Battery module and battery pack

Abstract

The present application provides a battery module, comprising a battery cell and a heat dissipation pressure relief piece. The heat dissipation pressure relief piece has a liquid cooling separation part and a smoke exhaust pressure relief part; the smoke exhaust pressure relief part is provided with a pressure relief channel and an exhaust port leading to the pressure relief channel, the liquid cooling separation part being located on a side of the pressure relief channel and vertically connected to the smoke exhaust pressure relief part; an explosion-proof valve of the battery cell is arranged corresponding to the exhaust port, and the battery cell exchanges heat with the liquid cooling separation part. In addition, further provided is a battery pack using the battery module.

Description

Battery module and battery pack

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on January 24, 2024, with application number 2024200287918. The entire contents of the above application 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 battery module and a battery pack. Background Art

[0003] In the relevant technologies of battery packs, in order to dissipate heat from the battery cells and relieve pressure in case of thermal runaway, a liquid cooling plate is usually arranged on the side of the battery cells, and a special pressure relief channel is set in the injection direction of the explosion-proof valve of the battery cells. The above pressure relief channels are usually arranged in an independently arranged pressure relief plate. Technical issues

[0004] When installing the battery cell, the exhaust port of the pressure relief plate and the explosion-proof valve of the battery cell need to be aligned and installed. At the same time, the liquid cooling plate needs to be adjusted according to the position of the battery cell, which will result in a longer installation and adjustment time for the battery cell and low efficiency. When the liquid cooling plate and the pressure relief plate are combined into one, since the pressure relief plate is provided with a pressure relief channel inside and the liquid cooling plate is provided with a liquid cooling channel inside, when the pressure relief plate and the liquid cooling plate are formed into one piece, the junction between the pressure relief plate and the liquid cooling plate is only the wall thickness of the liquid cooling channel and / or the wall thickness of the pressure relief channel. The gas and material released by the battery cell in a thermal runaway state have a large amount of heat, which leads to the risk that the junction between the pressure relief plate and the liquid cooling plate will be easily damaged when subjected to thermal shock from high-temperature gas and high-temperature material. Technical Solutions

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a battery module and a battery pack, including:

[0006] battery cells;

[0007] The heat dissipation and pressure relief component has a liquid cooling partition and a smoke exhaust pressure relief component. The smoke exhaust pressure relief component is provided with a pressure relief channel and an exhaust port connected to the pressure relief channel. The liquid cooling partition is located on one side of the pressure relief channel. The liquid cooling partition is vertically connected to the smoke exhaust pressure relief component. The thickness dimension H1 of the two supporting side walls of the pressure relief channel is between 5 and 10 mm. The explosion-proof valve of the battery cell is corresponding to the exhaust port, and the battery cell and the liquid cooling partition are heat exchanged.

[0008] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a battery pack, including the battery module provided in the embodiment of the application. Beneficial effects

[0009] The present application provides a battery module and battery pack, in which a liquid-cooled partition is arranged on one side of a pressure relief channel and the thickness of the supporting side wall of the pressure relief channel is set between 5 and 10 mm, so that the heat dissipation and pressure relief parts as a whole have a relatively firm and stable structure, thereby avoiding the risk of large concentrated stress at the intersection between the liquid-cooled partition and the smoke exhaust pressure relief part, which may cause the position to be easily damaged when subjected to thermal shock from high-temperature gas and high-temperature materials, ensuring the effectiveness and stability of the heat dissipation and pressure relief functions of the pressure relief channel, and avoiding the risk of high-temperature materials accumulating in the pressure relief channel and causing the pressure relief channel to be blocked. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a battery module of the present application;

[0011] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a battery module of the present application;

[0012] FIG3 is an assembly diagram of the liquid cooling connector and the external pipe fitting in this application.

