UTILITY MODEL OF COOLING PIPE STRUCTURE, LIQUID COOLING PLATE AND BATTERY SYSTEM

Abstract

The present application describes a cooling pipe structure, a liquid cooling plate, and a battery system, which includes: a cooling pipe assembly, wherein the cooling pipe assembly includes at least one cooling pipe; a liquid flow direction in the cooling pipe defined as a first direction, the cooling pipes being arranged in a tree-like structure from one side to the opposite side along the first direction, the side of the tree-like structure being a tree-like start and the opposite side being a tree-like end; a pipe inlet, wherein the pipe inlet is in communication with one side of the tree-like start of the cooling pipe in the cooling pipe assembly;and a pipe outlet, wherein the pipe outlet is in communication with one side of the tree-type end of the cooling pipe in the cooling pipe assembly.

Description

Cooling channel structure, liquid cooling plate and battery system

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on June 28, 2023 with application number 2023216687013 and the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on June 28, 2023 with application number 2023107772736. The entire contents of the above applications are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of battery technology, and in particular to a cooling channel structure, a liquid cooling plate, and a battery system. Background Art

[0003] With the rapid development of electric vehicles, the use of power batteries is becoming increasingly widespread. Power batteries generate significant heat during the charging and discharging process, causing high temperatures inside the battery pack, which can shorten the battery's service life and even lead to thermal runaway and safety accidents. Therefore, the thermal management and thermal safety of power batteries are receiving increasing attention.

[0004] The fast charging requirements for battery cells in existing battery systems are becoming increasingly higher, and the heat generation of high-rate battery cells is difficult to control. In order to improve the cooling effect, existing battery systems usually set up liquid cooling plates on the top or bottom surface of the battery cells, and the liquid cooling plates are provided with cooling channels. Technical issues

[0005] Existing cooling channels are usually symmetrically arranged or coiled in design. Such channels are not friendly to battery systems with long battery modules. The temperature difference between the left and right battery cells in the same horizontal channel is large, which easily leads to uneven cooling of the battery cells. Technical Solutions

[0006] In the first aspect, the present application provides a cooling channel structure, comprising: a cooling channel group, the cooling channel group comprising at least one cooling channel, the direction of liquid flow in the cooling channel being set as a first direction, and the cooling channel being distributed in a tree-like structure from one side to the other side along the first direction; a channel inlet, the channel inlet being connected to the tree head side of the cooling channel in the cooling channel group; and a channel outlet, the channel outlet being connected to the tree tail side of the cooling channel in the cooling channel group.

[0007] In a second aspect, the present application provides a liquid cooling plate, comprising a cooling channel structure and a liquid cooling plate body, wherein the cooling channel group is attached to or embedded in one or both sides of the surface of the liquid cooling plate body.

[0008] In a third aspect, the present application provides a battery system comprising a battery casing, a battery cell group and a liquid cooling plate, wherein the battery cell group and the liquid cooling plate body are arranged in the battery casing, and the liquid cooling plate body is located on the top or bottom surface of the battery cell group. Beneficial effects

[0009] 1. By designing the cooling pipes into a tree-like structure, the number of cooling pipes can be increased layer by layer, thereby effectively addressing the problem of coolant gradually rising in the cooling pipes. By increasing the heat exchange area, the heat exchange effect is improved to balance the temperature difference of the overall heat exchange.

[0010] 2. The number of layers and quantity of cooling pipes can be increased according to actual conditions to meet the full coverage of heat exchange and increase the heat exchange area.

[0011] 3. Combining the cooling pipe with the liquid cooling plate can form a heat exchange plate with uniform heat exchange, and the cooling channel design is flexible, which is conducive to balancing the heat exchange temperature of the entire heat exchange plate and reducing the temperature difference.

