Cold plate structure, battery pack and vehicle

Abstract

The utility model provides a cold plate structure, a battery pack and a vehicle, the cold plate structure comprises a first plate part and a second plate part, the first plate part and the second plate part are attached and connected with each other, a cooling flow channel is arranged between the first plate part and the second plate part, and at least one of the first plate part and the second plate part is made of a non-metal material. According to the cold plate structure, at least one of the first plate part and the second plate part is made of the non-metal material, when one of the first plate part and the second plate part is made of the non-metal material, and the other one of the first plate part and the second plate part is made of the metal material, the cold plate structure is made of the composite material; in other words, in the embodiment, the cold plate structure is made of the composite material or the nonmetal material, and compared with the cold plate structure integrally made of the metal material in the prior art, the cold plate structure is lighter in weight and can meet the lightweight requirement of the battery pack.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of heat exchange and cooling technology, specifically to a cold plate structure, a battery pack, and a vehicle. Background Technology

[0002] Current battery pack technology typically uses stamped cold plates to cool the cells. These stamped cold plates are generally made of aluminum alloy cold plates that are brazed and stamped, resulting in heavy weight. Consequently, existing stamped cold plates are increasingly unable to meet the lightweight requirements of battery packs. Utility Model Content

[0003] The purpose of this application is to provide a cold plate structure, a battery pack, and a vehicle that reduces the weight of the cold plate structure and meets lightweight requirements.

[0004] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this application provides a cold plate structure, including a first plate portion and a second plate portion, the first plate portion and the second plate portion being attached and connected to each other, a cooling channel being provided between the first plate portion and the second plate portion, and at least one of the first plate portion and the second plate portion being made of a non-metallic material.

[0005] In this application, at least one of the first plate portion and the second plate portion is made of a non-metallic material. When one of the first plate portion and the second plate portion is made of a non-metallic material and the other is made of a metallic material, the cold plate structure is made of a composite material. When both the first plate portion and the second plate portion are made of non-metallic materials, the cold plate structure is made of a non-metallic material. In other words, in this embodiment, the cold plate structure is made of a composite material or a non-metallic material. Compared with the prior art where the entire cold plate structure is made of a metallic material (aluminum alloy), the cold plate structure in this embodiment is lighter and can meet the lightweight requirements of the battery pack.

[0006] Optionally, the sidewall of the first plate portion is provided with a groove, the groove forming the cooling channel, and the second plate portion is a flat plate structure, the second plate portion being made of a non-metallic material.

[0007] Optionally, the second plate is made of plastic.

[0008] Optionally, the material of the second plate is PPS or PPA.

[0009] Optionally, the thermal conductivity of the second plate portion is not less than 0.2 W (m·K).

[0010] Optionally, the thickness of the second plate portion ranges from 0.5mm to 1.5mm.

[0011] Optionally, the first plate portion and the second plate portion are welded or bonded together.

[0012] This application also provides a battery pack, including:

[0013] The battery cell has terminals;

[0014] A cell connection assembly, the cell connection assembly including a plate, the plate being electrically connected to the electrode post;

[0015] The aforementioned cold plate structure is connected to the bar sheet via thermally conductive structural adhesive.

[0016] The battery pack of this application includes the aforementioned cold plate structure, and therefore has the same technical effect as the aforementioned cold plate structure 1, which will not be repeated here.

[0017] Optionally, the battery cell has an explosion-proof valve, and the explosion-proof valve and the terminal are located on the same side wall of the battery cell;

[0018] The cooling channel of the cold plate structure includes multiple sequentially connected extensions, which extend along the length of the cold plate structure, and at least one of the extensions is located within the extension range of the explosion-proof valve.

[0019] This application also provides a vehicle including the aforementioned battery pack.

[0020] The vehicle in this application includes the aforementioned battery pack, and therefore has the same technical effects as the aforementioned battery pack, which will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a specific embodiment of the cold plate structure provided in this application;

[0022] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the split structure of a specific embodiment of the battery pack provided in this application;

[0023] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of the battery pack along its height.

[0024] Figure 4 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the battery cell structure in a battery pack;

[0025] in, Figures 1-4 The accompanying figure labels are as follows:

[0026] 1-Cold plate structure; 11-First plate section; 12-Second plate section; a-Cooling flow channel; a1-Extension section;

[0027] 2-Battery cell; 21-Terminal post; 22-Explosion-proof valve;

[0028] 3-Cell connection assembly;

[0029] 4- Thermally conductive structural adhesive. Detailed Implementation

[0030] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of this application, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0031] Please refer to Figures 1-4 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a specific embodiment of the cold plate structure provided in this application; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the split structure of a specific embodiment of the battery pack provided in this application; Figure 3 for Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of the battery pack along its height. Figure 4 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the battery cell structure in a battery pack.