[0013] Icons: 1-heat dissipation and pressure relief parts, 11-liquid cooling partition, 111-heat exchange plate, 112-heat exchange channel, 12-smoke exhaust pressure relief part, 13-pressure relief channel, 131-support side wall, 14-exhaust port, 15-support partition wall, 16-extended connection part, 17-liquid cooling connector, 171-liquid cooling inner cavity, 172-guide plate, 18-external pipe fittings. Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Specifically, please refer to Figures 1 to 3. The present application provides a battery module, including a battery cell and a heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1. The battery cell can be a square battery, a cylindrical battery, or a prismatic battery. The largest side surface of the battery cell is the large surface of the battery. Among them, the heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1 has a liquid cooling partition 11 and a smoke exhaust and pressure relief component 12. The liquid cooling partition 11 and the smoke exhaust and pressure relief component 12 can be integrally formed or separately provided. The smoke exhaust and pressure relief component 12 is provided with a pressure relief channel 13 and an exhaust port 14 connected to the pressure relief channel 13. As shown in Figure 1, the shape and size of the exhaust port 14 are adapted to the shape and size of the explosion-proof valve of the battery cell. The explosion-proof valve of the battery cell is provided correspondingly to the exhaust port 14. When the battery cell is in a state of thermal runaway, the high-temperature gas, smoke, and high-temperature substances released by the battery cell can enter the interior of the pressure relief channel 13 through the exhaust port 14, and be discharged in an orderly manner under the guidance of the pressure relief channel 13, thereby preventing the battery module from experiencing secondary short circuit or arcing.

[0015] In this embodiment, the liquid-cooling partition 11 is located on one side of the pressure relief channel 13, and the liquid-cooling partition 11 and the supporting side wall 131 of the pressure relief channel 13 are fixedly connected, which is conducive to ensuring the overall structural strength of the heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1. The liquid-cooling partition 11 is vertically connected to the smoke exhaust and pressure relief component 12. When the battery cell is assembled on the heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1, the large surface of the battery cell is in contact with the liquid-cooling partition 11 to ensure that the battery cell and the liquid-cooling partition 11 can exchange heat with the greatest efficiency. This allows the large amount of heat released by the battery cell in normal charge and discharge conditions and / or thermal runaway conditions to be transferred to the liquid-cooling partition 11, realizing heat exchange between the battery cell and the liquid-cooling partition 11, and finally quickly evacuating and removing the heat through the liquid-cooling partition 11, thereby avoiding the risk of heat spread in the battery module.

[0016] The core of this embodiment is that the thickness dimension H1 of the two supporting side walls 131 of the pressure relief channel 13 is between 5 and 10 mm. When the thickness dimension H1 of the supporting side walls 131 is less than 5 mm, the thickness dimension H1 of the supporting side walls 131 is too thin. When the battery cell experiences thermal runaway, the high-temperature gas released by the battery cell or the high-temperature material ejected by the battery cell can easily cause thermal shock to the supporting side walls 131, thereby easily damaging the pressure relief channel 13, causing the high-temperature gas or even high-temperature material to flow out from the damaged area, resulting in heat spread in the battery module. In addition, it is difficult to form the supporting side walls 131 during the production process of the heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1, increasing the difficulty of producing the heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1. At the same time, the supporting side walls 131 also need to bear the weight of at least one battery cell. When the supporting side walls 131 are too thin, they can easily collapse, thereby destroying the structure of the pressure relief channel 13 and the heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1, causing the pressure relief channel 13 to lose its function of dissipating smoke and high-temperature gas in a directional manner. When the thickness dimension H1 of the supporting side wall 131 is greater than 10 mm, the thickness dimension H1 of the supporting side wall 131 is too thick, which not only increases the weight of the heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1, thereby increasing the overall weight of the battery module and the battery pack, which is not conducive to the lightweight design of the battery, but also compresses the unit flow area of ​​the pressure relief channel 13, which easily leads to the risk of high-temperature substances released by the battery cell accumulating in the pressure relief channel 13 and causing blockage, causing the heat dissipation and pressure relief functions of the pressure relief channel 13 to fail, resulting in the risk of more serious thermal runaway and heat spread in the battery module.

[0017] The thickness of the supporting sidewall 131 is between 5 and 10 mm. This not only ensures the structural strength of the supporting sidewall 131 and the heat dissipation and pressure relief member 1, reducing or even preventing the risk of damage from thermal shock, but also prevents the risk of high-temperature material accumulating within the pressure relief passage 13 and causing blockage. This ensures the effectiveness of the heat dissipation and pressure relief functions of the pressure relief passage 13, and effectively ensures the stable and safe use of the battery module and battery pack. The thickness H1 of the supporting sidewall 131 is 6 mm, 7 mm, or 8 mm.