[0012] 4. Liquid cooling plate and serpentine liquid cooling tube are used to realize three-sided liquid cooling heat exchange, which greatly improves the heat exchange efficiency and better temperature control. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the cooling channel structure of an embodiment of the present application;

[0014] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a liquid cooling plate according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0015] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the battery system structure according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0016] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a liquid cooling plate connection structure according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0017] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the side structure of a battery system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0018] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the battery system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0019] Among them, the meanings of the figure marks are as follows: 1. Cooling channel group; 11. Cooling pipe; 111. Tree head; 112. Tree trunk; 113. Tree tail; 2. Channel outlet; 3. Channel inlet; 4. Outlet main pipe; 5. Inlet main pipe; 6. Second surrounding pipe; 7. First surrounding pipe; 8. Third surrounding pipe; 9. Cold plate body; 10. Side liquid cooling plate; 101. Liquid outlet; 102. Liquid inlet; 103. Liquid outlet pipe; 104. Liquid inlet pipe; 20. Converging pipe; 30. Diverter pipe. Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] In a conventional cooling pipe, which is usually a spiral bend or serpentine pipe, the coolant in the cooling pipe flows into the cooling pipe and the longer it exchanges heat, the higher the temperature becomes. Therefore, the heat exchange effect for the heating device located in the second half of the cooling pipe is poor.

[0021] Embodiment 1 of the present application, as shown in FIG1 , discloses a cooling channel structure, including a cooling channel group 1, a channel inlet 3, and a channel outlet 2. The cooling channel group 1 includes at least one cooling pipe 11. The direction of liquid flow in the cooling pipe 11 is set to a first direction. It should be understood that the first direction is the direction in which the flow direction of the channel in the cooling pipe 11 accounts for a large proportion. Therefore, there may be a partial steering structure in the cooling pipe 11, but the main flow direction remains unchanged. In this embodiment 1, the first direction is the length direction of the cooling channel group, and the cooling pipe 11 is arranged from one side to the other side along the first direction. The tree-like structure is distributed, and the tree-like structure is at least two layers. When the tree-like structure is two layers, the tree-like structure includes two layers: a tree head 111 and a tree tail 113. When the tree-like structure is three layers or more, the tree-like structure includes a tree head 111, a trunk 112 and a tree tail 113. One side of the tree-like structure is the tree head 111, and the other side is the tree tail 113. The trunk 112 is located between the tree head 111 and the tree tail 113. The flow channel inlet 3 is connected to the tree head 111 side of the cooling pipe 11 in the cooling flow channel group 1, and the flow channel outlet 2 is connected to the tree tail 113 side of the cooling pipe 11 in the cooling flow channel group 1. The temperature of the coolant in the cooling pipe 11 increases with the increase of the pipe length. By designing the cooling channel group 1 into a cooling pipe 11 with a tree-like structure distribution, the number of cooling pipes 11 can be increased layer by layer; the number of layers of the tree-like structure is increased according to the required heat exchange area to ensure that the heat exchange in the second half of the cooling pipe 11 is more intensive, thereby gradually increasing the contact area with the heating element, effectively coping with the problem of the gradual rise of the coolant in the cooling pipe 11, increasing the heat exchange area, reducing the temperature difference between the battery cells, controlling the temperature of the heating element within a reasonable range, achieving uniformity of heat exchange, and helping to increase the service life of the heating element.

[0022] In one embodiment, when the cooling channel group 1 includes only one cooling pipe 11, the cooling pipe 11 of the cooling channel 11 is connected to the channel inlet 3, and the tail 113 of the cooling channel 11 converges into a pipe and then connects to the channel outlet 2. The coolant entering the channel inlet 3 first flows through the head 111 structure of the cooling channel 11, then flows through the tail 113 structure of the cooling channel 11, and finally flows out of the channel outlet 2 to achieve the heat exchange effect of the coolant.

[0023] In one embodiment, when the cooling channel group 1 includes more than two cooling pipes 11, each cooling channel is located on the same horizontal plane, and each cooling pipe 11 in the cooling channel group 1 remains horizontal, so that the cooling channel group 1 forms a cooling plane. The head 111 structure of each cooling channel 11 is connected to an inlet manifold 5, which is connected to the channel inlet 3. The tail 113 structure of each cooling channel 11 is connected to an outlet manifold 4, which is connected to the channel outlet 2. By arranging the inlet manifold 5 and the outlet manifold 4, each cooling channel 11 can be relatively fixed between the inlet manifold 5 and the outlet manifold 4 to form a plane. The coolant introduced into the channel inlet 3 first flows into the inlet manifold 5, is then dispersed to the head 111 structure of each cooling channel 11, then flows through the tail 113 structure of each cooling channel 11, and finally flows through the outlet manifold 4 and out of the channel outlet 2 to achieve the heat exchange effect of the coolant.

