Liquid cooling structure and battery pack

Abstract

The utility model discloses a liquid cooling structure and a battery pack. The liquid cooling structure comprises: a support plate for supporting a battery cell; the vertical plate and the supporting plate are vertically arranged, the vertical plate comprises a body and a plurality of telescopic ribs arranged in the body, a liquid cooling flow channel for a liquid cooling agent to circulate is formed in the body, the plurality of telescopic ribs are arranged in the liquid cooling flow channel at intervals, and each telescopic rib is connected between two opposite side walls of the liquid cooling flow channel so as to divide the liquid cooling flow channel into a plurality of sub-flow channels. According to the liquid cooling structure disclosed by the utility model, the battery cell can be cooled through the vertical plate and can also be supported through the supporting plate, so that CTP assembly is facilitated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of batteries, and in particular to a liquid cooling structure and a battery pack. Background Art

[0002] With the advancement of battery technology, energy-type batteries currently used in the energy storage industry are developing towards high energy density, large capacity, and high-rate charge and discharge. Due to the high energy density application requirements and the arrangement of batteries in groups, a large amount of heat will be generated in a short period of time during the high-rate charge and discharge process of the battery pack, causing the battery pack temperature to rise and be unevenly distributed.

[0003] In order to cool the battery pack during the charging and discharging process, a liquid cooling plate is usually set at the bottom of the battery pack to cool the battery pack by heat exchange between the liquid cooling plate and the battery pack. However, this liquid cooling setting is not suitable for the current CTP (Cell to Pack) assembly method. Utility Model Content

[0004] In order to solve at least one problem existing in the above-mentioned prior art, according to one aspect of the utility model, a liquid cooling structure is provided, including: a support plate, which is used to support the battery cell; a vertical plate, which is arranged perpendicular to the support plate, and the vertical plate includes a main body and a plurality of telescopic ribs arranged in the main body, and a liquid cooling channel for liquid coolant to circulate is formed in the main body, and a plurality of the telescopic ribs are arranged at intervals in the liquid cooling channel, and each of the telescopic ribs is connected between the opposite side walls of the liquid cooling channel to divide the liquid cooling channel into a plurality of sub-channels.

[0005] In some embodiments, the vertical plate further includes a plurality of limiting ribs, wherein the limiting ribs are disposed on at least one side wall of the liquid-cooling channel, and the plurality of telescopic ribs and the plurality of limiting ribs are alternately disposed one by one.

[0006] In some embodiments, the limiting ribs are provided on both side walls of the liquid-cooling channel, and the limiting ribs are alternately arranged on the two side walls of the liquid-cooling channel.

[0007] In some embodiments, along a direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the liquid coolant, the width of the limiting rib is 0.1-0.9 times the width of the liquid cooling channel.

[0008] In some embodiments, the telescopic ribs are arranged obliquely relative to the side walls of the liquid-cooling channel.

[0009] In some embodiments, the inclination angle of the telescopic ribs is between 30° and 60°.

[0010] In some embodiments, the thickness of the telescopic ribs is in the range of 1.0-2.5 mm.

[0011] In some embodiments, the body includes at least a flow section and a support section from top to bottom, the flow section forms the liquid cooling channel, and the support section is a solid structure connected between the flow section and the support plate.

[0012] In some embodiments, the main body further includes a blocking section, wherein the blocking section is disposed at one end of the flow section away from the supporting section, and the blocking section is a solid structure.

[0013] In some embodiments, the height of the supporting segment and the height of the blocking segment are respectively 0.05-0.1 times the height of the body.

[0014] Another aspect of the present invention provides a battery pack, comprising the liquid cooling structure described above; a plurality of battery cells, wherein the plurality of battery cells are sequentially arranged in parallel on the support plate of the liquid cooling structure.

[0015] In some embodiments, the plurality of battery cells are arranged in parallel in sequence along the length direction of the battery cell.