[0018] It should be noted that the thickness of the supporting side wall 131 can also be adjusted and selected within the range of 5 to 10 mm according to the capacity of the battery cell (for passenger cars). That is, when the capacity of the battery cell is small, a smaller size within the range can be selected, such as a size of 5 mm. When the capacity of the battery cell is large, a larger size within the range can be selected, such as a size of 10 mm.

[0019] As an implementation method of this embodiment, please refer to Figures 1 and 2 for details. Two pressure relief channels 13 are provided on the smoke exhaust pressure relief part 12, and a supporting partition wall 15 is provided between the two pressure relief channels 13. The supporting partition wall 15 here is a solid structure. The liquid cooling partition part 11 is provided between the two pressure relief channels 13, and the liquid cooling partition part 11 is fixedly connected to the supporting partition wall 15, which effectively ensures the overall structural strength of the heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1, and is easy to produce.

[0020] As shown in FIG2 , the thickness dimension H2 of the support partition wall 15 is between 3 and 6 mm. When the thickness dimension H2 of the support partition wall 15 is less than 3 mm, the thickness dimension H2 of the support partition wall 15 is too thin. Not only will the high-temperature gas released or the high-temperature material ejected from the battery cell in the event of thermal runaway easily cause thermal shock to the support partition wall 15 and damage to the pressure relief channel 13, causing the high-temperature gas or even high-temperature material to flow into adjacent pressure relief channels 13, leading to the risk of thermal spread in the battery module. Furthermore, it will make it difficult to form the support partition wall 15 during the production process of the heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1, increasing the difficulty of manufacturing the heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1.

[0021] When the thickness dimension H2 of the supporting partition wall 15 is greater than 6 mm, the thickness dimension H2 of the supporting partition wall 15 is too thick, which not only increases the weight of the heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1, thereby increasing the overall weight of the battery module and the battery pack, which is not conducive to the lightweight design of the battery, but also compresses the unit flow area of ​​the pressure relief channel 13, which easily leads to the risk of high-temperature substances released by the battery cell accumulating in the pressure relief channel 13 and causing blockage, causing the heat dissipation and pressure relief functions of the pressure relief channel 13 to fail, resulting in the risk of more serious thermal runaway and heat spread in the battery module.

[0022] The thickness H2 of the support partition wall 15 is between 3 and 6 mm. This not only ensures the structural strength of the support partition wall 15 and the heat dissipation and pressure relief member 1, reducing or even preventing the risk of damage from thermal shock, but also prevents the risk of high-temperature material accumulating in the pressure relief passage 13 and causing blockage, ensuring the effectiveness of the heat dissipation and pressure relief functions of the pressure relief passage 13, and effectively ensuring the stable and safe use of the battery module and battery pack. The thickness H2 of the support partition wall 15 is 5 mm.

[0023] As an implementation of this embodiment, please refer to Figure 2 for details. The liquid-cooled partition 11 has a heat exchange plate 111 and multiple heat exchange channels 112, wherein the heat exchange plate 111 is the side with the largest area in the liquid-cooled partition 11 and exchanges heat with the battery cells. The direction of the heat exchange plate 111 perpendicular to the smoke exhaust and pressure relief part 12 is the width direction W of the heat exchange plate 111, and the multiple heat exchange channels 112 are arranged along the width direction W of the heat exchange plate 111.

[0024] In this way, a heat exchange medium, which can be water or a coolant, flows within the heat exchange channel 112. The large surface of the battery cell abuts against the heat exchange plate 111 of the liquid-cooled partition 11. The large amount of heat released by the battery cell is then transferred to the heat exchange medium via the heat exchange plate 111 of the liquid-cooled partition 11. The flow of the heat exchange medium rapidly discharges the large amount of heat outside the heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1, achieving the purpose of effective heat dissipation.

[0025] As one implementation of this embodiment, specifically referring to Figures 1 and 2 , an extension connection portion 16 is provided on one side of the liquid-cooled partition 11 near the smoke exhaust and pressure relief portion 12. The extension connection portion 16 extends along the extension direction of the heat exchange channel 112. The length of the extension connection portion 16 extending in the width direction W of the heat exchange plate body 111 is not limited herein. The liquid-cooled partition 11 is connected to the smoke exhaust and pressure relief portion 12 via the extension connection portion 16. The connection referred to herein can be a fixed connection, such as a welded connection or an integral molding, or a detachable connection, such as a plug-in connection or a snap-on connection.

