valves provided on the two branches is a pressure valve 21, and the third valve 20 is provided between the two branches (that is, the third valve 20 is provided on the reflux control section).
[0047] Regarding the pressure valve 21, the present invention has two structural options: 1. The pressure valve 21 has the ability to detect pressure and pump liquid; 2. The pressure valve 21 has a pressure detection function, and a third water pump 23 is provided on the branch pipe where the pressure valve is provided for pumping liquid. Regarding the first type of pressure valve, the present invention is only provided with a pressure valve, which can both detect the internal pressure of the pipeline and pump the coolant (pumping the coolant to the coolant recovery device or pumping the coolant in the coolant recovery device into the coolant liquid cooling circulation system). Regarding the second type of pressure valve, the present invention detects the internal pressure of the pipeline through the pressure valve and pumps the coolant through the third water pump 23.
[0048] 2. Fire protection system.
[0049] The fire protection system is a one-way output system that can output fire extinguishing agent to the battery pack through a pipeline. The fire protection system has a fire extinguishing agent output end for outputting fire extinguishing agent, and the fire extinguishing agent output end is connected to the nozzle 2 provided at the battery pack. The nozzle 2 is provided in the battery pack and is used for spraying the fire extinguishing agent. The present invention does not specifically explain the setting of the nozzle 2, and the design standard is to meet the reliable fire extinguishing after thermal runaway of the battery pack. The fire protection system includes a fire extinguishing agent storage tank 11, and a fire extinguishing agent storage tank output pipe 12 is connected to the fire extinguishing agent storage tank 11. A second valve 13 is installed on the fire extinguishing agent storage tank output pipe 12, and then a second water pump 15 is provided. After the first water pump 14 stops working, the pressure in the system decreases, the pressure valve 21 is closed, and the second water pump 15 is started to inject fire extinguishing agent into the system. After the fire extinguishing agent passes through the outlet pipe 5, the multi-way valve 7 switches the path and sprays it through the nozzle 2 to achieve fire extinguishing.
[0050] 3. Return pipe 3 and outlet pipe 5.
[0051] The present invention is provided with a return pipe 3 and an outlet pipe 5, that is, it can realize the connection between the coolant liquid cooling circulation system and the fire protection system and the pipelines, devices (liquid cooling plate), etc. provided on one side of the battery pack, especially the coolant liquid cooling circulation system, which can be connected through the return pipe 3 and the outlet pipe 5 to form a complete coolant circulation pipeline system. At the same time, through the sharing of the outlet pipe 5, the integrated design of the coolant liquid cooling circulation system and the fire protection system can also be realized. Specifically, one end of the return pipe 3 is connected to the water outlet 4 of the liquid cooling plate in the battery pack, and the other end of the return pipe 3 is connected to the coolant return end. Furthermore, the other end of the return pipe 3 can also be connected to the fire protection system. Specifically, the outlet pipe 5 is a shared pipeline (for realizing the sharing of the coolant liquid cooling circulation system and the fire protection system), one end of the outlet pipe 5 is connected to the water inlet 6 of the liquid cooling plate in the battery pack and the nozzle 2, and the other end of the outlet pipe 5 is connected to the coolant output end and the fire extinguishing agent output end. Based on the above embodiment, the present invention also provides a controllable multi-way valve 7 (which realizes the conduction or disconnection of different paths through the control of the control panel). The nozzle 2 and the water inlet 6 of the liquid cooling plate in the battery pack are connected in parallel through the multi-way valve 7. Only one of the water inlet 6 path and the nozzle 2 path can be opened. The multi-way valve 7 is connected to the water outlet pipe 5 for spraying the fire extinguishing agent through the nozzle 2 or inputting the coolant into the liquid cooling plate in the battery pack.
[0052] 4. Water pump.
[0053] A first water pump 14 is provided downstream of the first valve 10, and a second water pump 15 is provided downstream of the second valve 13. The first water pump 14 is used to pump the coolant, and the second water pump 15 is used to pump the fire extinguishing agent.
[0054] To more clearly describe the structure of the coolant cooling circulation system, the present invention defines the central section of the coolant cooling circulation system as a temperature control section 16. One end of the temperature control section 16 is connected to the coolant return port, and the other end is connected to the coolant output port. A temperature control device is provided on the temperature control section 16 for regulating the coolant temperature. Specifically, the temperature control device includes a refrigeration assembly (consisting of a plate heat exchanger 17, a compressor 18, a condenser, and a valve) for cooling the coolant, and a heating assembly 19 for heating the coolant. Furthermore, the present invention provides a third valve 20 on the temperature control section 16. The third valve 20 is provided on the pipeline (specifically, at the temperature control section 16). The third valve 20 is an electric ball valve. The function of the third valve 20 is: when the coolant is normally supplied to each battery pack, that is, the system is in normal working condition, the third valve 20 is in a normally open state. The third valve 20 is basically in an open state throughout the normal working process (that is, the system hardware is not damaged). When the pipeline leaks (mainly in the working mode of cooling or heating the battery pack, the liquid flowing in the pipeline is coolant), the third valve 20 is closed (it can be closed by issuing a control instruction through the thermal management unit control system) to prevent the coolant from flowing out and facilitate maintenance.
