Heat absorption structure, battery assembly and power utilization system
By filling the cavity structure of phase change material and thermally conductive material between the cold plate and the shell, the problem of large temperature difference between the cold plate inlet and outlet areas is solved, and the temperature uniformity of the battery assembly is achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202421131336.7
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-05-20
- Publication Date
- 2025-07-11
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-05-20
AI Technical Summary
The fluid temperature difference in the inlet and outlet areas of the existing battery cold plate is large, resulting in too large battery temperature difference, which cannot be effectively solved by the existing technology.
A cavity is formed between the cold plate and the shell, and a phase change material and a thermally conductive material are filled with it. The phase change material absorbs heat in the high-temperature area and dissipates heat in the low-temperature area to achieve temperature uniformity of the cold plate.
Through the phase change characteristics of the phase change material, heat is absorbed and released, the temperature uniformity of the cold plate is achieved, and the temperature uniformity of the battery module is improved.
Smart Images
Figure CN223092955U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of batteries, in particular to a heat absorption structure, a battery assembly and an electricity system. Background Art
[0002] At present, most of the cold plates of battery packs are arranged under the battery, including upper and lower plates and inlet and outlet water pipes. The upper cold plate is a flat plate as a temperature equalizing plate, and the lower cold plate is a stamping plate with fluid flow channels. During the battery charging and discharging process, the coolant flows through the cold plate through the inlet and outlet, taking away the heat generated by the battery, reducing the temperature of the battery pack, making the battery work within the appropriate temperature range, ensuring battery performance, and extending the life of the battery pack.
[0003] In the prior art, the fluid temperature in the inlet area of the cold plate is low, and the heat exchange with the battery is good, taking away more heat. As the heat exchange with the battery occurs, the fluid temperature gradually increases, the temperature in the second half of the flow path and the outlet area will be very high, and the heat exchange with the battery will also become poor. Therefore, the temperature difference of the fluid in the inlet and outlet areas of the cold plate further leads to excessive temperature difference of the batteries near the inlet and outlet areas of the cold plate, and the problem of large temperature difference of the batteries in the inlet and outlet areas cannot be avoided by adjusting the flow path. Utility Model Content
[0004] The purpose of the utility model is to overcome the problem of large temperature difference of fluid in the inlet and outlet areas of the cold plate in the prior art, and to provide a heat absorption structure, a battery assembly and an electrical system. The heat absorption structure can achieve the purpose of equalizing the temperature of the cold plate, thereby improving the temperature uniformity of the battery assembly.
[0005] In order to achieve the above objectives, the utility model provides a heat absorption structure, including a cold plate and a shell, wherein a flow channel is provided in the cold plate, a cavity is formed between the cold plate and the shell, and the cavity is used to fill a material for equalizing the temperature of the cold plate.
[0006] Preferably, the material filled in the cavity is a phase change material.
[0007] Preferably, the phase change material is a solid phase change material.
[0008] Preferably, the phase change temperature of the phase change material is 30-50°C.
[0009] Preferably, a heat-conducting material is also provided in the cavity.
[0010] Preferably, the thermally conductive material is metal.
[0011] Preferably, the thermally conductive material is foam metal or honeycomb metal.
[0012] Preferably, in the material filled in the cavity, the thermal conductive material accounts for 0.05-0.2wt%.
[0013] Preferably, the cold plate includes a flat plate and a flow channel plate, and the flow channel openings on the flow channel plate face the flat plate.
[0014] Preferably, the flow channel plate is located on the side close to the housing, and the flat plate is located on the side away from the housing.
[0015] Preferably, at least one reinforcing rib is provided in the cavity, and the reinforcing rib is adapted to divide the cavity into multiple regions.
[0016] Preferably, in the height direction of the heat absorption structure, the orthographic projection of the flow channel is located in the cavity.
[0017] In a second aspect of the present invention, a battery assembly is provided, including a battery and the heat absorption structure described above, and the battery is disposed on one side of the heat absorption structure.
[0018] In a third aspect of the present invention, a power consumption system is provided, including the battery assembly described above.
[0019] According to the technical solution of the present invention, by forming a cavity between the cold plate and the housing and filling a material in the cavity, the material is used to equalize the temperature of the cold plate. Utilizing the property that the material can absorb a large amount of heat, in the area where the cold plate temperature is high, the material absorbs a large amount of heat using latent heat to reduce the temperature; in the area where the cold plate temperature is low, the material dissipates heat to increase the temperature, achieving the purpose of equalizing the temperature of the cold plate, thereby improving the temperature uniformity of the battery assembly. Description of the Drawings
[0020] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the heat absorption structure provided by the present invention;
[0021] Figure 2 is a schematic view of the heat absorption structure provided by the present invention.
