Energy storage battery cluster, thermal management system and locomotive

Abstract

The utility model discloses an energy storage battery cluster, a heat management system and a locomotive, and relates to the technical field of energy storage batteries. The energy storage battery cluster comprises a plurality of battery module assemblies, each battery module assembly comprises a cold plate and a plurality of battery cell monomers fixedly arranged on the cold plate, the large surfaces of the plurality of battery cell monomers are attached, and the plurality of battery cell monomers are electrically connected. According to the energy storage battery cluster, the thermal management system and the locomotive, the problems of high production and manufacturing cost, low space utilization rate, low volume energy density and poor temperature uniformity of a battery pack serving as a basic composition unit of the battery cluster in the prior art can be solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of energy storage batteries, and in particular to an energy storage battery cluster, a thermal management system and a locomotive. Background Art

[0002] Energy storage battery technology is used to store and release electric energy. It stores electric energy during the low electricity demand period and releases electric energy during the peak electricity demand period. It can effectively balance electric power resources, relieve grid pressure, and improve the stability of the power system. It is an important supplement to the power system. The levels of energy storage system are from small to large: battery cell, battery module, battery pack, battery cluster and container.

[0003] In the prior art, battery clusters are generally composed of stacked battery packs, and each battery pack is then connected in series and parallel to increase the voltage and capacity of the entire cluster. In addition to the battery pack, the battery cluster also includes components such as a refrigeration machine, a high-voltage box, a liquid cooling pipeline, and a fire protection pipeline. The refrigeration machine is used to provide a low-temperature cooling medium for the battery cluster, and removes the heat generated by battery charging and discharging by circulating in the liquid cooling pipeline and the liquid cooling plate of the battery pack. The high-voltage box is used to transmit communication signals within the battery cluster and control the output. When installing the battery cluster, the battery packs are stacked, and the battery packs are placed in each layer of the cluster rack in turn and fixed, and then other components such as the liquid cooling pipeline are installed.

[0004] The battery cluster in the prior art has the following defects: each battery pack is equipped with a control panel, connecting harness and terminals in addition to the battery cell. The battery pack is used as the basic component unit of the battery cluster, and a large amount of additional cost is required inside the battery pack to purchase various components in the battery pack, resulting in high production and manufacturing costs; the assembly scheme of the battery cluster using stacked battery packs requires a gap to be reserved between two adjacent layers of battery packs to facilitate the installation of a single battery pack, which reduces the internal space utilization of the battery cluster and the volume energy density of the entire cluster; the battery pack adopts bottom liquid cooling, and the low-temperature medium provided by the refrigeration integrated machine flows through the liquid cooling plate. The liquid cooling plate is the low-temperature source in the battery pack. The heat generated by the charging and discharging of the battery cell is transferred from top to bottom to the liquid cooling plate to reduce the temperature. Under the cooling condition of the battery pack, according to the calorific value of the battery cell and the temperature of the coolant, the temperature distribution of the battery cell shows a trend of high at the top and low at the bottom to varying degrees, resulting in poor temperature uniformity of the battery cell, affecting the battery performance and cycle life. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of the present application is to provide an energy storage battery cluster, a thermal management system and a locomotive, which can solve the problems of high production and manufacturing cost, low space utilization, low volume energy density and poor temperature uniformity existing in the prior art using battery packs as the basic components of battery clusters.

[0006] The embodiment of the present application is implemented as follows:

[0007] In the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application, a energy storage battery cluster is provided, which includes a plurality of battery module components. Each of the battery module components includes a cold plate and a plurality of single battery cells fixedly arranged on the cold plate. The large surfaces of the plurality of single battery cells are attached to each other, and the plurality of single battery cells are electrically connected. This energy storage battery cluster can solve the problems of high production and manufacturing costs, low space utilization rate, low volume energy density, and poor temperature uniformity existing in the prior art when using battery packs as the basic components of the battery cluster.

[0008] Optionally, each of the battery module components further includes a binding member, and the binding member is arranged around the plurality of single battery cells to form the outer periphery of the overall battery cells, so that the plurality of single battery cells are tightly connected.