[0032] This embodiment provides a cold plate structure 1, including a first plate portion 11 and a second plate portion 12. The first plate portion 11 and the second plate portion 12 are attached and connected to each other. A cooling flow channel a is provided between the first plate portion 11 and the second plate portion 12. At least one of the first plate portion 11 and the second plate portion 12 is made of a non-metallic material.

[0033] In this embodiment, at least one of the first plate portion 11 and the second plate portion 12 is made of a non-metallic material. When one of the first plate portion 11 and the second plate portion 12 is made of a non-metallic material and the other is made of a metallic material, the cold plate structure 1 is made of a composite material. When both the first plate portion 11 and the second plate portion 12 are made of non-metallic materials, the cold plate structure 1 is made of a non-metallic material. In other words, in this embodiment, the cold plate structure 1 is made of a composite material or a non-metallic material. Compared with the prior art where the entire cold plate structure is made of a metallic material (aluminum alloy), the cold plate structure 1 in this embodiment is lighter and can meet the lightweight requirements of the battery pack.

[0034] In this embodiment, the sidewall of the first plate portion 11 is provided with a groove, which forms a cooling channel a. The second plate portion 12 is a flat plate structure and is made of non-metallic material.

[0035] Depend on Figure 2 and Figure 3 As can be seen, when the cold plate structure 1 is applied to the battery pack in this embodiment, the cold plate structure 1 is located above the battery cell 2. The cold plate structure 1 is connected to the battery cell connection assembly 3 through the thermally conductive structural adhesive 4. The coolant inside the cold plate structure 1 exchanges heat with the battery cell to cool the battery cell.

[0036] In this embodiment, the second plate 12 is configured as a flat plate structure. When the cold plate structure 1 is applied to the battery pack, the second plate 12 is located on the side close to the cell 2. The second plate 12 is connected to the cell connection assembly 3 through the thermally conductive structural adhesive 4, ensuring that the cold plate structure 1 and the cell connection assembly 3 have sufficient heat exchange area and improving the heat dissipation capacity of the battery pack.

[0037] Meanwhile, the second plate 12 is made of non-metallic materials, which reduces the weight of the cold plate structure 1 and meets the requirements of lightweighting. At the same time, the second plate 12 is more likely to be broken when the cell 2 experiences thermal runaway, so that the coolant can flow out in time to cool the cell 2, avoid the spread of thermal runaway as much as possible, improve the safety performance of the battery pack, and improve the safety performance of the whole vehicle.

[0038] In addition, a groove is provided on the side wall of the first plate 11. The groove forms a cooling channel a, which guides the flow of coolant. The groove can be formed by stamping.

[0039] Furthermore, the first plate portion 11 can be made of non-metallic material or metallic material. When the first plate portion 11 is made of non-metallic material, the first plate portion 11 and the second plate portion 12 can be made of the same non-metallic material, which facilitates the connection between the two, improves the connection strength between the first plate portion 11 and the second plate portion 12, and ensures the connection reliability between the first plate portion 11 and the second plate portion 12.

[0040] In some embodiments of this application, the second plate portion 12 is made of plastic.

[0041] The above configuration can effectively reduce the weight of the second plate 12 and meet the requirements for lightweighting; at the same time, the plastic material has the advantages of low cost and easy processing, which can improve the production efficiency of the second plate 12 and reduce production costs.

[0042] Specifically, the material of the second plate 12 can be PPS (Polyphenylene sulfide) or PPA (Polyphthalamide).

[0043] PPS material is a high-performance engineering plastic with excellent heat resistance, chemical corrosion resistance, dimensional stability and mechanical strength, which can effectively improve the structural performance of the second plate 12.

[0044] PPA material is a functional polymer material with excellent physical and chemical properties, which can effectively improve the structural performance of the second plate 12. In terms of processing technology, PPA has good processability and can meet the requirements of various production processes. It has high flexibility in the production process, effectively improving the processing convenience of the second plate 12, thereby improving the production efficiency of the second plate 12.

[0045] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the thermal conductivity of the second plate portion 12 is not less than 0.2 W (m·K).

[0046] Thermal conductivity is an important parameter for measuring thermal conductivity performance. When the cold plate structure 1 is applied to the battery pack, the second plate 12 is connected to the battery cell connection assembly 3 via thermally conductive structural adhesive 4. Therefore, by limiting the thermal conductivity of the second plate 12, the heat dissipation performance of the second plate 12 can be optimized, and the battery cell can be kept within the ideal temperature range as much as possible.

