Lithium-ion battery module with active barrier structure for heat-delay diffusion suppression

Abstract

A lithium battery module with a movable blocking structure for inhibiting heat spread and diffusion includes: a housing; a battery pack disposed in the housing, including a battery frame and a plurality of battery cells; a separator plate fixed to the battery frame and surrounding the battery pack to form an internal gas channel, and forming an external airflow channel between the separator plate and the housing, with through holes in the separator plate connecting the internal gas channel and the external airflow channel; a sintered metal mesh blocking layer covering the through holes in the separator plate; movable blades pivotally connected to the separator plate and movable between a preset position and a blocking position; and a thermal expansion foaming element disposed adjacent to the movable blades, wherein when any battery cell experiences thermal runaway and releases high-temperature substances, the high-temperature substances cause the thermal expansion foaming element to expand and push the movable blades from the preset position to the blocking position, thereby at least partially blocking the internal gas channel.

Claims

1. A lithium battery module with a movable barrier structure for inhibiting fire diffusion, comprising: a housing forming an accommodating space, the housing having an inlet and an outlet to define a preset airflow direction, the inlet and outlet respectively communicating with the outside of the housing and the accommodating space; a battery pack disposed in the accommodating space, the battery pack including a battery frame and a plurality of battery cells disposed in the battery frame; a partition plate fixed to the battery frame of the battery pack, extending along the preset airflow direction and surrounding the battery pack to form an internal gas channel, the partition plate being spaced apart from the housing to form an external airflow channel between the partition plate and the housing, the partition plate having a partition plate through hole communicating with the internal gas channel and the external airflow channel; and a sintered metal mesh barrier layer covering the partition plate through hole to provide fire-resistant and breathable functions between the internal gas channel and the external airflow channel; The movable blade is a sheet extending along a first direction, which is perpendicular to both the preset airflow direction and the positive and negative electrode extension directions of the battery cell. The movable blade is pivotally connected to the partition plate and is movable between a preset position and a blocking position. The movable blade has a larger blocking area at the blocking position than at the preset position. A thermal expansion foam is disposed between the partition plate and the battery pack, adjacent to the movable blade. When any of the cells experiences thermal runaway and releases high-temperature substances, these substances come into contact with the thermal expansion foam, causing it to expand and push the movable blade from the preset position to the blocking position, thus at least partially blocking the internal gas passage.

2. The lithium battery module of claim 1, wherein there are multiple sintered metal mesh barrier layers, each of which is provided with a positive electrode corresponding to a multiple of the battery cells.

3. The lithium battery module of claim 1, wherein the movable blade is disposed at opposite ends of the partition plate along the preset airflow direction.

4. The lithium battery module as claimed in claim 3, wherein the movable blades disposed at one end in the preset airflow direction are multiple.

5. The lithium battery module of claim 1, wherein the thermal expansion foam is a strip or sheet extending along the first direction.

6. The lithium battery module of claim 1, wherein the thermal expansion foam is in contact with the movable blade.

7. The lithium battery module of claim 1, wherein the battery rack has a plurality of sub-regions, wherein a compartment space is formed between two of the sub-regions.

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