[0009] Optionally, a plurality of lifting members are arranged on the circumferential edge of the cold plate of each of the battery module components.

[0010] Optionally, a frame is further included, and in the vertical direction, a plurality of the battery module components are stacked on the frame in sequence.

[0011] Optionally, the frame includes a rectangular frame and a plurality of cross beams fixedly arranged on opposite sides of the rectangular frame. A plurality of the battery module components are respectively placed on the tops of two cross beams at the same vertical height.

[0012] Optionally, in the vertical direction, the distance between two adjacent cross beams matches the height of the battery module components.

[0013] Optionally, a heat-conducting structural adhesive is coated between two adjacent battery module components.

[0014] Optionally, the single battery cell is a blade battery cell.

[0015] In the second aspect of the embodiment of the present application, a thermal management system is provided, which includes the above-mentioned energy storage battery cluster. This energy storage battery cluster can solve the problems of high production and manufacturing costs, low space utilization rate, low volume energy density, and poor temperature uniformity existing in the prior art when using battery packs as the basic components of the battery cluster.

[0016] In the third aspect of the embodiment of the present application, a locomotive is provided, which includes the above-mentioned thermal management system. This energy storage battery cluster can solve the problems of high production and manufacturing costs, low space utilization rate, low volume energy density, and poor temperature uniformity existing in the prior art when using battery packs as the basic components of the battery cluster.

[0017] The beneficial effects of the embodiment of the present application include:

[0018] The energy storage battery cluster includes a plurality of battery module components, that is, the battery module components are used as the basic constituent units of the energy storage battery cluster. Specifically, each battery module component includes a cold plate and a plurality of single battery cells fixedly arranged on the cold plate. The cold plate can not only serve as the material basis for the installation of the plurality of single battery cells, providing support and fixation for the plurality of single battery cells, but also play a role in dissipating heat and cooling the plurality of single battery cells fixedly arranged on the cold plate, thereby taking away the heat generated during the charging and discharging of the plurality of single battery cells and achieving temperature reduction. Among them, when arranging the plurality of single battery cells, the large surfaces of the plurality of single battery cells are arranged in a fitting manner to increase the volume energy density of the formed battery module component. Moreover, the plurality of single battery cells can be electrically connected through a bus bar or the like, so as to facilitate the subsequent electrical connection between the battery cell assemblies formed by the plurality of single battery cells and other battery cell assemblies. The solution provided in this application, which uses battery module components as the basic constituent units of the energy storage battery cluster, firstly eliminates the processes of connection, communication, sealing, etc. inside a single battery pack, and accordingly reduces the production and manufacturing costs brought by these processes; secondly, there is no need to reserve a gap between adjacent two layers of battery module components, and accordingly the distance between two adjacent battery module components in the vertical direction is reduced, thereby increasing the space utilization rate and volume energy density of the energy storage battery cluster; not only that, since the distance between adjacent two layers of battery module components is very small (almost negligible), therefore, the cold plate of the upper-layer battery module component can also be used to cool the tops of the plurality of single battery cells of the lower-layer battery module component, while the bottoms of the plurality of single battery cells of the lower-layer battery module component are cooled by the cold plate of this battery module component itself, thereby correspondingly reducing the temperature difference between the tops and bottoms of the plurality of single battery cells. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present application, and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0020] Figure 1 Structural schematic diagram of the battery module component provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 2 One of the structural schematic diagrams of the energy storage battery cluster provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 3 Another structural schematic diagram of the energy storage battery cluster provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 4 This is the third structural schematic diagram of the energy storage battery cluster provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0024] Reference numerals: 100 - energy storage battery cluster; 10 - battery module assembly; 11 - cold plate; 12 - single battery cell; 13 - binding member; 20 - rack; 21 - rectangular frame; 22 - cross beam. Detailed implementation manners

[0025] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Apparently, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present application. Usually, the components of the embodiments of the present application described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings here can be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0026] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the present application that is claimed, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present application without making creative efforts fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0027] It should be noted that like reference numerals and letters denote like items in the following drawings. Therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent drawings.

