Ship battery box based on liquid cooling-phase change coupling and temperature control method

Abstract

The invention provides a ship battery box based on liquid cooling-phase change coupling and a temperature control method, and belongs to the technical field of ship power battery thermal management. The ship battery box comprises a battery module layer, a phase change material layer, a heat conduction bridge layer, a liquid cooling channel layer and a temperature sensor array; and the liquid cooling channel layer is divided into a plurality of independent partitions according to geometric arrangement and thermal load distribution of the battery module. Under the synergistic effect of the liquid cooling, phase change and heat conduction bridge three-layer composite structure, hot spot peak clipping and global temperature equalization are synchronously achieved, and the zoning temperature difference is effectively controlled within a reasonable range; a heat conduction bridge is preferentially conducted in a hot area, differential current regulation is conducted, response lag caused by traditional global constant current is avoided, and heat load fluctuation is rapidly coped with; global overcooling is avoided through partition feedback control, and the energy consumption of the system is reduced while the temperature control effect is ensured; local overheating or supercooling hidden dangers are completely eradicated, and the operation safety of the battery is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of thermal management of marine power batteries, and more specifically, relates to a marine battery box and temperature control method based on liquid cooling-phase change coupling. Background Technology

[0002] The battery compartments of new energy ships are typically enclosed structures with limited space for heat dissipation. During high-power charging and discharging, the batteries generate a large amount of heat, which can easily form localized hot spots. If the heat cannot be dissipated in time, it can lead to battery performance degradation, shortened cycle life, and in severe cases, even thermal runaway, endangering the ship's navigation safety.

[0003] Existing marine battery thermal management technologies have significant drawbacks: single liquid cooling systems often employ constant flow or weak feedback control, resulting in slow response and poor temperature uniformity, leading to heat concentration under high load fluctuations and high energy consumption; independent phase change material (PCM) systems have slow thermal conductivity, only able to buffer heat peaks but unable to quickly dissipate heat, making them unsuitable for rapidly changing heat loads; traditional control strategies often use fixed flow rate + switching logic, lacking a real-time adaptive feedback mechanism, which easily leads to over- or under-cooling problems, resulting in low energy efficiency and complex maintenance.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a marine battery thermal management solution that can balance temperature control accuracy, response speed, and energy efficiency, to address the shortcomings of existing technologies and meet the high reliability requirements for long-term marine operation. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a liquid-cooling-phase-change coupling-based method for controlling the temperature of a marine battery box, thereby solving the technical problems of slow response, poor temperature uniformity, low energy efficiency, and insufficient adaptability in existing marine power battery thermal management systems. To achieve the above objectives, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a marine battery box based on liquid cooling-phase change coupling, comprising: The battery module layer contains several battery cells. A phase change material layer is attached to the outside of the battery module layer and is used to undergo a phase change within a target temperature range and store or release latent heat. A thermal bridge layer, attached to the outside of the phase change material layer, is composed of a thermally conductive element and an adjustment mechanism, and is used to achieve the conduction or restriction of the thermal channel by changing the interfacial thermal resistance. The liquid cooling channel layer is attached to the outside of the heat-conducting bridge layer. It is divided into multiple independent zones according to the geometric arrangement and heat load distribution of the battery module. Each zone is equipped with a pair of cooling branches and an electric regulating valve. The cooling branches of all zones converge into a common liquid supply main pipe and a common liquid return main pipe. The common liquid supply main pipe is connected to a circulation pump. A temperature sensor array that covers the surface of the battery cell.

[0006] Optionally, the phase change material layer is a metal-graphite skeleton-reinforced composite PCM.

[0007] Optionally, the adjustment mechanism of the thermal bridge layer is a mechanical pre-tightening mechanism.

[0008] Optionally, the adjustment mechanism of the thermal bridge layer is a shape memory alloy mechanism.

[0009] Optionally, the adjustment mechanism of the thermal bridge layer is a magnetorheological material mechanism.

[0010] Optionally, the ship's battery box also includes: The controller is electrically connected to the temperature sensor array, the electric regulating valve, the circulating pump, and the regulating mechanism of the thermal bridge layer, respectively, and is used to receive temperature data, execute the zone control strategy, and output control commands.

