Cooling plate and structure

Abstract

To provide a cooling plate which uses a resin plate in conjunction with a metal plate to achieve reduction of the weight and has the same level of cooling performance as that of a conventional metal cooling plate.SOLUTION: A cooling plate 10 includes: a resin plate 12 having a plurality of ribs in a refrigerant passage part 15; and a metal plate 11 facing the resin plate 12 and provided at the upper side of the resin plate 12. A space is formed between an upper surface of the rib and a lower surface of the metal plate 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling plate and structure. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, cooling plates are known for cooling heat-generating bodies such as batteries. Metals with high thermal conductivity are used for cooling plates, but cooling plates having a resin plate and a metal plate for weight reduction have also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7097975 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 7047137 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The cooling plates disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are light in weight due to the use of resin plates in some parts, but have a problem in that they are inferior in cooling performance to metal cooling plates.

[0005] The object of the present invention, made in consideration of the above circumstances, is to provide a cooling plate and structure that can achieve weight reduction by using a resin plate in addition, while having the same level of cooling performance as conventional metal cooling plates. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The gist of the present invention for solving the above problems is as follows.

[0007] (1) A cooling plate through which a refrigerant flows, comprising: a resin plate having a plurality of ribs; and a metal plate opposed to and disposed above the resin plate, with a gap between an upper surface of the ribs and a lower surface of the metal plate.

[0008] (2) The cooling plate according to (1), wherein the rib has a protrusion that abuts against the lower surface of the metal plate.

[0009] (3) A cooling plate according to (1) or (2), wherein the ribs are arranged perpendicular to the direction in which the coolant flows.

[0010] (4) The cooling plate according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the arrangement intervals of the ribs become narrower from the input side to the output side of the coolant.

[0011] (5) A cooling plate according to (3) or (4), wherein the gap narrows from the input side to the output side of the coolant.

[0012] (6) The cooling plate described in (1), wherein the resin plate has n sets of ribs in contact with a first wall surface located on the side where the refrigerant enters and exits, and n sets of ribs in contact with a second wall surface opposite the first wall surface, and the refrigerant travels back and forth between the first wall surface and the second wall surface n times before being output.

[0013] (7) The cooling plate according to (6), wherein the cross-sectional area of ​​the flow path of the coolant narrows from the input side toward the output side.

[0014] (8) A structure comprising the cooling plate according to any one of (1) to (7) and a heat insulating material disposed on the rear surface of the resin plate. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cooling plate and structure that has the same level of cooling performance as a conventional metal cooling plate while achieving weight reduction by using a resin plate in combination. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a battery module equipped with a cooling plate according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a parts diagram of a cooling plate according to the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a resin plate according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA' in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB' in FIG. [Figure 6] 6A to 6C are diagrams showing modified examples of the resin plate according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a plan view of a resin plate according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing modified examples of the resin plate according to the second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a plan view of a resin plate according to a third embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the shape of a plate having straight ribs provided at the bottom of a conventional cooling plate. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a simulation result of an average temperature of the cooling plate according to the embodiment. [Figure 12] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating simulation results of temperature unevenness of the cooling plate according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that each drawing is merely a schematic illustration to allow a sufficient understanding of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated examples. Also, for convenience of illustration, the scales in each drawing may differ from the actual scales, and may not match between drawings.

[0018] An example of a battery module including a cooling plate according to the present invention is shown in Fig. 1. The battery module 1 shown in Fig. 1 includes a cooling plate 10 through which a coolant such as LLC (long life coolant) flows, and a plurality of battery cells 30.

[0019] The battery module 1 connects multiple battery cells 30 and supplies electric energy to a motor of an electric vehicle, etc. The battery module 1 also cools the battery cells 30, which are heat generating bodies, by flowing a refrigerant through a cooling plate 10 that contacts the battery cells 30.

[0020] An example of a component diagram of a cooling plate is shown in Fig. 2. The cooling plate 10 shown in Fig. 2 includes a metal plate 11 made of metal (e.g., aluminum) and a resin plate 12 having a coolant flow path portion 15 made of resin (e.g., polyamide resin). The resin is not particularly limited, but examples include industrially used resins such as polyamide. The resin plate 12 may be entirely made of resin, or may contain metal in portions other than the flow path portion 15.