[0016] In summary, the liquid cooling structure and battery pack provided by the utility model have the following technical effects:

[0017] Vertical plates are provided for circulating liquid coolant so as to exchange heat with the battery cells, thereby achieving cooling of the battery cells during the charging and discharging process. At the same time, telescopic ribs are provided in the vertical plates so as to compress the ribs when the battery cells undergo thermal expansion. Since the telescopic ribs have a certain structural strength, the battery cells cannot infinitely compress the ribs, so that the vertical plates have an anti-expansion effect on the battery cells during thermal expansion. Furthermore, support plates are provided for supporting the battery cells so that the liquid cooling structure and the battery cells can be assembled into a module, which can be directly used for CTP assembly, thereby improving the assembly efficiency of the battery pack. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the liquid cooling structure of an embodiment of the utility model;

[0019] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Left view of the liquid cooling structure in FIG.

[0020] Figure 3 for Figure 2 The enlarged schematic diagram of point I in the middle;

[0021] Figure 4 for Figure 1 Reference diagram for the usage status of the liquid cooling structure.

[0022] Figures: 100-liquid cooling structure, 10-support plate, 20-vertical plate, 21-main body, 22-telescopic ribs, 23-liquid cooling channel, 231-sub-channel, 24-limiting ribs, 25-circulation section, 26-support section, 27-barrier section, 200-battery cell. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] For better understanding and implementation, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0024] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside" and "outside" etc. indicating directions or positional relationships are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0025] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art of the present invention. The terms used herein in the specification of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0026] The utility model is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0027] See also Figures 1 to 3 , a liquid cooling structure 100 provided in an embodiment of the utility model includes a support plate 10 and a vertical plate 20.

[0028] Among them, the support plate 10 is used to support the battery cell 200; the vertical plate 20 and the support plate 10 are arranged vertically, and are used to circulate liquid coolant so as to be able to exchange heat with the battery cell 200. The vertical plate 20 includes a main body 21 and a plurality of telescopic ribs 22 arranged in the main body 21. A liquid cooling channel 23 for the circulation of liquid coolant is formed in the main body 21. The plurality of telescopic ribs 22 are arranged at intervals in the liquid cooling channel 23, and each telescopic rib 22 is connected between the opposite side walls of the liquid cooling channel 23 to divide the liquid cooling channel 23 into a plurality of sub-channels 231.

[0029] The liquid cooling structure 100 is provided with a vertical plate 20 for circulating liquid coolant so as to exchange heat with the battery cell 200, thereby cooling the battery cell 200 during the charging and discharging process. At the same time, since the vertical plate 20 is provided with telescopic ribs 22, the telescopic ribs 22 can be compressed when the battery cell 200 undergoes thermal expansion. Since the telescopic ribs 22 have a certain structural strength, the battery cell 200 cannot infinitely compress the telescopic ribs 22, so that the vertical plate 20 has an anti-expansion effect on the battery cell 200 during thermal expansion. Furthermore, a support plate 10 is provided for supporting the battery cell 200, so that the liquid cooling structure 100 and the battery cell 200 can be assembled into a module, which can be directly used for CTP assembly, thereby improving the assembly efficiency of the battery pack.

[0030] Specifically, the liquid cooling structure 100 of this embodiment is made of metal material, such as aluminum alloy. Since aluminum alloy has good ductility and can undergo plastic deformation without breaking under force, when the battery cell 200 undergoes thermal expansion, the telescopic ribs 22 in the liquid cooling channel 23 can be compressed. At the same time, the telescopic ribs 22 have a certain structural strength and also have the effect of resisting compression of the battery cell 200. When the expansion of the battery gradually decreases, the telescopic ribs 22 can drive the body 21 to return to its original state. In other embodiments, the liquid cooling structure 100 can also be made of polyamide (PA, commonly known as nylon), which can also have the supporting strength for the battery cell 200 and have the properties of corrosion resistance and flame retardancy.

[0031] Furthermore, since the liquid cooling structure 100 of the present embodiment is made of aluminum alloy, it can be formed by extrusion molding, thereby facilitating the molding of the telescopic ribs 22 in the liquid cooling channel 23 .

[0032] See also Figure 2 In one embodiment of the utility model, when the telescopic ribs 22 are set, the telescopic ribs 22 are inclined relative to the relative side walls of the liquid-cooling channel 23. In this way, the inclined telescopic ribs 22 can be easily squeezed and deformed when the battery cell 200 undergoes thermal expansion, thereby allowing the battery cell 200 to undergo a certain amount of expansion, thereby ensuring the safe use of the battery cell 200.