[0011] Secondly, the present invention provides a temperature control method for a ship battery box based on liquid cooling-phase change coupling, applied to the ship battery box described in the first aspect, comprising the following steps: Step 1: Collect the cell surface temperature corresponding to each zone using a temperature sensor array. ; Step 2, set the target temperature zone and setting value ,when > When it is determined to be a hot zone, When it is determined to be a cold zone, It was determined to be in the normal zone at that time; Step 3: In the hot zone, heat dissipation control is achieved by using a thermal bridge to conduct and increase the zone flow rate; in the cold zone, heat preservation control is achieved by using a thermal bridge to limit power and reduce the zone flow rate; and in the normal zone, zoned PID control is used to adjust the valve opening.

[0012] Optionally, in step 2, the target temperature zone satisfy Slightly above the battery's minimum allowable operating temperature. Slightly below the upper limit of battery safety temperature and the initial phase change temperature of the phase change material layer.

[0013] Optionally, in step 3, the output formula of the partitioned PID control is: , in, , For proportionality coefficient, For integral coefficients, For differential coefficients, Set a value for the nominal value.

[0014] Optionally, It has an upper limit, a lower limit, and a dead zone.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: It provides a marine battery box based on liquid cooling-phase change coupling, including a battery module layer, a phase change material layer, a thermal bridge layer, a liquid cooling channel layer, and a temperature sensor array. The liquid cooling channel layer is divided into multiple independent zones according to the geometric arrangement and heat load distribution of the battery modules. The three-layer composite structure of liquid cooling, phase change, and thermal bridge works synergistically to achieve simultaneous hot spot peak shaving and uniform temperature across the entire area, effectively controlling the temperature difference between zones within a reasonable range; the thermal bridge is preferentially connected in hot zones and the flow is differentiated, avoiding the response lag caused by traditional constant current across the entire area, and quickly responding to heat load fluctuations; zoned feedback control avoids overcooling across the entire area, reducing system energy consumption while ensuring temperature control; it eliminates the risk of local overheating or overcooling, improving battery operation safety.

[0016] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail in the following detailed description section. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the more detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein the same reference numerals generally represent the same components in the exemplary embodiments of the invention.

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a ship battery box based on liquid cooling-phase change coupling in Embodiment 1 is shown.

[0019] Figure 2 A flowchart of the ship battery box temperature control method based on liquid cooling-phase change coupling in Embodiment 2 is shown.

[0020] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the ship battery box temperature control method based on liquid cooling-phase change coupling in Example 2 is shown.

[0021] Figure 4 The figure shows a comparison curve of the change of global temperature difference over time during the operation of the ship's battery box in Example 2.

[0022] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 1. Battery module layer; 2. Phase change material layer; 3. Thermal bridge layer; 4. Liquid cooling channel layer; 41. Zoning; 42. Cooling branch; 43. Electric regulating valve; 5. Main liquid supply line; 6. Main return line; 7. Circulating pump. Detailed Implementation

[0023] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail. While preferred embodiments of the invention are described below, it should be understood that the invention can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the invention will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

[0024] Example 1

[0025] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides a marine battery box based on liquid cooling-phase change coupling, including: Battery module layer 1 contains several battery cells; in this embodiment, battery module layer 1 is formed by combining several power battery cells in series and / or in parallel to form several battery modules, and the several battery modules are arranged in a matrix. Phase change material layer 2 (PCM) is attached to the outside of battery module layer 1 and is used to undergo phase change and store or release latent heat within the target temperature range; its phase change range is adapted to the typical operating temperature of marine power battery. The thermal bridge layer 3 is attached to the outside of the phase change material layer 2 and is composed of a thermally conductive element and an adjustment mechanism. It is used to realize the conduction or restriction of the thermal channel by changing the interface thermal resistance. The liquid-cooled channel layer 4 is attached to the outside of the thermal bridge layer 3. It is divided into multiple independent zones 41 according to the geometric arrangement and heat load distribution of the battery modules. Battery modules near the bulkhead, high heat source or historical hot spot area are preferentially divided into independent zones 41. Each zone 41 is equipped with a pair of cooling branches 42 and an electric regulating valve 43. The cooling branches 42 of all zones 41 converge into a common liquid supply main pipe 5 and a common liquid return main pipe 6. The common liquid supply main pipe 5 is connected to the circulation pump 7. The circulation pump 7 provides the flow rate, and the electric valve is adjusted according to the opening degree of the zone 41. This forms a liquid-cooled topology structure with relatively independent branches and a shared main pipe. The flow rate can be flexibly distributed on the branch side according to the temperature feedback of each zone 41. On the main pipe side, the structure and number of pumps are kept simple, which is beneficial to engineering implementation and maintenance. A temperature sensor array that covers the surface of the battery cell.