[0028] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings or the orientation or positional relationship in which the products of the present application are usually placed when in use. It is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as a limitation to the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used for descriptive distinction and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0029] In addition, terms such as "horizontal" and "vertical" do not mean that the components are required to be absolutely horizontal or hanging, but can be slightly inclined. For example, "horizontal" only means that its direction is more horizontal relative to "vertical", and does not mean that the structure must be completely horizontal, but can be slightly inclined.

[0030] In the description of the present application, it should also be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the terms "arranged", "installed", "connected", and "coupled" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the connection inside two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to specific situations.

[0031] In the prior art, battery clusters are generally composed of stacked battery packs, so there are the following defects: internal circuits and communication harnesses need to be arranged and connected for each battery pack, resulting in relatively high production and manufacturing costs; using the method of stacking battery packs to form an energy storage battery cluster, the formed energy storage battery cluster has problems of low space utilization rate and low volume energy density; the battery packs are cooled from the bottom surface, resulting in a large temperature difference in the height direction of the battery cell monomers, which affects the cycle life and service performance.

[0032] To solve the above problems, please refer to Figures 1 to 4 An energy storage battery cluster 100 is provided in an embodiment of the present application, including a plurality of battery module components 10. Each battery module component 10 includes a cold plate 11 and a plurality of battery cell monomers 12 fixedly arranged on the cold plate 11. The large surfaces of the plurality of battery cell monomers 12 are attached to each other, and the plurality of battery cell monomers 12 are electrically connected. The energy storage battery cluster 100 can solve the problems of high production and manufacturing costs, low space utilization rate, low volume energy density, and poor temperature uniformity existing in the prior art when using battery packs as the basic components of the battery cluster. Optionally, the battery cell monomer 12 is a blade battery cell.

[0033] It should be noted that the energy storage battery cluster 100 provided in the present application includes a plurality of battery module components 10, rather than a plurality of battery packs. Thus, when assembling the energy storage battery cluster 100, the battery module component 10 can be used as the basic component of the energy storage battery cluster 100. At this time, only by stacking the plurality of battery module components 10 together in sequence, the energy storage battery cluster 100 provided in the present application can be formed. As Figure 4 shown, it shows the effect of forming the energy storage battery cluster 100 by stacking a plurality of battery module components 10 together in sequence.

[0034] Specifically, as Figure 1As shown, each battery module component 10 includes a cold plate 11 and a plurality of single battery cells 12. Among them, the plurality of single battery cells 12 are fixedly arranged on the cold plate 11. Here, the cold plate 11 can play two roles: on the one hand, the cold plate 11 serves as the material basis for the installation of the plurality of single battery cells 12 to support and fix the plurality of single battery cells 12; on the other hand, the cold plate 11 cools and dissipates heat from the plurality of single battery cells 12 fixedly arranged on it, thereby taking away the heat generated by the charge and discharge of the plurality of single battery cells 12 and achieving temperature reduction.

[0035] As Figure 1 shown, the effect of forming the battery module component 10 by sequentially laminating a plurality of single battery cells 12 is also shown. When arranging and designing the plurality of single battery cells 12, in this application, the large surfaces of the plurality of single battery cells 12 are laminated to increase the volumetric energy density of the formed battery module component 10. Moreover, the plurality of single battery cells 12 can be electrically connected through a bus bar or the like, so as to facilitate the subsequent electrical connection between the battery cell assemblies formed by the plurality of single battery cells 12 and other battery cell assemblies.