[0022] Description of the Reference Numerals
[0023] 1. Cold plate; 2. Housing; 11. Flat plate; 12. Flow channel plate; 3. Composite phase change material; 13. First opening; 14. Second opening. Detailed Description of the Embodiments
[0024] The following will describe in detail the specific embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only for explaining and illustrating the present invention, and are not used to limit the present invention.
[0025] In the description of the present application, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be construed as indicating relative importance or implicitly indicating the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, unless otherwise specified, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features; the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more. The term "comprising" and any variation thereof means an inclusive inclusion and may have or add one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, units, components, and / or combinations thereof.
[0026] In addition, terms indicating orientation or positional relationships such as "center", "lateral", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. are described based on the orientation or relative positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of simplifying the description of the present application, rather than indicating that the indicated device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus cannot be construed as a limitation on the present application.
[0027] Furthermore, unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the terms "mounted", "connected", and "coupled" shall be construed in a broad sense. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or the internal communication of two elements. 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 circumstances.
[0028] As Figure 1 and 2 shown, the heat absorption structure of the present utility model includes a cold plate 1 and a housing 2. A flow channel is provided in the cold plate 1, and a cavity is formed between the cold plate 1 and the housing 2. The cavity is used to fill a material for equalizing the temperature of the cold plate 1. According to the heat absorption structure of the present utility model, by forming a cavity between the cold plate 1 and the housing 2 and filling a material, such as a phase change material, in the cavity, the material is used to equalize the temperature of the cold plate 1. Utilizing the characteristic that a phase change material can absorb a large amount of heat during phase change, in the area where the temperature of the cold plate 1 is high, the phase change material changes from a solid phase to a liquid phase and absorbs a large amount of heat using latent heat to lower the temperature; in the area where the temperature of the cold plate 1 is low, the phase change material changes from a liquid phase to a solid phase to dissipate heat and increase the temperature, achieving the purpose of equalizing the temperature of the cold plate 1, thereby being able to improve the temperature uniformity of the battery assembly.
[0029] In the heat absorption structure of the present utility model, preferably, the material filled in the cavity is a phase change material. In this preferred case, when the phase change material undergoes a phase change, it can absorb a large amount of heat and can basically keep the temperature unchanged. Utilizing the constant temperature performance of the phase change material, in the area where the cold plate temperature is high, the phase change material changes from a solid phase to a liquid phase and absorbs a large amount of heat using latent heat to lower the temperature; in the area where the cold plate temperature is low, the phase change material changes from a liquid phase to a solid phase to dissipate heat and raise the temperature, thereby achieving the purpose of equalizing the temperature of the cold plate.
[0030] In the heat absorption structure of the present utility model, the housing can be determined according to the setting position of the cold plate. Specifically, in one embodiment, when the cold plate is arranged between the battery and the battery tray, the housing is the battery tray. In another embodiment, when the cold plate is arranged between the battery and the upper cover of the battery pack, the housing is the upper cover of the battery pack. In other embodiments, when the cold plate is arranged between the battery and the side plate or side beam or cross-longitudinal beam, the housing is the side plate or side beam or cross-longitudinal beam.
[0031] Further preferably, the phase change material disposed in the cavity is a solid phase change material. When a solid phase change material is selected for filling, the latent heat of solid phase change is generally larger than that of liquid-gas phase change, and the volume change during the phase change process is small, the airtightness requirement is low, and the processing cost is low; in addition, the solid phase can enhance the strength of the housing under normal conditions, can absorb the bottom impact, and has a certain energy absorption effect, which is beneficial to improving the overall strength of the heat absorption structure. As an example, the solid phase change material can be selected from but not limited to paraffin wax, specifically paraffin wax of C17-C23.
[0032] Even more preferably, the phase change temperature of the phase change material disposed in the cavity is 30-50°C, more preferably 30-40°C. When a low-temperature phase change material is selected for filling, it can ensure that the phase change time of the phase change material is short and can quickly absorb heat, thereby enhancing the temperature equalizing performance of the phase change material.