[0055] Based on the above-mentioned thermal management unit control system, the present invention also provides an operating method of the thermal management unit control system. In this operating method, the battery pack is liquid-cooled by the coolant liquid cooling circulation system. When the battery pack suffers from thermal runaway, the coolant is recovered by the coolant recovery device 1; thereafter, the coolant liquid cooling circulation system switches to a self-closing state, and the fire protection system is turned on and the battery pack is immersed to extinguish the fire.
[0056] The present invention relates to the field of energy storage systems, and specifically provides an active and passive thermal management unit control system. The active and passive thermal management unit control system is composed of a coolant storage tank 8, a fire extinguishing agent storage tank 11, multiple water pumps, a coolant recovery device 1, a compressor 18, multiple valves (electric ball valves) and other related components. A control board is provided in the unit (inside the system), and the return end and the output end of the coolant liquid cooling circulation system are connected to the liquid cooling pipe and the battery pack of the energy storage system (the liquid cooling plate provided in the battery pack), which can perform heat exchange (cooling or heating) on the battery cells of the battery pack. While the coolant liquid cooling circulation system is performing heat exchange, when the battery pack is thermally out of control, the fire protection system can be used to accurately and quickly extinguish the fire to prevent heat diffusion. The integrated design of the coolant liquid cooling circulation system and the fire protection system in the present invention adopts an active and passive control scheme, and the energy storage system integrates a common set of pipelines (return pipe 3 and outlet pipe 5). Since the fusion of residual refrigerant and fire extinguishing agent cannot quickly and effectively extinguish the fire, the liquid cooling in the present invention actively performs internal self-inspection to recover and reuse the residual liquid (when the coolant liquid cooling circulation system resumes working, the coolant recovered in the coolant recovery device 1 can be transported to the system) for cooling and heating. After the self-inspection is completed, the fire extinguishing system is turned on to quickly and effectively prevent heat diffusion.
[0057] The above-mentioned self-checking refers to the inspection of the residual liquid in the pipeline, the purpose of which is to empty the two different liquids and avoid the mixing of the two liquids. In the present invention, the self-checking is completed by detecting the pressure in the pipeline. When there is only liquid in the pipeline, or when there is only gas, or when there is a mixture of gas and liquid, the pressure is different. The present invention is provided with a pressure sensor on the pipeline. After the self-checking starts, the pressure signal in the pipeline is obtained in real time. The coolant recovery device 1 recovers the coolant. After the recovery is completed, the water pump is kept working until the pressure in the pipeline reaches the pressure value corresponding to when there is only gas. At this time, the self-checking is completed, the water pump stops working, and the relevant valves are switched.
[0058] The present invention is provided with a pressure valve 21 , which has pressure detection and opening and closing functions, so the detection of the pressure in the pipeline is achieved through the pressure valve 21 .
[0059] The present invention is provided with a coolant recovery device 1 for recovering coolant. The coolant is pumped by a first water pump 14, thereby pumping the liquid (coolant) inside the pipeline and recovering it completely into the coolant recovery device 1. Regarding the recovery of the coolant, the end of the recovery operation is also determined by the pressure detection module of the pressure valve 21 to determine the pressure value to determine the remaining coolant in the pipeline (when the coolant is essentially completely recovered, for example, after 90% recovery, the pressure value inside the pipeline will reach the lowest value). The less coolant remains, the lower the pressure value inside the pipeline. After reaching a certain value, the residual liquid has essentially no effect on the firefighting liquid. Specifically, to better achieve the recovery of coolant by the coolant recovery device 1, the present invention also optimizes the pipeline structure: under normal operating conditions, the liquid flow resistance inside the branch pipe is smaller than the liquid flow resistance at the coolant output end of the outlet pipe. Specifically, the diameter of the branch pipe is larger than the diameter of the outlet pipe (the diameter of the pipe before the liquid cooling plate). The above-mentioned optimization design can be achieved due to the difference in pipe diameter or by changing the number of liquid cooling plates.
[0060] The control panel controls the coolant liquid cooling circulation system to perform cooling and heating conversion. The coolant actively cools the battery pack for heat exchange through the outlet and return water. When the control system detects thermal runaway, the cooling system starts the active detection mode, and recovers the excess liquid in the pipeline to the liquid cooling recovery device by controlling the opening and self-closing mode of the valve and the pressure detection self-detection mode. The liquid in the first-level pipeline of the container is recovered to the coolant liquid cooling circulation system through self-detection and self-closing. The fire extinguishing system is turned on to accurately immerse the battery pack and extinguish the fire with related media (perfluorohexane).