[0036] Compared with the prior art solution that uses a battery pack as the basic component unit of the energy storage battery cluster 100, the solution provided in this application that uses the battery module component 10 as the basic component unit of the energy storage battery cluster 100, first, eliminates the processes of connection, communication, sealing, etc. inside a single battery pack, and accordingly reduces the manufacturing cost brought by these processes; second, there is no need to reserve a gap between adjacent two layers of battery module components 10, and accordingly reduces the distance between adjacent two battery module components 10 in the vertical direction, thereby increasing the space utilization rate and volumetric energy density of the energy storage battery cluster 100; not only that, since the distance between adjacent two layers of battery module components 10 is very small (almost negligible), therefore, the cold plate 11 of the upper-layer battery module component 10 can also cool the tops of the plurality of single battery cells 12 of the lower-layer battery module component 10, while the bottoms of the plurality of single battery cells 12 of the lower-layer battery module component 10 are cooled by the cold plate 11 of this battery module component 10 itself, thereby correspondingly reducing the temperature difference between the tops and bottoms of the plurality of single battery cells 12.

[0037] Regarding the fixing method between the multiple battery cells 12 and the cold plate 11, for example, in this embodiment, the multiple battery cells 12 are fixed to the cold plate 11 by coating the bottom with fixing glue. On this basis, in order to improve the accuracy of assembly between the multiple battery cells 12 and the cold plate 11, the cold plate 11 can be provided with multiple position marks, and the multiple battery cells 12 are positioned and bonded to the positions of the multiple position marks one by one; of course, in other embodiments, the cold plate 11 can also be provided with multiple installation slots, and the multiple battery cells 12 are respectively clamped in the multiple installation slots one by one.

[0038] In addition, it should be noted that in order to enable the cold plate 11 to dissipate heat and cool the multiple battery cells 12, a water inlet and a water outlet can be provided on the side wall of the cold plate 11 (which can be the same side or the opposite side), and a liquid cooling pipeline can be provided inside the cold plate 11 to connect the water inlet and the water outlet through the liquid cooling pipeline. In this way, the cooling medium (such as coolant) introduced into the liquid cooling pipeline through the water inlet can flow along the liquid cooling pipeline, and finally flow out of the liquid cooling pipeline through the water outlet to take away the heat generated during the charging and discharging of the multiple battery cells 12.

[0039] In order to further improve the tightness of the connection between the multiple battery cells 12, as shown in FIG. Figure 1 As shown, in this embodiment, each battery module assembly 10 further includes a binding member 13, which is arranged around the outer periphery of the multiple battery cells 12 to form a battery cell as a whole, so that the multiple battery cells 12 are tightly connected. For example, in this embodiment, the binding member 13 adopts an elastic band in the prior art, wherein the elasticity of the elastic band can be determined according to the circumferential length of the battery cell as a whole formed by the multiple battery cells 12, and it is only necessary to ensure that the elastic band can play a role in fastening the multiple battery cells 12.

[0040] like Figure 1 As shown, in this embodiment, a plurality of lifting parts (not shown in the figure) are provided along the circumferential edge of the cold plate 11 of each battery module assembly 10, so as to facilitate the lifting operation of the battery module through the lifting parts. For example, in this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the cold plate 11 is a rectangle, and four lifting rings are respectively provided on the four corners of the rectangle, so as to facilitate connection and separation with the lifting equipment through the lifting rings, thereby improving the convenience of the lifting operation.

[0041] like Figures 2 to 4 As shown, in this embodiment, the energy storage battery cluster 100 also includes a rack 20. Along the vertical direction, a plurality of battery module assemblies 10 are stacked in sequence on the rack 20. Each battery module assembly 10 can be connected in series and in parallel to increase the voltage and capacity of the entire cluster, thereby ensuring that the energy storage battery cluster 100 can effectively balance power resources, relieve grid pressure, and improve the stability of the power system.

[0042] As Figures 2 to 4 shown, in this embodiment, the rack 20 includes a rectangular frame 21 and a plurality of cross beams 22 fixedly arranged on opposite sides of the rectangular frame 21. The plurality of battery module assemblies 10 are respectively placed on the tops of two cross beams 22 at the same vertical height, so as to support the battery module assemblies 10 at the bottoms of the battery module assemblies 10 by the two cross beams 22 at the same vertical height. As Figures 2 to 4 shown, in the vertical direction, the distance between two adjacent cross beams 22 matches the height of the battery module assembly 10.