[0033] In the heat absorption structure of the present utility model, in a more preferred case, a heat conduction material is further disposed in the cavity. When both the phase change material and the heat conduction material are filled in the cavity, the phase change time of the phase change material can be further shortened, and the temperature equalizing performance can be further improved. In the present utility model, the heat conduction material can be various conventional materials with high heat conduction coefficients, for example, it can be a metal material or a non-metal material (such as graphite).
[0034] Further preferably, the heat conduction material disposed in the cavity is a metal material. When a metal material is selected as the heat conduction material, it is also beneficial to improve the overall strength of the heat absorption structure.
[0035] More preferably, the heat-conducting material disposed in the cavity is foam metal or honeycomb metal, preferably foam metal. As an example of foam metal, it may be selected from but not limited to copper foam.
[0036] In the heat absorption structure of the present utility model, when both a phase change material and a heat-conducting material are disposed in the cavity, in the materials filled in the cavity, the proportion of the heat-conducting material may be 0.05 - 0.2 wt%, preferably 0.08 - 0.15 wt%, more preferably 0.09 - 0.14 wt%, and still more preferably 0.1 - 0.12 wt%. When the content proportion of the heat-conducting material in the filling material in the cavity is within the above range, on the one hand, it can ensure that the filling material (i.e., the composite phase change material 3) has good thermal conductivity, and on the other hand, the filling material can ensure a high phase change latent heat and absorb more heat.
[0037] In the heat absorption structure of the present utility model, in a preferred case, as Figure 1 shown, the cold plate 1 includes a flat plate 11 and a flow channel plate 12, and the flow channel openings on the flow channel plate 12 face the flat plate 11. Further preferably, the flow channel plate 12 is located on the side close to the housing 2, and the flat plate 11 is located on the side away from the housing 2. In this case, the coolant in the flow channels of the cold plate 1 flows between the flat plate 11 and the flow channel plate 12 to cool the battery; the phase change material in the cavity contacts the flow channel plate 12, and by using the characteristic that the phase change material can absorb a large amount of heat during phase change, in the area where the temperature of the flow channel plate 12 is high, the phase change material changes from solid phase to liquid phase and absorbs a large amount of heat using the latent heat to lower the temperature of the flow channel plate; in the area where the temperature of the flow channel plate 12 is low, the phase change material changes from liquid phase to solid phase to dissipate heat and increase the temperature of the flow channel plate; by adjusting the temperature of the flow channel plate, the temperature of the coolant in the flow channels can be regulated, thereby achieving the purpose of temperature uniformity.
[0038] In the heat absorption structure of the present utility model, the cold plate 1 includes a flat plate 11 and a flow channel plate 12, flow channels are formed on the flow channel plate 12, and the flat plate 11 and the flow channel plate 12 are stacked together, so that the coolant can flow in the flow channels and absorb heat from the battery. The flow channels in the flow channel plate 12 can be formed by stamping. The flat plate 11 and the flow channel plate 12 can be welded together, preferably brazed together.
[0039] In the heat absorption structure of the present utility model, the cross-sectional shape of the flow channels is not particularly limited and can be semi-circular, square, etc.
[0040] Furthermore, the cold plate 1 has a first opening 13 and a second opening 14. The first opening 13 and the second opening 14 are respectively communicated with both ends of the flow channels on the flow channel plate 12, and are respectively used for injecting or discharging the coolant. That is, the first opening 13 and the second opening 14 can respectively serve as both the liquid inlet and the liquid outlet. During use, by monitoring the temperature of the composite phase change material, when the temperature of the phase change material in the high-temperature area near the liquid outlet of the cold plate is higher than the phase change temperature, it proves that the phase change is complete. By swapping the inlet and outlet of the cold plate through a strategy, the flow direction of the coolant in the flow channel is changed, the high-temperature and low-temperature areas of the cold plate are swapped, the low-temperature coolant cools the phase change material in the original high-temperature area into a solid phase, and the phase change material in the original low-temperature area can absorb heat to cool the cold plate, so as to achieve the purpose of equalizing the temperature of the cold plate.
[0041] In the heat absorption structure of the present utility model, preferably, at least one reinforcing rib is arranged in the cavity formed between the cold plate 1 and the housing 2, and the reinforcing rib is adapted to divide the cavity into multiple regions. Further preferably, a plurality of transverse reinforcing ribs and / or a plurality of longitudinal reinforcing ribs are arranged in the cavity. Further preferably, according to the different temperatures in different regions during the flow of the coolant in the cold plate, phase change materials with different phase change temperatures are selected, which can absorb the excess heat faster and make the cold plate have stronger temperature uniformity; moreover, by dividing it into multiple regions, the sealed spaces in each region can prevent the liquid phase from flowing during the phase change process; in addition, the reinforcing rib can further increase the strength of the housing 2 and improve the anti-bottom ball impact ability of the housing.