[0021] The metal plate 11 faces the resin plate 12 and is provided above the resin plate 12 (in the positive direction of the z axis shown in FIGS. 1 and 2).

[0022] The resin plate 12 has a plurality of ribs 13. The ribs 13 are provided to allow the coolant to flow uniformly and reduce temperature unevenness. The arrows in the figure indicate the input and output of the coolant, and the coolant flows through the flow path portion 15 in the direction of the arrows. The coolant may enter from an opening provided at one end of the resin plate 12, or may enter from an opening provided at one end of the upper surface side of the metal plate 11. The coolant may also be output from an opening provided at the other end of the resin plate 12, or may be output from an opening provided at the other end of the upper surface side of the metal plate 11.

[0023] Although not shown in FIG. 2, a lightweight heat insulating material may be arranged so as to be in contact with the back surface (negative direction of the z-axis) of the resin plate 12. That is, the battery module 1 may have a structure having the cooling plate 10 and the heat insulating material. Examples of the heat insulating material include, but are not limited to, materials formed from thermoplastic resin foam, thermosetting resin foam, foamed rubber / elastomer, glass wool, rock wool, fiber-based heat insulating material, porous metal, porous ceramic, aerogel, and vacuum heat insulating material. In addition, in order to further improve the heat insulating performance, processing such as foaming can be performed. As the foaming processing method, a known method can be adopted.

[0024] By using resin for a portion of the cooling plate 10, the cooling plate is lighter than a cooling plate made entirely of metal. For example, the density of polyamide is about half that of aluminum. However, the thermal conductivity of resin is significantly lower than that of metal. In conventional cooling plates, the ribs are arranged parallel to the direction of the coolant flow, but in the present invention, the shape of the ribs 13 is devised to obtain cooling performance equivalent to that of a metal cooling plate. Injection molding increases the freedom of the shape of the ribs 13, making it possible to design a flow passage portion 15 with high cooling performance.

[0025] It is considered that the resin plate 12 hardly contributes to cooling. Therefore, in order to improve the cooling performance, it is necessary to make the coolant contact the upper surface of the metal plate 11 as much as possible. Therefore, the cooling plate 10 has a gap between the upper surface of the rib 13 and the lower surface of the metal plate 11. By providing a gap between the upper surface of the rib 13 and the lower surface of the metal plate 11, the contact area between the metal plate 11 and the coolant can be increased, and the cooling effect of the cooling plate 10 can be improved.

[0026] <First embodiment> 3 shows a plan view of the resin plate 12a according to the first embodiment. The resin plate 12a has a first wall surface 121 located on the inlet side of the refrigerant, a second wall surface 122 facing the first wall surface 121 and located on the outlet side of the refrigerant, a third wall surface 123 located on the outlet side of the refrigerant, and a fourth wall surface 124 facing the third wall surface 123.

[0027] The ribs 13a are arranged perpendicular to the direction in which the refrigerant flows. That is, the ribs 13a are arranged parallel to the first wall surface 121 and the third wall surface 123. The arrangement of the ribs 13a may be periodic, and the resin plate 12a according to the present embodiment has n sets of ribs 13a in contact with the third wall surface 123, ribs 13a in contact with the fourth wall surface 124, and ribs 13a not in contact with the walls of the resin plate 12a, which constitute one period (one unit). n is any integer of 2 or more. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the ribs 13a in contact with the third wall surface 123 and the ribs 13a in contact with the fourth wall surface 124 are aligned in the same straight line, but this is not limited to this. Also, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the lengths of the ribs 13a in contact with the third wall surface 123 and the ribs 13a in contact with the fourth wall surface 124 are the same, but this is not limited to this.

[0028] FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B' in FIG. 3. Dimensions (unit: mm) are shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 as examples, but are not limited thereto. In the example shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, the spacing between the ribs 13a is 10 mm, the thickness of the ribs 13a is 7.7 mm, and the height of the ribs 13a is 8 mm. The length of the ribs 13a in contact with the third wall surface 123 and the ribs 13a in contact with the fourth wall surface 124 is 45 mm. The length of the ribs 13a not in contact with the wall surface of the resin plate 12a is 80 mm. The thickness of the metal plate 11 is 5 mm, and the thickness of the wall surface of the resin plate 12a is 4 mm.