[0047] It has been verified that when the thermal conductivity of the second plate 12 is less than 0.2 W (m·K), the heat dissipation performance of the second plate 12 cannot meet the heat dissipation requirements of the battery pack. The coolant inside the cold plate structure 1 cannot fully exchange heat with the battery plate to achieve the purpose of cooling the battery plate, which may cause the temperature of the battery cell 2 to rise. When the temperature of the battery cell 2 is too high, the internal chemical reaction rate will accelerate, resulting in an increase in the internal resistance of the battery cell 2, a decrease in capacity, a decrease in charging and discharging efficiency, a reduction in the performance of the battery cell 2, a shortening of the life of the battery cell 2, and even a risk of fire or explosion.

[0048] In this embodiment, the thermal conductivity of the second plate 12 is not less than 0.2 W / (m·K). For example, the thermal conductivity of the second plate 12 can be 0.3 W / (m·K), 0.4 W / (m·K), 0.5 W / (m·K), 0.6 W / (m·K), 0.7 W / (m·K), etc. The heat dissipation performance of the second plate 12 can meet the heat dissipation requirements of the battery pack. The coolant inside the cold plate structure 1 can fully exchange heat with the battery plate to achieve the purpose of cooling the battery plate, thereby reducing the temperature of the battery cell 2. When the temperature of the battery cell 2 decreases, the internal chemical reaction rate will slow down, thereby reducing the internal resistance of the battery cell 2, improving the charging and discharging efficiency, improving the performance of the battery cell 2, extending the life of the battery cell 2, reducing the risk of fire or explosion of the battery cell 2, and improving the overall vehicle safety performance.

[0049] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the thickness of the second plate portion 12 ranges from 0.5mm to 1.5mm.

[0050] It is understandable that to ensure the thermal conductivity of the second plate 12 meets the requirements, the thickness of the second plate 12 cannot be too large. On the other hand, to ensure the structural strength of the second plate 12 meets the requirements, the thickness of the second plate 12 cannot be too small. It has been verified that when the thickness of the second plate 12 is greater than 1.5 mm, the thermal conductivity of the second plate 12 is poor, and the coolant inside the cold plate structure 1 cannot fully exchange heat with the battery plate to achieve the purpose of cooling the battery plate, which may lead to a decrease in the heat dissipation performance of the battery pack. When the thickness of the second plate 12 is less than 0.5 mm, the structural strength of the second plate 12 is lower than the requirements, and the second plate 12 is at risk of deformation or even damage, which may lead to coolant leakage.

[0051] Therefore, in this embodiment, the thickness of the second plate portion 12 is in the range of 0.5mm-1.5mm. This ensures that the structural strength of the second plate portion 12 meets the requirements, minimizes deformation or structural damage to the second plate portion 12, and avoids coolant leakage. At the same time, it ensures that the thermal conductivity of the second plate portion 12 meets the requirements, so that the coolant inside the cold plate structure 1 can fully exchange heat with the battery plate to achieve the purpose of cooling the battery plate, improving the heat dissipation performance of the battery pack, and enhancing the safety performance of the entire vehicle.

[0052] The thickness of the second plate 12 can be specifically selected as 0.5mm, 0.8mm, 1.0mm, 1.2mm, 1.5mm, etc. When the thickness of the second plate 12 is 0.5mm, under the premise that the structural strength of the second plate 12 meets the requirements, the thermal conductivity of the second plate 12 is optimal, maximizing the heat dissipation performance of the battery pack, maximizing the improvement of the overall vehicle safety performance, and minimizing the weight of the second plate 12, so that the cold plate structure meets the lightweight requirements to the greatest extent. When the thickness of the second plate 12 is 1.5mm, under the premise that the thermal conductivity of the second plate 12 meets the requirements, the structural strength of the second plate 12 is optimal, minimizing the possibility of deformation or structural damage to the second plate 12, and minimizing the risk of coolant leakage. When the thickness of the second plate 12 is 0.8mm, 1.0mm, 1.2mm, a balance is achieved between thermal conductivity and structural strength, improving the quality of the second plate 12.

[0053] Furthermore, in some embodiments of this application, the first plate portion 11 and the second plate portion 12 are welded together.

[0054] Specifically, the first plate 11 and the second plate 12 can be fixed by processes such as laser welding, hot pressing welding, and ultrasonic welding to ensure the reliability of the connection between the first plate 11 and the second plate 12 and to ensure the sealing between the first plate 11 and the second plate 12.