[0026] Specifically, through a four-layer collaborative structure consisting of battery module layer 1, phase change material layer 2, thermal bridge layer 3, and liquid cooling channel layer 4, the structure of rapid liquid cooling heat conduction, phase change material heat storage buffer, and controllable thermal channel of thermal bridge is achieved, solving the defects of existing single liquid cooling response lag and independent PCM heat conduction insufficiency, and taking into account both heat peak buffering and rapid heat dissipation. The liquid cooling channel layer 4 is designed with geometric arrangement and heat load zoning 41, and each zone 41 has independent flow regulation and a shared main pipe, which not only achieves enhanced heat dissipation in hot zones and current limiting and heat preservation in cold zones, but also simplifies the structure and maintenance, and solves the problems of high energy consumption and poor temperature uniformity caused by traditional constant current in the whole domain. The temperature sensor array covers the surface of the battery cell, providing accurate temperature data support for the control of zone 41, avoiding over- or under-cooling caused by the lack of real-time feedback in traditional systems, and laying the foundation for accurate temperature control.

[0027] Optionally, the phase change material layer 2 is a metal and graphite skeleton reinforced composite PCM.

[0028] Specifically, the metal and graphite skeleton-reinforced composite PCM has a significantly improved thermal conductivity compared to a single PCM, solving the problem of limited thermal diffusion speed in traditional PCMs and achieving a synergy between latent heat buffering and rapid heat conduction. The composite skeleton enhances the structural stability of the PCM, preventing shrinkage and collapse during phase transitions and extending its service life. At the same time, the phase transition range can be precisely matched to the typical operating temperature of marine power batteries, further smoothing temperature fluctuations and improving temperature control stability. Compared to single metal or graphite reinforcement, composite reinforcement combines high thermal conductivity with high latent heat storage capacity, ensuring both heat peak absorption efficiency and rapid heat transfer to the thermal bridge layer 3, strengthening the structural coupling effect.

[0029] Optionally, the adjustment mechanism of the thermal bridge layer 3 is a mechanical pre-tightening mechanism.

[0030] Specifically, the mechanical pre-tightening mechanism has a simple structure and high reliability, adapts to the vibration and impact conditions during ship navigation, and solves the problem of difficult maintenance of complex adjustment mechanisms; by changing the interface thermal resistance through contact pressure, the conduction / limitation switching is precise and without delay, ensuring rapid conduction and heat dissipation in hot areas and timely limitation and heat preservation in cold areas, thereby improving the response speed of thermal path adjustment.

[0031] Optionally, the adjustment mechanism of the thermal bridge layer 3 is a shape memory alloy mechanism.

[0032] Specifically, shape memory alloys can adaptively adhere to or detach from liquid cooling plates according to temperature, without the need for additional power drive, simplifying the control chain and reducing system energy consumption; they have high temperature response sensitivity, can accurately match the battery temperature change trend, realize adaptive linkage of temperature and thermal channels, avoid the lag of mechanical adjustment, and further improve the timeliness of hot / cold zone switching.

[0033] Optionally, the adjustment mechanism of the thermal bridge layer 3 is a magnetorheological material mechanism.

[0034] Specifically, by adjusting the thermal conductivity through a magnetic field, the adjustment is highly precise and the response speed is fast, enabling continuous adjustment of thermal resistance rather than simple conduction / limitation, thus meeting the requirements of refined thermal path control under different heat loads; with no moving mechanical parts, the operation noise is low and the vibration resistance is strong, making it suitable for the quiet requirements of enclosed cabins in ships; the magnetic field control method is flexible and can be seamlessly linked with the controller, adapting to the precise control strategy of zoned PID, further improving the balance between temperature uniformity and energy efficiency.

[0035] Optionally, the ship's battery box also includes: The controller is electrically connected to the temperature sensor array, the electric regulating valve 43, the circulating pump 7, and the regulating mechanism of the thermal bridge layer 3, respectively, and is used to receive temperature data, execute the zone 41 control strategy, and output control commands.