[0024] In one embodiment, when the cooling channel group 1 includes more than two cooling pipes 11, each cooling channel is located at a different horizontal plane, so that the cooling channel group 1 can dissipate heat to multiple surfaces of the heat-generating object. Therefore, each cooling pipe 11 in the cooling channel group 1 can be adaptively changed according to the surface shape of the heat-generating object. For example, when the heat-generating object is cylindrical, the inlet manifold 5 is arranged along the circumference of the circle on one side of the cylinder, and the outlet manifold 4 is arranged along the circumference of the circle on the other side of the cylinder. Each of the cooling pipes 11 is arranged at intervals between the inlet manifold 5 and the outlet manifold 4. Each cooling pipe 11 in the cooling channel group 1 remains horizontal. The connection between the cooling pipe 11 and the inlet manifold 5 and the outlet manifold 4 can be vertical, or at a certain angle so that each cooling pipe 11 is coiled along the side surface of the cylinder to achieve a heat exchange effect. When the heat-generating object is a prism, the inlet manifold 5 is arranged along the circumference of the plane on one side of the prism. The outlet manifold 4 is arranged along the plane circumference of the other side of the prism, and each of the cooling pipes 11 is arranged at intervals between the inlet manifold 5 and the outlet manifold 4. Each cooling pipe 11 in the cooling channel group 1 remains horizontal, thereby wrapping at least one side surface of the prism to achieve a heat exchange effect; when the heating object is a prism or a frustum, the inlet manifold 5 and the outlet manifold 4 are still arranged along the circumference of the two end faces, and each of the cooling pipes 11 is arranged at intervals between the inlet manifold 5 and the outlet manifold 4. At this time, each cooling pipe 11 is not horizontal, thereby wrapping at least a part of the side surface of the prism or the frustum to achieve a heat exchange effect.

[0025] The number of layers of the tree structure in the cooling pipe 11 is preferably two, three or four, and the pipes of each layer of the tree structure increase in a two-fold relationship. Therefore, the spacing between the tree heads 111 of each cooling pipe 11 needs to be at least the width of the tree tail 113 to ensure smooth arrangement between the cooling pipes 11. Therefore, the tree structure is a binary tree structure, and the branches of each layer of the tree structure remain parallel to prevent excessive diversion, which causes the cooling pipes 11 on one side of the tree head 111 to be too far apart and have a poor heat exchange effect.

[0026] In one embodiment, when there are multiple cooling pipes 11 and they are located in the same plane, the higher the number of layers of the tree-like structure, the farther the distance between the tree heads 111. In order to ensure that the heat exchange area of ​​the cooling pipe 11 in the horizontal plane is larger, a third surrounding pipe 8 is arranged between the outlet main pipe 4 and the inlet main pipe 5. The third surrounding pipe 8 is located at the ends of the outlet main pipe 4 and the inlet main pipe 5, and at the edge of the cooling channel group 1. Therefore, supplementary heat exchange can be performed on the parts where the tree heads 111 cannot exchange heat, thereby increasing the overall heat exchange area of ​​the cooling channel group 1. In some embodiments, the flow channel inlet 3 and the flow channel outlet 2 usually need to be designed centrally to reduce the overall area occupied by the cooling pipe 11 group. Therefore, a first surrounding tube 7 is provided on one side of the inlet manifold 5, and a second surrounding tube 6 is also provided on one side of the outlet manifold 4. The third surrounding tube 8 is located on the other side of the inlet manifold 5 and the other side of the outlet manifold 4. The first surrounding tube 7 and the second surrounding tube 6 are arranged around the edge of one side of the cooling flow channel group 1. The end of the first surrounding tube 7 is connected to the flow channel inlet 3, and the end of the second surrounding tube 6 is connected to the flow channel outlet 2, so that the flow channel inlet 3 and the flow channel outlet 2 are centrally arranged to reduce the overall volume occupied by the cooling flow channel group 1 and increase the heat exchange area.

[0027] As shown in Figure 2, the present application also relates to a liquid cooling plate, comprising a liquid cooling plate body 9 and any one of the above-mentioned cooling channel structures, wherein the cooling channel group 1 is attached to or embedded in one or both sides of the surface of the liquid cooling plate body 9, so that the heat exchange area of ​​the liquid cooling plate gradually increases from one side to the other side, so as to cope with the problem of gradually increasing coolant temperature in the cooling pipe 11 on the cooling plate, which is conducive to balancing the temperature of the liquid cooling plate from one side to the other in the horizontal direction.