[0026] In this way, under the action of the extended connecting part 16, the connection strength between the liquid-cooled partition 11 and the smoke exhaust pressure relief part 12 can be improved, avoiding the risk of fracture at the connection between the liquid-cooled partition 11 and the smoke exhaust pressure relief part 12 caused by the concentrated stress generated by the vertical connection between the liquid-cooled partition 11 and the smoke exhaust pressure relief part 12, thereby improving the overall structural strength of the heat dissipation and pressure relief part 1.

[0027] In order to realize the transportation of external cooling medium to the heat exchange channel 112 of the liquid-cooled partition 11, the present application provides a method. Please refer to Figures 2 and 3 for details. The heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1 also includes a liquid-cooled connector 17 provided with a liquid-cooled inner cavity 171, and an external pipe fitting 18 provided on the liquid-cooled connector 17. The liquid-cooled connector 17 is detachably connected to the liquid-cooled partition 11, and the heat exchange channel 112 is connected to the external pipe fitting 18 through the liquid-cooled inner cavity 171.

[0028] Specifically, the liquid-cooling partition 11 has a protruding extension connector 16 in the direction of extension of the heat exchange channel 112, allowing the liquid-cooling connector 17 to be more easily and conveniently plugged into the liquid-cooling partition 11. To strengthen the connection between the liquid-cooling connector 17 and the liquid-cooling partition 11 and prevent it from being easily separated from the liquid-cooling partition 11, a snap-fit ​​protrusion can be provided on one of the inner wall of the liquid-cooling inner cavity 171 and the liquid-cooling partition 11, and a snap-fit ​​groove can be provided on the other inner wall of the liquid-cooling inner cavity 171 and the liquid-cooling partition 11, and the snap-fit ​​protrusion can be snapped into the snap-fit ​​groove.

[0029] In this way, the heat exchange medium flows from the liquid-cooling connector 17 to the liquid-cooling inner cavity 171, and then flows into the interior of the heat exchange channel 112. A guide plate 172 may be provided in the liquid-cooling inner cavity 171 to allow adjacent heat exchange channels 112 to be connected end to end. Multiple heat exchange channels 112 are formed into a serpentine pipe through the guide plate 172, so that the heat exchange medium can flow from bottom to top along the width direction W of the heat exchange plate body 111, or from top to bottom along the width direction W of the heat exchange plate body 111. This greatly increases the flow distance of the heat exchange medium, improves the heat exchange time between the heat exchange medium and the battery cell, and thus effectively improves the utilization rate of the heat exchange medium.

[0030] As an implementation of this embodiment, please refer to Figures 1 and 2 for details. There are multiple exhaust ports 14, and the multiple exhaust ports 14 are evenly arranged along the extension direction of the pressure relief channel 13. In this way, when multiple battery cells are configured, the explosion-proof valve and the corresponding exhaust port 14 of each battery cell are correspondingly arranged. When thermal runaway occurs in any battery cell, high-temperature gas, smoke and high-temperature substances can be released into the interior of the pressure relief channel 13, and discharged to the outside of the heat dissipation and pressure relief component 1 of the battery module through the guidance of the pressure relief channel 13.

[0031] In addition, as another implementation method of this embodiment, the battery module can also include multiple heat dissipation and pressure relief parts 1, and battery cells installed and fixed on the heat dissipation and pressure relief parts 1. The number of battery cells here can be selected as one or multiple. Multiple exhaust ports 14 are correspondingly arranged on the smoke exhaust and pressure relief part 12, and each battery cell and each exhaust port are correspondingly arranged. Multiple heat dissipation and pressure relief parts 1 are arranged in sequence, and the pressure relief channels 13 of two adjacent heat dissipation and pressure relief parts 1 are connected to each other.