[0036] Specifically, the controller, as the core of the control system, integrates temperature data acquisition, zone 41 control strategy calculation, and actuator linkage, solving the problem of disconnect between data acquisition and control in traditional systems and forming a closed-loop feedback control mechanism. Through coordinated linkage with the temperature sensor array, electric regulating valve 43, circulating pump 7, and heat conduction bridge, it achieves real-time response of temperature feedback, strategy calculation, and execution adjustment, avoiding over- or under-cooling and improving system energy efficiency. Unified control logic ensures coordinated action of each actuator, avoiding temperature control imbalance caused by adjustment of a single component, strengthening the synergistic effect of structural coupling and control coupling, and improving system robustness.

[0037] Example 2

[0038] like Figure 2 and 3 As shown, this embodiment provides a temperature control method for a ship battery box based on liquid cooling-phase change coupling, applied to the ship battery box described in Embodiment 1, including the following steps: Step 1: Collect the cell surface temperature corresponding to each partition 41 using a temperature sensor array. The sampling period is set to 1~5s; Step 2, set the target temperature zone and setting value ,when > When it is determined to be a hot zone, When it is determined to be a cold zone, It was determined to be in the normal zone at that time; In this step, in step 2, the target temperature zone satisfy Slightly higher than the minimum allowable operating temperature of the battery to avoid performance degradation caused by excessive cooling, while providing a reasonable threshold for the heat preservation mode to reduce ineffective heat preservation energy consumption; Slightly below the upper limit of battery safety temperature and the starting phase change temperature of phase change material layer 2, it not only prevents local overheating from causing thermal runaway, but also ensures that the PCM activates phase change buffer when the temperature approaches the threshold, achieving dual protection of temperature control safety and phase change synergy; the temperature zone setting is deeply adapted to the battery working characteristics and PCM phase change characteristics, avoiding temperature control failure or energy waste caused by unreasonable traditional temperature zone settings, and further improving system adaptability.

[0039] Step 3: The hot zone is connected using a thermal bridge, and the valve opening offset is calculated. and pump speed offset To increase heat dissipation control for partitioned flow; The cold zone uses a thermal bridge to limit the flow and outputs negative valve opening offset and negative pump speed offset to reduce the heat preservation control of the zone flow. In the normal zone, the valve opening is adjusted using zoned PID control.

[0040] In this step, with A partitioned PID controller is constructed for the setpoint, and its output... Superimposed on the current valve opening, the output formula of the zoned PID control is: , in, , For proportionality coefficient, For integral coefficients, For differential coefficients, The nominal setpoint is determined using conventional tuning methods based on the system's thermal inertia and flow channel pressure drop. Based on the temperature deviation calculation, through the coordinated operation of proportional, integral, and derivative coefficients, it can achieve rapid correction of temperature deviation, elimination of steady-state deviation, and suppression of overshoot, solving the problems of slow response, residual deviation, and easy overshoot of traditional regulation; the zoned PID control adapts to the heat load differences of each zone 41, allowing different zones 41 to be adjusted independently, which can avoid insufficient temperature control of some zones 41 and over-adjustment of some zones 41 caused by uniform parameters across the whole domain, thus improving the temperature uniformity of the whole domain.

[0041] In this embodiment, It features upper and lower limits as well as a dead zone. The upper and lower limits prevent the electric regulating valve from exceeding its mechanical stroke or the flow rate from exceeding the design range, protecting valve and pump components, extending service life, and reducing maintenance costs. The dead zone effectively prevents frequent small-amplitude valve movements caused by minor temperature fluctuations, reducing mechanical wear and energy waste, improving system stability, and solving the problem of frequent oscillations in traditional regulation.

[0042] Specifically, the system employs a logic of temperature acquisition, state determination, and zoned 41 control to achieve differentiated regulation of hot, cold, and normal zones, solving the problems of poor temperature uniformity and high energy consumption caused by the one-size-fits-all approach of traditional fixed logic control. The combined strategy of opening the thermal bridge and increasing the flow rate in the hot zone enhances heat dissipation efficiency, quickly reduces peak flow, and avoids local heat concentration. The strategy of limiting the thermal bridge and reducing the flow rate in the cold zone suppresses overcooling and reduces energy consumption. PID control in the normal zone achieves precise temperature stabilization. The three systems work together to balance response speed and temperature control accuracy. Closed-loop feedback ensures that the temperature remains stable within the target range, extending battery life and reducing the risk of thermal runaway.