[0028] It should be noted that the liquid cooling plate body 9 can be a coplanar flat plate structure for single-sided heat exchange for the heat source; it can also be a non-coplanar bent plate structure for at least two sides of the heat source for heat exchange; multiple liquid cooling plates can also be assembled to form a cooling shell for comprehensive heat exchange for the heat source.

[0029] 3-6, the present application also relates to a battery system, including a battery casing, a battery cell group and a liquid cooling plate. In this embodiment, the liquid cooling plate body 9 is a coplanar flat plate. The battery cell group and the liquid cooling plate body 9 are arranged in the battery casing. The liquid cooling plate body 9 is located on the top or bottom surface of the battery cell group, which is conducive to heat exchange on the top or bottom surface of the battery cell group and ensures uniform heat exchange of the battery cell group. The flow direction of the cooling pipe 11 on the liquid cooling plate body 9 is consistent with the length direction of the battery casing, which is conducive to the arrangement of the tree structure and the effect of uniform heat distribution. It should be noted that in other embodiments, the liquid cooling plate body 9 can also be spliced ​​on the six surfaces of the battery cell group to achieve comprehensive heat exchange.

[0030] The battery cell group includes multiple rows of linearly arranged battery cells, and side liquid cooling plates 10 are provided on both sides of each row of battery cells. The side liquid cooling plates 10 are in contact with the side walls of the battery cells, and the side liquid cooling plates 10 are connected to the interior of the liquid cooling plate body 9. Each of the side liquid cooling plates 10 includes a liquid inlet 102 and a liquid outlet 101. The liquid inlets 102 of the side liquid cooling plates 10 are connected in series to form a liquid inlet pipe 104, and the liquid outlets 101 of the side liquid cooling plates 10 are connected in series to form a liquid outlet pipe 103. In some embodiments, multiple liquid inlet pipes 104 and liquid outlet pipes 103 can be provided, which are respectively assembled at both ends of the side liquid cooling plates 10.

[0031] When filling the liquid, the coolant is sent to each liquid inlet pipe 104 and the flow channel inlet 3 of the liquid cooling plate body 9 through the shunt pipe 30, and then flows out through each liquid outlet pipe 103 and the flow channel outlet 2 of the liquid cooling plate body 9 after flowing through the side liquid cooling plate 10 and the liquid cooling plate body 9, and finally is collected and discharged through the converging pipe 20. The side liquid cooling plate 10 is combined with the liquid cooling plate body 9 to achieve three-sided cooling on the top or bottom surface of the battery cell and on both sides of the battery cell, greatly increasing the heat exchange area between the battery cell and the coolant, and improving the charging safety of the battery cell during high-rate charging. In this embodiment, the battery cell is cylindrical, and the side liquid cooling plate 10 adopts a serpentine liquid cooling plate, which is conducive to fitting the side wall surface of the battery cell and increasing the heat exchange area. In other implementations, the structure of the side liquid cooling plate 10 changes with the shape of the battery cell.

[0032] It should be noted that the direction of the above-mentioned filling can be changed to achieve reverse filling.

[0033] Each layer of the tree-like structure in the cooling pipe 11 within the liquid cooling plate body 9 covers 6-9 battery cells, so that the number of battery cells cooled in each layer is not too large, thereby preventing the problem of uneven cooling caused by the attenuation of heat exchange effect from being too serious. In this embodiment, the tree-like structure has three layers.

[0034] When the liquid cooling plate body 9 is located on the top surface of the battery cell group, the cooling pipe 11 contacts the aluminum bar above the battery cell for heat exchange. The stamped liquid cooling plate body 9 on the top of the battery cell is directly in contact with the welded aluminum bar above the battery cell. During high-rate charging, the aluminum bar generates severe heat, and the top liquid cooling plate body 9 can exchange heat with it. At the same time, the aluminum bar and the battery cell pole are welded to cool the battery cell.

[0035] In summary, the cooling channel structure, liquid cooling plate, and battery system provided by this application have the following technical effects:

[0036] 1. By designing the cooling pipes 11 into a tree-like structure, the number of cooling pipes 11 can be gradually increased, effectively addressing the problem of coolant gradually rising in the cooling pipes 11. By increasing the heat exchange area, the heat exchange effect is improved, thereby balancing the temperature difference of the overall heat exchange;

[0037] 2. The number of layers and quantity of cooling pipes 11 can be increased according to actual conditions to ensure full coverage of heat exchange and increase the heat exchange area;

[0038] 3. The combination of the cooling pipe 11 and the liquid cooling plate can form a heat exchange plate with uniform heat exchange, and the cooling channel design is flexible, which is conducive to balancing the heat exchange temperature of the entire heat exchange plate and reducing the temperature difference;

[0039] 4. Liquid cooling plate and serpentine liquid cooling tube are used to realize three-sided liquid cooling heat exchange, which greatly improves the heat exchange efficiency and better temperature control.