[0042] In the heat absorption structure of the present utility model, preferably, along the height direction of the heat absorption structure, the orthographic projection of the flow channel is located in the cavity to ensure that the material in the cavity can evenly heat the flow channel comprehensively and ensure the heat dissipation effect of the flow channel on the battery. Wherein, the height direction can be the arrangement direction of the cold plate and the housing.
[0043] The present utility model also provides a battery assembly, including a battery and the heat absorption structure described above, and the battery is arranged on one side of the heat absorption structure. Since the battery assembly is configured with the heat absorption structure of the present invention, the battery assembly has good temperature uniformity performance.
[0044] The present utility model also provides a power consumption system, including the battery assembly described above. The power consumption system can be, for example, a vehicle or an energy storage system. Since the power consumption system is configured with the battery assembly of the present invention, the battery assembly in the power consumption system has good temperature uniformity performance.
[0045] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1As shown, the heat absorption structure includes a cold plate 1 and a housing 2. A flow channel is provided in the cold plate 1, and a cavity is formed between the cold plate 1 and the housing 2. The cavity is filled with a phase change material and a metal material. According to the heat absorption structure of this embodiment, the composite phase change material filled in the cavity can equalize the temperature of the cold plate 1, achieving the purpose of equalizing the temperature of the cold plate 1, thereby improving the temperature uniformity of the battery module.
[0046] In some other embodiments, such as Figure 1 and 2 As shown, the heat absorption structure includes a cold plate 1 and a housing 2. A flow channel is provided in the cold plate 1, and a cavity is formed between the cold plate 1 and the housing 2. The cavity is filled with a solid phase change material and a foam metal (such as foam copper); the cold plate 1 includes a flat plate 11 and a flow channel plate 12. The flow channel openings on the flow channel plate 12 face the flat plate 11. The flow channel plate 12 is located on the side close to the housing 2, and the flat plate 11 is located on the side far from the housing 2. According to the heat absorption structure of this embodiment, during the charging and discharging of the battery, by using the characteristic that the phase change material can absorb a large amount of heat during phase change, in the area where the temperature of the cold plate 1 is high, the phase change material changes from the solid phase to the liquid phase, absorbs a large amount of heat using the latent heat, and reduces the temperature, thereby achieving the purpose of equalizing the temperature of the cold plate, and further improving the temperature uniformity of the battery module.
[0047] In some other embodiments, such as Figure 1 and 2As shown, the heat absorption structure includes a cold plate 1 and a housing 2. A flow channel is provided in the cold plate 1. A cavity is formed between the cold plate 1 and the housing 2. The cavity is filled with a solid-phase change material (such as paraffin) and a porous metal (such as copper foam), and the proportion of the porous metal is 0.05 - 0.2 wt%. The cold plate 1 includes a flat plate 11 and a flow channel plate 12. The flow channel openings on the flow channel plate 12 face the flat plate 11. The flow channel plate 12 is located on the side close to the housing 2, and the flat plate 11 is located on the side away from the housing 2. The cold plate 1 has a first opening 13 and a second opening 14. The first opening 13 and the second opening 14 are respectively communicated with both ends of the flow channel on the flow channel plate 12, and are respectively used for injecting or discharging the coolant. According to the heat absorption structure of this embodiment, during the charging and discharging of the battery, by utilizing the characteristic that the phase change material can absorb a large amount of heat during phase change, in the area where the temperature of the cold plate 1 is high, the phase change material changes from the solid phase to the liquid phase, and a large amount of heat is absorbed by the latent heat to reduce the temperature; in the area where the temperature of the cold plate 1 is low, the phase change material changes from the liquid phase to the solid phase to dissipate heat and increase the temperature; and by monitoring the temperature of the composite phase change material, when the temperature of the composite phase change material in the high-temperature area near the liquid outlet of the cold plate is higher than the phase change temperature, it proves that the phase change is complete. By switching the inlet and outlet of the cold plate through a strategy, the flow direction of the coolant in the flow channel is changed, the high-temperature and low-temperature areas of the cold plate are swapped, the low-temperature coolant cools the phase change material in the original high-temperature area into the solid phase, and the phase change material in the original low-temperature area can absorb heat to cool the cold plate, so as to achieve the purpose of equalizing the temperature of the cold plate, and further improve the temperature uniformity of the battery module.