[0043] Figure 4 This figure presents a comparison curve of the overall temperature difference over time during the operation of the ship's battery box. The horizontal axis represents operating time, and the vertical axis represents the overall temperature difference. The solid line represents the temperature change curve after adjustment using the liquid cooling-phase change coupled ship battery box temperature control method of this invention, while the dashed line represents the temperature change curve after adjustment using the traditional liquid cooling temperature control method. This figure visually verifies that, compared to traditional liquid cooling systems, the method of this invention can control the overall temperature difference of the ship's battery box within 4°C, improving temperature uniformity by approximately 43%. Simultaneously, it avoids the risk of continuous expansion of the temperature difference in traditional systems, effectively solving the pain points of localized overheating / overcooling, and significantly improving battery cycle life and operational safety.

[0044] The various embodiments of the present invention have been described above. These descriptions are exemplary and not exhaustive, nor are they limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments.

Claims

1. A ship battery box based on liquid cooling - phase change coupling, characterized in that, Comprise: Battery module layer (1), containing several battery cells inside; Phase change material layer (2), attached to the outside of the battery module layer (1), used to change phase and store or release latent heat in the target temperature range; Thermal bridge layer (3), attached to the outside of the phase change material layer (2), composed of thermal elements and adjustment mechanism, used to realize the conduction or limitation of heat channel by changing the interface thermal resistance; Liquid cooling channel layer (4), attached to the outside of the thermal bridge layer (3), divided into multiple independent partitions (41) according to the geometric arrangement and thermal load distribution of the battery module, each partition (41) is configured with a pair of cooling branch (42) and electrically controlled valve (43), the cooling branch (42) of all partitions (41) flows into the common liquid supply main pipe (5) and the common liquid return main pipe (6), and the common liquid supply main pipe (5) is connected with the circulating pump (7); Temperature sensor array covering the surface of the battery cell.

2. The liquid cooling-phase change coupled ship battery box according to claim 1, wherein: The phase change material layer (2) is a metal and graphite framework reinforced composite PCM.

3. The liquid cooling-phase change coupled ship battery box according to claim 1, wherein: The adjustment mechanism of the thermal bridge layer (3) is a mechanical pre-tightening mechanism.

4. The liquid cooling-phase change coupled ship battery box according to claim 1, wherein: The adjustment mechanism of the thermal bridge layer (3) is a shape memory alloy mechanism.

5. The liquid cooling-phase change coupled ship battery box according to claim 1, wherein: The adjustment mechanism of the thermal bridge layer (3) is a magnetorheological material mechanism.

6. The liquid cooling - phase change coupling based marine battery tank according to claim 1, characterized in that, Further comprising: A controller electrically connected with the temperature sensor array, the electrically controlled valve (43), the circulating pump (7) and the adjustment mechanism of the thermal bridge layer (3), respectively, for receiving temperature data, executing partition (41) control strategy and outputting control instructions.

7. A liquid cooling-phase change coupling-based temperature control method for a ship battery box, applied to the ship battery box of any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, Comprise the following steps: Step 1, collecting the corresponding cell surface temperature of each partition (41) through the temperature sensor array ; Step 2, set target temperature zone and set value when > is determined as a hot zone, when is determined as a cold zone, and when is determined as a normal zone; Step 3, the heat zone adopts the thermal bridge to conduct and increase the partition flow rate of the heat dissipation control; the cold zone adopts the thermal bridge to limit the power and reduce the partition flow rate of the heat preservation control; The normal zone adopts the partition PID control to adjust the valve opening.

8. The liquid cooling-phase change coupled ship battery box temperature control method according to claim 7, wherein: In step 2, the target temperature zone satisfies slightly higher than the minimum allowable operating temperature of the battery, slightly lower than the upper limit of the battery safety temperature and the initial phase change temperature of the phase change material layer (2).

9. The liquid cooling-phase change coupled ship battery box temperature control method according to claim 7, wherein: In step 3, the output formula of the partition PID control is: ， wherein , is a proportional coefficient, is an integral coefficient, is a derivative coefficient, is a nominal setpoint.

10. The liquid cooling-phase change coupled ship battery box temperature control method according to claim 9, wherein: Upper and lower limits and deadband are provided.

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