[0033] Specifically, see Figure 3, the inclination angle of the telescopic rib 22 is between 30° and 60°, that is, the angle θ between the telescopic rib 22 and the side wall of the liquid-cooling channel 23 is between 30° and 60°, so that the telescopic rib 22 can be deformed quickly under the expansion and extrusion of the battery cell 200, while ensuring a certain support effect on the side wall of the liquid-cooling channel 23, so that the support plate 10 has a certain anti-expansion effect on the expansion of the battery cell 200. Among them, the angle θ between the telescopic rib 22 and the side wall of the liquid-cooling channel 23 can be set to 30°, 35°, 40°, 45°, 50°, 55° or 60°, etc., which is not limited here.

[0034] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the angle θ between the telescopic rib 22 and the side wall of the liquid cooling channel 23 is set to 45°, thereby ensuring that the telescopic rib 22 can deform faster under the expansion and extrusion of the battery cell 200, and ensuring that the vertical plate 20 has good structural strength and anti-expansion effect on the battery cell 200.

[0035] Also, see Figure 3 The thickness M of the telescopic ribs 22 of the present embodiment is in the range of 1.0-2.5 mm. In this way, the telescopic ribs 22 can have a certain structural strength, so that the entire vertical plate 20 has a certain structural strength, but is not too easily deformed under the expansion and extrusion of the battery cell 200, and can also ensure that the battery cell 200 has an anti-expansion effect, so that when the battery cell 200 undergoes thermal expansion, the structure of the battery cell 200 is not damaged, thereby improving the cycle service life of the battery cell 200.

[0036] The thickness M of the telescopic rib 22 may be set to values ​​such as 1.0 mm, 1.5 mm, 2.0 mm or 2.5 mm, which is not limited here.

[0037] See also Figures 1 to 3 In one embodiment of the utility model, in order to avoid the transitional deformation of the main body 21 caused by the extrusion of the battery cell 200 when the battery cell 200 undergoes transitional expansion under extreme circumstances, the vertical plate 20 also includes a plurality of limiting ribs 24, and the limiting ribs 24 are arranged on at least one side wall of the liquid-cooling channel 23, and the plurality of telescopic ribs 22 and the plurality of limiting ribs 24 are arranged alternately one by one. In this way, by setting the limiting ribs 24, the maximum distance between the two opposite side walls of the liquid-cooling channel 23 is limited, thereby avoiding the transitional extrusion of the main body 21 when the battery cell 200 undergoes transitional expansion, thereby causing damage to the battery cell 200 and damage to the liquid cooling structure 100.

[0038] Specifically, in this embodiment, limiting ribs 24 are provided on the opposite side walls of the liquid cooling channel 23. In this way, when the main body 21 is squeezed by the battery cell 200, the limiting ribs 24 can be supported on the opposite side walls of the liquid cooling channel 23, thereby preventing the battery cell 200 from excessively expanding.

[0039] The cross section of the limiting rib 24 along the vertical direction of the present embodiment is trapezoidal. In other embodiments, the cross section of the limiting rib 24 along the vertical direction may also be set to a hemispherical shape, a square shape, or the like.

[0040] Furthermore, in one embodiment, the limiting ribs 24 can be set as a continuous strip structure along the flow direction of the liquid coolant, so as to facilitate the forming of the limiting ribs 24 in the liquid cooling channel 23; in another embodiment, the limiting ribs 24 can be a multi-segment structure spaced in sequence, so as to produce a certain turbulence effect on the liquid coolant, so as to improve the heat exchange efficiency between the liquid coolant and the battery cell 200.

[0041] Specifically, limiting ribs 24 are provided on both side walls of the liquid-cooling channel 23, and the limiting ribs 24 are alternately arranged on the opposite side walls of the liquid-cooling channel 23. In this way, by alternately arranging the limiting ribs 24 on the two side walls, the structural strength of each side wall of the liquid-cooling channel 23 is increased. At the same time, the side wall on each side can have an anti-expansion effect on the battery cell 200.