[0048] In some other embodiments, such as Figure 1 and 2As shown, the heat absorption structure includes a cold plate 1 and a housing 2. A flow channel is provided in the cold plate 1, and a cavity is formed between the cold plate 1 and the housing 2. A number of transverse reinforcing ribs and / or a number of longitudinal reinforcing ribs are provided in the cavity, dividing the cavity into multiple regions. Each region in the cavity is filled with a solid-phase change material (such as paraffin) and a foam metal (such as copper foam), and the proportion of the foam metal is 0.05 - 0.2 wt%. The cold plate 1 includes a flat plate 11 and a flow channel plate 12. The flow channel openings on the flow channel plate 12 face the flat plate 11. The flow channel plate 12 is located on the side close to the housing 2, and the flat plate 11 is located on the side away from the housing 2. The cold plate 1 has a first opening 13 and a second opening 14. The first opening 13 and the second opening 14 are respectively communicated with both ends of the flow channel on the flow channel plate 12, and are respectively used for injecting or discharging the coolant. According to the heat absorption structure of this embodiment, during the charging and discharging of the battery, by using the characteristic that the phase change material can absorb a large amount of heat during phase change, in the region where the temperature of the cold plate 1 is high, the phase change material changes from the solid phase to the liquid phase, absorbing a large amount of heat using the latent heat and reducing the temperature; in the region where the temperature of the cold plate 1 is low, the phase change material changes from the liquid phase to the solid phase to dissipate heat and increase the temperature; and by monitoring the temperature of the composite phase change material, when the temperature of the composite phase change material in the high-temperature region near the liquid outlet of the cold plate is higher than the phase change temperature, it proves that the phase change is complete. By switching the inlet and outlet of the cold plate through a strategy, the flow direction of the coolant in the flow channel is changed, and the high-temperature and low-temperature regions of the cold plate are swapped. The low-temperature coolant cools the phase change material in the original high-temperature region into the solid phase, and the phase change material in the original low-temperature region can absorb heat to cool the cold plate, so as to achieve the purpose of equalizing the temperature of the cold plate, and further improve the temperature uniformity of the battery module. Moreover, by forming the cavity into multiple regions, according to the different temperatures in different regions during the flow of the coolant in the cold plate, composite phase change materials with different phase change temperatures (such as different proportions of foam metal) can be selected, which can absorb the excess heat faster and make the temperature equalization of the cold plate stronger; and by being divided into multiple regions, the closed spaces of each region can prevent the liquid phase from flowing during the phase change process; in addition, the reinforcing ribs can further increase the strength of the housing and improve the anti-bottom ball impact ability of the housing.
[0049] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. Within the technical concept scope of the present invention, various simple modifications can be made to the technical solutions of the present invention, including any other suitable combination of each technical feature. These simple modifications and combinations should also be regarded as the content disclosed by the present invention and fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. An endothermic structure, characterized in that, It includes a cold plate (1) and a housing (2). A flow channel is provided in the cold plate (1). A cavity is formed between the cold plate (1) and the housing (2). A material for equalizing the temperature of the cold plate (1) is filled in the cavity, and the material filled in the cavity is a phase change material.
2. The endothermic structure according to claim 1, wherein The phase change material is a solid phase change material.
3. The endothermic structure according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The phase change temperature of the phase change material is 30-50 °C.
4. The endothermic structure according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, The cold plate (1) includes a flat plate (11) and a flow channel plate (12). The flow channel openings on the flow channel plate (12) face the flat plate (11).
5. The endothermic structure according to claim 4, wherein The flow channel plate (12) is located on the side close to the housing (2), and the flat plate (11) is located on the side far from the housing (2).
6. The endothermic structure according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, At least one reinforcing rib is provided in the cavity, and the reinforcing rib is adapted to divide the cavity into multiple regions.
7. The endothermic structure according to claim 1, wherein Along the height direction of the heat absorption structure, the orthographic projection of the flow channel is located in the cavity.
8. A battery component, characterized in that, It includes a battery and the heat absorption structure according to any one of claims 1-7, and the battery is arranged on one side of the heat absorption structure.
9. An electricity consumption system, characterized in that, It includes the battery assembly according to claim 8.