[0043] Specifically, when assembling the plurality of battery module assemblies 10, the two bottom cross beams 22 can be fixedly installed (for example, connected by bolts and nuts) at the same vertical height on opposite sides of the rectangular frame 21 first; then a battery module assembly 10 is placed on these two cross beams 22 (it can be pushed in along the top of the cross beam 22). Preferably, the cold plate 11 of the battery module assembly 10 can be fixedly connected to these two cross beams 22 to improve the connection stability between the battery module assembly 10 and the cross beams 22 (i.e., the rack 20); then the two cross beams 22 are respectively fixedly installed on opposite sides of the rectangular frame 21, and the bottoms of these two cross beams 22 can be fixed against the top of the just-mentioned battery module assembly 10; then another battery module assembly 10 is placed on these two cross beams 22 (it can be hoisted into the interior from the top of the rack 20), and then the above steps are continuously repeated until the rack 20 is filled up in the vertical direction.

[0044] Preferably, on the top of the battery module assembly 10 at the uppermost part of the rack 20, a thermally conductive structural adhesive can be additionally coated, and a cold plate 11 that does not require high structural strength (not limited to process forms such as stamping and die-casting) can be installed to achieve uniform cooling of the battery cell monomers 12 of the top-layer battery module assembly 10.

[0045] Preferably, a thermally conductive structural adhesive is coated between two adjacent battery module assemblies 10 to improve the cooling effect of the cold plate 11 of the upper-layer battery module assembly 10 on the tops of the plurality of battery cell monomers 12 of the lower-layer battery module assembly 10 through the thermally conductive structural adhesive, thereby further reducing the temperature difference between the top and bottom of the battery cell monomer 12 and improving the cycle life and service performance of the battery cell monomer 12.

[0046] The embodiment of the present application also provides a thermal management system, including the above-mentioned energy storage battery cluster 100. Since the structure and beneficial effects of the energy storage battery cluster 100 have been described in detail in the foregoing embodiments, they will not be elaborated herein.

[0047] The embodiment of the present application also provides a locomotive, including the above-mentioned thermal management system. Since the structure and beneficial effects of the thermal management system have been described in detail in the foregoing embodiments, they will not be elaborated herein again.

[0048] The foregoing are only the preferred embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various changes and modifications. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included within the protection scope of the present application.

[0049] In addition, it should be noted that, in the case of no conflict, the various specific technical features described in the above specific embodiments may be combined in any appropriate manner. To avoid unnecessary repetition, the present application will not separately describe various possible combination manners.

Claims

1. An energy storage battery cluster, characterized in that: It comprises a plurality of battery module assemblies, each of which comprises a cold plate and a plurality of battery cells fixedly arranged on the cold plate, the large surfaces of the plurality of battery cells are arranged in close contact with each other, and the plurality of battery cells are electrically connected to each other.

2. The energy storage battery cluster according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the battery module assemblies further includes a binding member, which is arranged around the plurality of battery cells to form an outer periphery of the entire battery cell, so that the plurality of battery cells are tightly connected.

3. The energy storage battery cluster according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of hanging parts are arranged along the circumferential edge of the cold plate of each battery module assembly.

4. The energy storage battery cluster according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a frame, on which a plurality of battery module assemblies are stacked in sequence along the vertical direction.

5. The energy storage battery cluster according to claim 4, characterized in that: The rack includes a rectangular frame and a plurality of beams fixedly arranged on opposite sides of the rectangular frame, and a plurality of battery module assemblies are respectively mounted on top of two beams located at the same vertical height.

6. The energy storage battery cluster according to claim 5, characterized in that: In the vertical direction, the distance between two adjacent beams matches the height of the battery module assembly.

7. The energy storage battery cluster according to claim 5, characterized in that: A thermally conductive structural adhesive is coated between two adjacent battery module assemblies.

8. The energy storage battery cluster according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The battery cell monomer is a blade battery cell.

9. A thermal management system, characterized in that: The energy storage battery cluster comprises any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A locomotive, characterized in that: Includes the thermal management system as claimed in claim 9.

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