Claims

1. A cooling channel structure, comprising: A cooling channel group (1), the cooling channel group (1) comprising at least one cooling pipe (11), wherein the direction of liquid flow in the cooling pipe is set to be a first direction, the cooling pipe (11) is distributed in a tree-like structure from one side to the other side along the first direction, one side of the tree-like structure is a tree head (111), and the other side is a tree tail (113); A flow channel inlet (3), the flow channel inlet (3) being in communication with a side of a tree head (111) of a cooling pipe (11) in the cooling flow channel group (1); A flow channel outlet (2), the flow channel outlet (2) being in communication with a side of a tree tail (113) of a cooling pipe (11) in the cooling flow channel group (1).

2. A cooling channel structure according to claim 1, wherein: When the number of cooling pipes (11) in the cooling channel group (1) is more than two, one side of the cooling channel group (1) is connected to an inlet manifold (5), and the other side of the cooling channel group (1) is connected to an outlet manifold (4), the channel inlet (3) is connected to the inlet manifold (5), and the channel outlet (2) is connected to the outlet manifold (4).

3. A cooling channel structure according to claim 2, wherein: The cooling pipes (11) in the cooling channel group (1) are located on the same horizontal plane, and each cooling pipe (11) is arranged at intervals between the inlet manifold (5) and the outlet manifold (4).

4. A cooling channel structure according to claim 2, wherein: At least two cooling pipes (11) in the cooling channel group (1) are not coplanar, and each cooling pipe (11) is arranged at intervals between the inlet manifold (5) and the outlet manifold (4).

5. A cooling channel structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The cooling pipe (11) comprises at least two layers of tree-like structures. When the tree-like structure has more than two layers, a trunk (112) is further provided between the tree head (111) and the tree tail (113) of the tree-like structure.

6. A cooling channel structure according to claim 5, wherein: The tree structure is a binary tree structure, and the branches of each layer of the tree structure remain parallel.

7. A cooling channel structure according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein: A first surrounding tube (7) is also provided on one side of the inlet manifold (5), a second surrounding tube (6) is also provided on one side of the outlet manifold (4), and a third surrounding tube (8) is also provided between the other side of the inlet manifold (5) and the other side of the outlet manifold (4); the first surrounding tube (7), the second surrounding tube (6) and the third surrounding tube (8) are all provided around the edge of the cooling channel group (1).

8. A liquid cooling plate, comprising a cooling channel structure according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and a liquid cooling plate body (9), wherein the cooling channel group (1) is attached to or embedded in one or both side surfaces of the liquid cooling plate body (9).

9. A battery system, comprising a battery casing, a battery cell group and a liquid cooling plate according to claim 8, wherein the battery cell group and the liquid cooling plate body (9) are arranged in the battery casing, and the liquid cooling plate body (9) is located on the top surface or the bottom surface of the battery cell group.

10. A battery system according to claim 9, wherein: The battery cell group comprises a plurality of rows of linearly arranged battery cells, and side liquid cooling plates (10) are provided on both sides of each row of battery cells, the side liquid cooling plates (10) are fitted with side walls of the battery cells, and the side liquid cooling plates (10) are connected to the inside of a liquid cooling plate body (9).

11. A battery system according to claim 10, wherein: The flow direction of the cooling pipe (11) on the liquid cooling plate body (9) is consistent with the length direction of the battery housing.

12. A battery system according to claim 10, wherein: The number of battery cells covered by each layer of the tree-like structure is 6-9.

13. A battery system according to claim 10, wherein: When the liquid cooling plate body (9) is located on the top surface of the battery cell group, the cooling pipe (11) contacts the aluminum row above the battery cell for heat exchange.

14. A battery system according to claim 10, further comprising a converging pipe (20) and a shunt pipe (30), wherein the shunt pipe (30) is used to shunt the coolant to the side liquid cooling plate (10) and the liquid cooling plate body (9), and the converging pipe (20) is used to converge and discharge the coolant in the side liquid cooling plate (10) and the liquid cooling plate body (9).

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