[0032] The term "sequential arrangement" herein should be understood as meaning that the multiple heat dissipation and pressure relief components 1 are sequentially arranged in a direction perpendicular to the heat exchange plate 111 of the liquid-cooled partition 11, with the heat exchange plates 111 of the multiple heat dissipation and pressure relief components 1 being parallel to each other. When the multiple heat dissipation and pressure relief components 1 are sequentially arranged, the battery cells of two adjacent heat dissipation and pressure relief components 1 may abut against each other, and a heat shield may be provided between the battery cells of two adjacent heat dissipation and pressure relief components 1.

[0033] Specifically, the external pipe fittings 18 of two adjacent heat dissipation and pressure relief parts 1 can be connected through a connecting pipe. The connecting pipe fitting here can be selected to deform itself so that the connecting pipe fitting can be adjusted according to the spacing between the liquid cooling connectors 17 of the heat dissipation and pressure relief parts 1. The connecting pipe fitting here can also be selected to be a pipe fitting equipped with an adjustment structure. The adjustment structure is set to perform telescopic adjustment in the axial direction of the connecting pipe fitting, and can also be adjusted according to the spacing between the liquid cooling connectors 17 of the heat dissipation and pressure relief parts 1.

[0034] The present application also provides a battery pack, including the battery module provided in the present application.

Claims

1. A battery module, comprising: electric cores; a heat dissipation and pressure relief member (1), the heat dissipation and pressure relief member (1) having a liquid cooling partition portion (11) and a smoke exhaust and pressure relief portion (12), a pressure relief channel (13) and an exhaust port (14) communicating with the pressure relief channel (13) being provided on the smoke exhaust and pressure relief portion (12), the liquid cooling partition portion (11) being located on one side of the pressure relief channel (13), the liquid cooling partition portion (11) being vertically connected to the smoke exhaust and pressure relief portion (12), the thickness dimensions H1 of two support side walls (131) of the pressure relief channel (13) both being between 5 and 10 millimeters, the explosion-proof valve of the electric core being correspondingly arranged with the exhaust port (14), and heat exchange being performed between the electric core and the liquid cooling partition portion (11).

2. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein, Two of the pressure relief channels (13) are provided on the smoke exhaust and pressure relief portion (12), a support partition wall (15) is provided between the two pressure relief channels (13), the thickness dimension H2 of the support partition wall (15) being between 3 and 6 millimeters, and the liquid cooling partition portion (11) being provided between the two pressure relief channels (13).

3. The battery module according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The liquid cooling partition portion (11) has a heat exchange plate body (111) and a plurality of heat exchange channels (112), the direction perpendicular to the smoke exhaust and pressure relief portion (12) of the heat exchange plate body (111) being the width direction W of the heat exchange plate body (111), and the plurality of heat exchange channels (112) being arranged along the width direction W.

4. The battery module according to claim 3, wherein, An extension connection portion (16) is provided on one side of the liquid cooling partition portion (11) close to the smoke exhaust and pressure relief portion (12), and the liquid cooling partition portion (11) is connected to the smoke exhaust and pressure relief portion (12) through the extension connection portion (16).

5. The battery module according to claim 4, wherein, The liquid cooling partition portion (11) protrudes from the extension connection portion (16) in the extending direction of the heat exchange channels (112).

6. The battery module according to claim 3, wherein, The heat dissipation and pressure relief member (1) further includes a liquid cooling connector (17) provided with a liquid cooling inner cavity (171) and an outer connecting member (18) provided on the liquid cooling connector (17), the liquid cooling connector (17) being detachably connected to the liquid cooling partition portion (11), and the heat exchange channels (112) communicating with the outer connecting member (18) through the liquid cooling inner cavity (171).

7. The battery module according to claim 6, wherein A flow guide plate (172) is provided in the liquid cooling inner cavity (171), and the plurality of heat exchange channels (112) are formed into a serpentine pipe through the flow guide plate (172).

8. The battery module according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The number of the exhaust ports (14) is multiple, and the multiple exhaust ports (14) are uniformly arranged along the extending direction of the pressure relief channel (13).

9. The battery module according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, Comprising a plurality of the heat dissipation and pressure relief members (1) and the electric cores mounted and fixed on the heat dissipation and pressure relief members (1), the plurality of heat dissipation and pressure relief members (1) being arranged in sequence, and the pressure relief channels (13) of two adjacent heat dissipation and pressure relief members (1) being communicated.

10. A battery pack, comprising the battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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