[0029] The rib 13a may have a protrusion (pillar) 14 that abuts against the lower surface 111 of the metal plate 11. By providing the protrusion 14, a space can be maintained even when the load of the battery cell 30 is applied to the metal plate 11. The shape of the protrusion 14 is, for example, cylindrical. The number of protrusions 14 may be arbitrary. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the gap between the upper surface 131 of the rib 13a and the lower surface 111 of the metal plate 11 (i.e., the height of the protrusion 14) is 2 mm, and the diameter of the protrusion 14 is 3 mm. The distance between the lower surface 111 of the metal plate 11 and the upper surface 129 of the resin plate 12a is 10 mm.

[0030] Fig. 6 shows a resin plate 12b which is a modified example of the resin plate 12a according to the first embodiment. In the resin plate 12a shown in Fig. 3, the arrangement intervals of the ribs 13a are uniform and fixed at 10 mm for each period of the ribs 13a. On the other hand, in the resin plate 12b shown in Fig. 6, the arrangement intervals of the ribs 13b become narrower from the input side to the output side of the refrigerant. For example, when the arrangement intervals of the ribs 13b are changed linearly, the arrangement interval may be set to BA x n, where n is the period index. Here, A and B are variables, and the arrangement interval can be adjusted by the variables A and B.

[0031] Similarly, the gap between the upper surface of rib 13b and the lower surface of metal plate 11 may be narrowed from the input side to the output side of the refrigerant. That is, the height of protrusion 14 may be reduced from the input side to the output side of the refrigerant. Since the sum of the height of protrusion 14 and the height of rib 13b is constant (10 mm in the example shown in FIG. 4), the height of rib 13b increases as the height of protrusion 14 decreases.

[0032] In this way, at least one of the arrangement interval of the ribs 13b and the gap with the metal plate 11 is gradually narrowed from the input side to the output side of the flow path portion 15, so that the flow rate can be gradually increased. Since the coolant absorbs heat from the heating element from the input side to the output side, the surface temperature of the cooling plate 10 using the resin plate 12a increases from the input side to the output side of the flow path portion 15. On the other hand, in the cooling plate 10 using the resin plate 12b, the flow rate increases toward the output side of the flow path portion 15, and heat transfer increases, so that the temperature at the output side of the flow path portion 15 can be prevented from increasing. In other words, the cooling performance can be improved.

[0033] <Second embodiment> 7 shows a plan view of a resin plate 12c according to the second embodiment. The resin plate 12c has a first wall surface 121 located on the inlet side of the refrigerant, a second wall surface 122 facing the first wall surface 121 and located on the outlet side of the refrigerant, a third wall surface 123, and a fourth wall surface 124 facing the third wall surface 123.

[0034] The ribs 13c are arranged perpendicular to the direction in which the refrigerant flows. That is, the ribs 13c are arranged parallel to the first wall surface 121 and the third wall surface 123. The arrangement of the ribs 13c may be periodic, and the resin plate 12c according to this embodiment has n sets of ribs 13c in contact with the third wall surface 123 and ribs 13c in contact with the fourth wall surface 124, which constitute one period (one unit). n is any integer equal to or greater than 2. The ribs 13c may have a protrusion 14, as in the first embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the lengths of the ribs 13c in contact with the third wall surface 123 and the ribs 13c in contact with the fourth wall surface 124 are the same, but this is not limited thereto.

[0035] FIG. 8 shows a resin plate 12d which is a modification of the resin plate 12c according to the second embodiment. In the resin plate 12c shown in FIG. 7, the ribs 13c are arranged at uniform intervals, whereas in the resin plate 12d shown in FIG. 8, the ribs 13d are arranged at intervals that become narrower from the input side to the output side of the coolant. For example, when the intervals of the ribs 13d are changed linearly, the intervals may be set to BA×n, where n is the periodic index. Here, A and B are variables, and the intervals can be adjusted by the variables A and B. Similarly, the gap between the upper surface of the rib 13d and the lower surface of the metal plate 11 may be narrowed from the input side to the output side of the coolant. In this way, by gradually narrowing at least one of the intervals of the ribs 13d and the gap with the metal plate 11 from the input side to the output side of the flow passage portion 15 from the input side to the output side, the flow rate can be gradually increased, and the temperature rise on the output side of the flow passage portion 15 can be suppressed, thereby improving the cooling performance.