[0055] In some other embodiments of this application, the first plate portion 11 and the second plate portion 12 are bonded and fixed together.

[0056] In this process, bonding can form a continuous sealing layer, which can minimize the leakage of coolant and improve the sealing performance of the first plate 11 and the second plate 12. Bonding can also provide high connection strength, ensuring the connection reliability of the first plate 11 and the second plate 12. Bonding can also simplify the processing, improve the production efficiency of the cold plate structure 1, and reduce the production cost of the cold plate structure 1.

[0057] This embodiment also provides a battery pack, including:

[0058] Battery cell 2, battery cell 2 has terminal post 21;

[0059] The cell connection assembly 3 includes a plate and the plate and the terminal 21 are electrically connected;

[0060] The aforementioned cold plate structure 1 is connected to the sheet metal via thermally conductive structural adhesive 4.

[0061] The battery pack in this embodiment includes the aforementioned cold plate structure 1, and therefore has the same technical effects as the aforementioned cold plate structure 1, which will not be described again here.

[0062] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the battery cell 2 has an explosion-proof valve 22, and the explosion-proof valve 22 and the terminal post 21 are located on the same side wall of the battery cell 2;

[0063] The cooling channel a of the cold plate structure 1 includes multiple extensions a1 connected in sequence. The extensions a1 extend along the length of the cold plate structure 1, and at least one extension a1 is located within the extension range of the explosion-proof valve 22.

[0064] As configured above, when cell 2 experiences thermal runaway and breaks through the second plate 12, the coolant inside the extension a1 within the extension range of the explosion-proof valve 22 can flow out directly towards the explosion-proof valve 22 at the fastest speed to cool down the thermally runaway cell 2, prevent the spread of thermal runaway as much as possible, improve the safety performance of the battery pack, and improve the safety performance of the whole vehicle.

[0065] Depend on Figure 3 As can be seen, in this embodiment, the two extensions a1 are located within the extension range of the explosion-proof valve 22. The coolant inside these two extensions a1 is directly facing the explosion-proof valve 22 and can flow out at the fastest speed to cool down the battery cell 2 that has experienced thermal runaway, thereby further improving the cooling effect and further preventing the spread of thermal runaway.

[0066] This embodiment also provides a vehicle including the aforementioned battery pack.

[0067] The vehicle in this embodiment includes the aforementioned battery pack, and therefore has the same technical effects as the aforementioned battery pack, which will not be repeated here.

[0068] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various improvements and modifications without departing from the principles of this application, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A cold-plate structure, characterized in that, It includes a first plate portion (11) and a second plate portion (12), the first plate portion (11) and the second plate portion (12) are attached and connected to each other, a cooling channel (a) is provided between the first plate portion (11) and the second plate portion (12), and at least one of the first plate portion (11) and the second plate portion (12) is made of a non-metallic material.

2. The cold plate structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first plate (11) has a groove on its side wall, which forms the cooling channel (a). The second plate (12) is a flat plate structure and is made of non-metallic material.

3. The cold plate structure according to claim 2, characterized in that, The second plate (12) is made of plastic.

4. The cold plate structure according to claim 3, characterized in that, The material of the second plate (12) is PPS or PPA.

5. The cold plate structure according to claim 2, characterized in that, The thermal conductivity of the second plate (12) is not less than 0.2 W (m·K).

6. The cold plate structure according to claim 2, characterized in that, The thickness of the second plate (12) ranges from 0.5mm to 1.5mm.

7. The cold-plate structure according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The first plate portion (11) and the second plate portion (12) are fixed by welding or bonding.

8. A battery pack, characterized in that, include: Battery cell (2), wherein the battery cell (2) has terminals (21); The cell connection assembly (3) includes a plate, which is electrically connected to the terminal (21); The cold plate structure (1) according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein the cold plate structure (1) is connected to the plate by thermally conductive structural adhesive (4).

9. The battery pack according to claim 8, characterized in that, The battery cell (2) has an explosion-proof valve (22), and the explosion-proof valve (22) and the terminal (21) are located on the same side wall of the battery cell (2); The cooling channel (a) of the cold plate structure (1) includes multiple extensions (a1) connected in sequence. The extensions (a1) extend along the length direction of the cold plate structure (1), and at least one of the extensions (a1) is located within the extension range of the explosion-proof valve (22).

10. A vehicle, characterized in that, Includes the battery pack as described in claim 8 or 9.

Images