[0042] In the direction perpendicular to the flow of the liquid coolant, the width a of the limiting rib 24 is 0.1-0.9 times the width b of the liquid cooling channel 23, so that it is adapted to the expansion of the battery cell 200, giving the battery cell 200 an expansion space, but ensuring that the battery cell 200 is within a safe expansion range. The width a of the limiting rib 24 can be set to 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8 or 0.9 of the width b of the liquid cooling channel 23, which is not limited here.

[0043] Specifically, the width a of the limiting rib 24 of the present embodiment is set to 0.5 of the width b of the liquid cooling channel 23 to ensure that the battery cell 200 does not expand excessively, while avoiding the risk of explosion of the battery cell due to excessive expansion of the battery cell 200.

[0044] See also Figure 2 In one embodiment of the utility model, since the support plate 10 needs to support the battery cell 200, the vertical plate 20 needs to form a liquid cooling channel 23 to circulate the liquid coolant to achieve heat exchange with the battery cell 200, so that the battery cell 200 needs to contact and abut against the surface of the vertical plate 20. Therefore, the vertical plate 20 needs sufficient support strength. Therefore, the body 21 includes at least a flow section 25 and a support section 26 from top to bottom. The flow section 25 forms a liquid cooling channel 23. The support section 26 is a solid structure connected between the flow section 25 and the support plate 10. Therefore, the structural strength of the vertical plate 20 is ensured by setting the support section 26 at the lower end to be solid.

[0045] Furthermore, since the upper end of the vertical plate 20 will be in contact with the air, in order to ensure the liquid cooling effect of the liquid coolant in the vertical plate 20, the main body 21 also includes a blocking section 27. The blocking section 27 is arranged at the end of the flow section 25 away from the support section 26. The blocking section 27 is a solid structure, that is, the upper end of the main body 21 is also arranged as a solid structure, which can block the liquid coolant and the air above the main body 21 to avoid heat exchange between the liquid coolant and the hot air above, thereby ensuring the heat exchange effect of the liquid coolant.

[0046] Among them, when setting the supporting section 26 and the blocking section 27, the height H1 of the supporting section 26 and the height H2 of the blocking section 27 are respectively 0.05-0.1 times the height H of the main body 21. In this way, the supporting strength of the supporting section 26 and the heat exchange blocking effect of the blocking section 27 are guaranteed, and sufficient liquid coolant can flow in the circulation section 25 to achieve a good heat exchange effect with the battery cell 200.

[0047] For example, when the main body 21 is set to 100 mm and the height of the support section 26 and the height of the barrier section 27 are respectively 0.5 of the height of the main body 21, that is, at this time, the height H1 of the support section 26 and the height H2 of the barrier section 27 are both 5 mm, then the height of the liquid cooling channel 23 set in the circulation section 25 is 100-5*2=90 mm, thereby ensuring the flow rate of the liquid coolant in the liquid cooling channel 23.

[0048] Also, see Figure 4 The liquid cooling structure 100 of this embodiment includes two support plates 10 when being set, that is, support plates 10 are set on opposite sides of the vertical plate 20, so that the two battery packs are supported by the two support plates 10, so as to make full use of the property that both side surfaces of the vertical plate 20 can be used for heat exchange and make full use of energy. At the same time, two support plates 10 are set to support more battery cells 200, so as to form a module with the entire liquid cooling structure 100, so as to facilitate the subsequent CTP molding to increase the power supply of the entire battery pack.

[0049] The above-mentioned liquid cooling structure 100 is provided with limiting ribs 24 on the side walls of the liquid cooling channel 23. When the battery cell 200 is in an extreme condition, the limiting ribs 24 can limit the battery cell 200 from excessive expansion and damage. The main body 21 is provided with a blocking section 27, a flow section 25 and a supporting section 26. The solid blocking section 27 blocks the heat exchange between the liquid coolant and the air above, thereby reducing the heat exchange effect of the liquid coolant. The solid supporting section 26 is provided to ensure the supporting strength of the entire vertical plate 20.