[0061] Through the above-mentioned structural design, the coolant liquid cooling circulation system is controlled by the control board to perform cooling and heating conversion, and the coolant is actively cooled and heat-exchanged for the battery pack through the outlet pipe 5 and the return pipe 3. When the control system (the control system of the original battery pack) detects that thermal runaway has occurred, the coolant liquid cooling circulation system starts the active detection mode, and recovers the excess liquid (coolant) in the coolant liquid cooling circulation system pipeline to the liquid cooling recovery device by controlling the opening of the valve, the switching of the self-closing mode, and the pressure detection self-detection mode. Then, the coolant in other pipelines of the battery pack is returned to the coolant liquid cooling circulation system through the self-detection and the system is self-closed. After that, the fire protection system is turned on to perform pack-level precise immersion and related medium fire extinguishing (perfomone). The present invention is internally provided with a self-circulating self-closing system, which can solve the problem of liquid residue in the fire protection liquid cooling shared set of pipelines in the energy storage system integration, resulting in the medium mixing failing to meet regulatory requirements and relevant certification standards, and at the same time, the liquid cooling and fire protection medium mixed fire extinguishing effect is not good, and the medium mixing may produce chemical reactions and other related problems. The present invention effectively solves the above-mentioned problems and develops a new thermal management unit control system.
[0062] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications and variations of the present invention are possible. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention shall be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.
Claims
1. A thermal management unit control system, applied to a battery pack, characterized in that: include: A coolant cooling circulation system, wherein the coolant cooling circulation system is a controllable coolant circulation self-closing system, and the coolant cooling circulation system has a coolant return end for coolant return and a coolant output end for coolant output; a fire fighting system having a fire extinguishing agent output terminal for outputting a fire extinguishing agent, wherein the fire extinguishing agent is different from the coolant; a coolant recovery device connected to the coolant liquid cooling circulation system and configured to recover the coolant in the coolant liquid cooling circulation system when thermal runaway occurs in the battery pack and before the fire protection system is activated; A nozzle, provided in the battery pack, for spraying the fire extinguishing agent; A water return pipe, one end of which is connected to the water outlet of the liquid cooling plate in the battery pack, and the other end of which is connected to the coolant return end; A water outlet pipe is a common pipe, one end of which is connected to the water inlet of the liquid cooling plate in the battery pack and the nozzle, and the other end of which is connected to the coolant output end and the fire extinguishing agent output end. The water outlet pipe is connected to the coolant recovery device through a branch pipe.
2. The thermal management unit control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a controllable multi-way valve, through which the nozzle and the water inlet of the liquid cooling plate in the battery pack are connected in parallel, for spraying the fire extinguishing agent through the nozzle or inputting the coolant into the liquid cooling plate in the battery pack.
3. The thermal management unit control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The coolant cooling circulation system further comprises a coolant storage tank, the coolant storage tank is provided with a coolant storage tank output pipe, and the coolant storage tank output pipe is connected to the coolant return end; A first valve is provided on the coolant storage tank output pipe.
4. The thermal management unit control system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The fire fighting system further comprises a fire extinguishing agent storage tank, the fire extinguishing agent storage tank is provided with a fire extinguishing agent storage tank output pipe, and the fire extinguishing agent storage tank output pipe is connected to the fire extinguishing agent output end; A second valve is provided on the fire extinguishing agent storage tank output pipe.
5. The thermal management unit control system according to claim 4, characterized in that: A first water pump is provided downstream of the first valve; A second water pump is provided downstream of the second valve.
6. The thermal management unit control system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The coolant cooling circulation system includes a temperature control section, one end of the temperature control section is connected to the coolant return end, and the other end of the temperature control section is connected to the coolant output end. The temperature control section is provided with a temperature regulating device for regulating the coolant temperature.
7. The thermal management unit control system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The temperature regulating device comprises a refrigeration component composed of a plate exchanger, a compressor, a condenser and a valve for refrigerating the coolant, and a heating component for heating the coolant.
8. The thermal management unit control system according to claim 7, characterized in that: A third valve is provided on the temperature control section.
9. The thermal management unit control system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: Two branch pipes are provided between the coolant recovery device and the coolant liquid cooling circulation system, and valves are provided on both branch pipes, at least one of which is a pressure valve; The third valve is arranged on the temperature control section between the two branch pipes; The pressure valve has pressure detection and liquid pumping capabilities; Alternatively, the pressure valve has a pressure detection function, and a third water pump is provided on the branch pipe where the pressure valve is provided, for pumping liquid.
10. An operating method of a thermal management unit control system, wherein the thermal management unit control system is the thermal management unit control system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The battery pack is cooled by a coolant circulation system. When thermal runaway occurs in the battery pack, the coolant is recovered by a coolant recovery device. Afterwards, the coolant liquid cooling circulation system switches to a self-closing state, and the fire protection system is turned on to immerse the battery pack to extinguish the fire.