[0036] <Third embodiment> 9 shows a plan view of a resin plate 12e according to the third embodiment. The resin plate 12e has a first wall surface 125 located on the side where the refrigerant flows in and out, a second wall surface 126 facing the first wall surface 125, a third wall surface 127, and a fourth wall surface 128 facing the third wall surface 127.

[0037] The ribs 13e are arranged parallel to the direction in which the refrigerant flows. That is, the ribs 13e are arranged parallel to the third wall surface 127 and the fourth wall surface 128. The resin plate 12e has n sets of ribs 13e in contact with the first wall surface 125 and ribs 13e in contact with the second wall surface 126, with the set being one period (one unit). n is any integer equal to or greater than 2. The arrows in the figure indicate the input and output of the refrigerant. The ribs 13e determine the direction in which the refrigerant flows, and the refrigerant travels back and forth between the first wall surface 125 and the second wall surface 126 n times before being output. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the lengths of the ribs 13e in contact with the first wall surface 125 and the ribs 13e in contact with the second wall surface 126 are the same, but this is not limited thereto. Note that there is a gap between the upper surface of the ribs 13e and the lower surface of the metal plate 11, as in the other embodiments.

[0038] As shown in Fig. 9, the cross-sectional area of ​​the flow path of the refrigerant (the arrangement interval of the ribs 13e) may be narrowed from the input side to the output side of the refrigerant. For example, when the cross-sectional area of ​​the flow path is changed linearly, the cross-sectional area of ​​the flow path may be set to BA x n, where n is a periodic index. Here, A and B are variables, and the cross-sectional area of ​​the flow path can be adjusted by the variables A and B. In this way, by gradually narrowing the cross-sectional area of ​​the flow path from the input side to the output side of the flow path section 15, the flow rate can be gradually increased, and the increase in temperature on the output side of the flow path section 15 can be suppressed, thereby improving the cooling performance.

[0039] Two conventional cooling plates were prepared to compare and verify the cooling performance of the cooling plate 10 according to this embodiment. The first cooling plate uses an aluminum upper plate as the metal plate 11 and an aluminum lower plate having straight ribs instead of the resin plate 12, and is called "Straight Channel (Al)". The second cooling plate uses an aluminum upper plate as the metal plate 11 and a Leona lower plate having straight ribs instead of the resin plate 12, and is called "Straight Channel (Al / Leona)".

[0040] FIG. 10 shows the shape of a conventional lower plate 12' having straight ribs 13'. There is no gap between the upper surface of the ribs 13' and the lower surface of the upper plate, and the ribs 13' do not have any protrusions. The lower plate 12' has a first wall surface 121' located on the inlet side of the refrigerant, a second wall surface 122' facing the first wall surface 121 and located on the outlet side of the refrigerant, a third wall surface 123', and a fourth wall surface 124' facing the third wall surface 123. The multiple ribs 13' are arranged parallel to the direction in which the refrigerant flows. That is, the multiple ribs 13' are arranged parallel to the third wall surface 123' and the fourth wall surface 124'.

[0041] FIG. 11 shows the simulation results of the average temperature of the cooling plate. The horizontal axis is the type of cooling plate, and the vertical axis is the average temperature [°C]. FIG. 12 shows the simulation results of the temperature unevenness [°C] of the cooling plate. The horizontal axis is the type of cooling plate, and the vertical axis is the temperature unevenness. Here, the temperature of the surface where the cooling plate 10 and the battery cell 30 come into contact, i.e., the upper surface of the metal plate 11, was measured. The temperature unevenness indicates the difference between the maximum temperature and the minimum temperature.