[0050] See also Figure 4 In another embodiment, the present invention further provides a battery pack, comprising the above-mentioned liquid cooling structure 100 and a plurality of battery cells 200 .

[0051] Wherein, a plurality of battery cells 200 are arranged in parallel in sequence on the support plate 10 of the liquid cooling structure 100 .

[0052] Furthermore, a plurality of battery cells 200 are arranged in parallel in sequence along the length direction of the battery cell 200, that is, the large surface of each battery cell 200 is in contact with the vertical plate 20. In this way, the large surface of the battery cell 200 is in contact with the vertical plate 20, so that the battery cell 200 and the vertical plate 20 have a sufficient contact area, thereby ensuring the cooling effect on the battery cell 200; at the same time, since the battery cell 200 expands in the direction of the large surface when thermal expansion occurs, the large surface of the battery cell 200 is in contact with the vertical plate 20, so that the vertical plate 20 has an anti-deformation effect on the battery cell 200. In other embodiments, when the battery cells 200 are arranged on the support plate 10, they can also be arranged along the thickness direction of the battery cells 200, so that more battery cells 200 can be arranged to ensure sufficient power supply.

[0053] The technical means disclosed in the solution of the utility model are not limited to the technical means disclosed in the above-mentioned implementation mode, but also include technical solutions composed of any combination of the above technical features. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of the utility model, and these improvements and modifications are also regarded as the protection scope of the utility model.

Claims

1. A liquid cooling structure (100), characterized in that: include: A support plate (10), the support plate (10) being used to support the battery cell (200); A vertical plate (20) is vertically arranged with the support plate (10), the vertical plate (20) comprises a main body (21) and a plurality of telescopic ribs (22) arranged in the main body (21), a liquid cooling channel (23) for circulating liquid coolant is formed in the main body (21), a plurality of telescopic ribs (22) are arranged at intervals in the liquid cooling channel (23), and each of the telescopic ribs (22) is connected between two opposite side walls of the liquid cooling channel (23) to divide the liquid cooling channel (23) into a plurality of sub-channels (231).

2. The liquid cooling structure (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vertical plate (20) further comprises a plurality of limiting ribs (24), wherein the limiting ribs (24) are arranged on at least one side wall of the liquid cooling channel (23), and the plurality of telescopic ribs (22) and the plurality of limiting ribs (24) are arranged alternately one by one.

3. The liquid cooling structure (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that: The limiting ribs (24) are provided on both opposite side walls of the liquid cooling channel (23), and the limiting ribs (24) are alternately arranged on the opposite side walls of the liquid cooling channel (23).

4. The liquid cooling structure (100) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: Along a direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the liquid coolant, the width of the limiting rib (24) is 0.1-0.9 times the width of the liquid cooling channel (23).

5. The liquid cooling structure (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The telescopic ribs (22) are arranged obliquely relative to the side wall of the liquid cooling channel (23).

6. The liquid cooling structure (100) according to claim 5, characterized in that: The inclination angle of the telescopic rib (22) is between 30° and 60°.

7. The liquid cooling structure (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The thickness of the telescopic rib (22) is in the range of 1.0-2.5 mm.

8. The liquid cooling structure (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The body (21) comprises at least a flow section (25) and a support section (26) from top to bottom, the flow section (25) forming the liquid cooling channel (23), and the support section (26) being a solid structure connected between the flow section (25) and the support plate (10).

9. The liquid cooling structure (100) according to claim 8, characterized in that: The main body (21) further comprises a blocking section (27), wherein the blocking section (27) is arranged at one end of the flow section (25) away from the supporting section (26), and the blocking section (27) is a solid structure.

10. The liquid cooling structure (100) according to claim 9, characterized in that: The height of the supporting section (26) and the height of the blocking section (27) are respectively 0.05-0.1 times the height of the main body (21).

11. A battery pack, characterized in that: include: The liquid cooling structure (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 10; A plurality of battery cells (200) are arranged in parallel in sequence on the support plate (10) of the liquid cooling structure (100).

12. The battery pack according to claim 11, characterized in that: The plurality of battery cells (200) are arranged in parallel in sequence along the length direction of the battery cells (200).

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