[0042] The cooling plate 10 having the resin plate 12a of the first embodiment is referred to as "Wall Pillar 1 (uniform)". The cooling plate 10 having the resin plate 12b of the modified first embodiment is referred to as "Wall Pillar 1 (nonuniform)". The cooling plate 10 having the resin plate 12c of the second embodiment is referred to as "Wall Pillar 2 (uniform)". The cooling plate 10 having the resin plate 12d of the modified second embodiment is referred to as "Wall Pillar 2 (nonuniform)". The cooling plate 10 having the resin plate 12e of the third embodiment is referred to as "Folded Flow". There are seven types of cooling plates, including the above five types and the Straight Channel (Al) and Straight Channel (Al / Leona). The material of the resin plates 12a to 12e is Leona.

[0043] In the simulation shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, the size of the cooling plate 10 was 86 mm×559 mm, the thickness of the metal plate 11 was 1.5 mm, and the thickness of the wall surface of the resin plate 12 was 2.3 mm. The thickness of the rib 13 was 1 mm, and the height of the flow path (the sum of the height of the rib 13 and the height of the protrusion 14) was 4 mm. In the Wall Pillar 1 (uniform) and the Wall Pillar 2 (uniform), the arrangement interval of the ribs 13 was 3 mm, and the height of the protrusion 14 was 1.25 mm. In the Wall Pillar 1 (nonuniform) and the Wall Pillar 2 (nonuniform), the arrangement interval of the ribs 13 was changed from 5 mm to 1 mm linearly with the periodic number of the ribs 13, and the height of the protrusion 14 was changed from 2 mm to 0.5 mm. In the Folded Flow, the arrangement interval of the ribs 13 (width of the flow path) was changed from 5 mm to 1 mm linearly with the periodic number of the ribs 13. In addition, the ambient temperature was set to 23°C, and heat transfer by natural convection was considered. Assuming a small natural convection, the heat transfer coefficient was 4W / m 2 K. To represent the heat from the battery cell 30, a heat flux of 400 W was applied to the upper surface of the cooling plate 10. The coolant was water at 10° C., and the flow rate was 2.5 L / min.

[0044] The simulation results of Figures 11 and 12 are summarized in the following table. The simulation results show that the cooling performance of the Straight Channel (Al / Leona), which is a conventional metal cooling plate in which part of the Straight Channel (Al) is simply replaced with resin, is inferior, but the cooling plates 10 according to the first to third embodiments have cooling performance equivalent to that of the conventional metal cooling plate Straight Channel (Al). [Table 1]

[0045] Although the above-mentioned embodiment has been described as a representative example, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications and substitutions can be made within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited by the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications or changes are possible without departing from the scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1 Battery Module 10 Cooling plate 11 Metal Plate 12, 12a, 12b, 12c Resin plate 13, 13a, 13b, 13c Ribs 14 Convex 15 Flow path 30 Battery Cells 111 Underside of metal plate 121,125 First Wall 122,127 Second Wall 123,127 Third Wall 124,128 The Fourth Wall 129 Top surface of resin plate 131 Top of rib

Claims

1. A cooling plate through which a coolant flows, a resin plate having a plurality of ribs in the coolant flow passage portion; a metal plate provided above and facing the resin plate; A cooling plate having a gap between an upper surface of the ribs and a lower surface of the metal plate.

2. The cooling plate according to claim 1 , wherein the rib has a protrusion that abuts against a lower surface of the metal plate.

3. The cooling plate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ribs are arranged perpendicular to a direction in which the coolant flows.

4. The cooling plate according to claim 3 , wherein the ribs are spaced apart from one another at intervals from an input side to an output side of the coolant.

5. The cooling plate according to claim 3 , wherein the gap narrows from an input side to an output side of the coolant.

6. The cooling plate of claim 1, wherein the resin plate has n sets of ribs contacting a first wall surface located on the side where the refrigerant enters and exits, and n sets of ribs contacting a second wall surface opposite the first wall surface, and the refrigerant travels back and forth between the first wall surface and the second wall surface n times before being output.

7. The cooling plate according to claim 6 , wherein the intervals between the ribs become narrower from an input side to an output side of the coolant.

8. A cooling plate according to claim 1 or 2; A heat insulating material disposed on a rear surface of the resin plate; A structure comprising:

Images