Counter-Flow Heat Exchanger Layout for Uniform Battery Cell Cooling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery thermal management systems face challenges in maintaining temperature uniformity across heat exchangers, leading to inconsistent cooling of battery cells due to inherent temperature differentials, and require costly tooling changes for varying battery unit sizes.
Innovation Solution
A counter-flow heat exchanger design featuring alternating first and second fluid flow passages with opposite flow directions, integrated into a modular structure allowing for easy scaling without re-tooling, and a cover plate with staggered fluid openings to enhance temperature uniformity and accommodate various battery unit sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If coolant flows through heat exchanger channels in a single direction, then heat transfer occurs efficiently, but temperature uniformity across the heat exchanger surface deteriorates due to inherent temperature differentials between inlet and outlet regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies counter-flow arrangement where adjacent coolant channels have opposite flow directions. This inversion of flow direction in neighboring channels allows the cooler outlet region to be compensated by cooler coolant flowing in the opposite direction, thereby achieving more uniform temperature distribution across the heat exchanger surface while maintaining efficient heat transfer.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements alternating flow directions in adjacent channels, creating local variations in flow characteristics. This allows different regions of the heat exchanger to have optimized local flow patterns that compensate for temperature differentials, with each channel's flow direction tailored to its specific thermal conditions to achieve overall temperature uniformity.
2Reliability
If heat exchanger design is customized for specific battery unit sizes, then thermal management performance is optimized, but manufacturing cost increases due to costly tooling changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the heat exchanger with standardized modular components and alternating channel configurations that can accommodate different battery unit sizes. The same basic heat exchanger design and tooling can be used across multiple product variants by adjusting operational parameters or configuration, eliminating the need for costly re-tooling when adapting to different battery sizes while maintaining optimized thermal management performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The counter-flow heat exchanger design improves temperature uniformity across the heat exchanger surface, ensuring consistent cooling of battery cells and allowing for flexible manufacturing to fit different battery unit sizes without the need for costly tooling changes.
Implementation Method 1
a counter-flow heat exchanger design featuring alternating first and second fluid flow passages with opposite flow directions
Implementation Method 2
the coolant travelling through the heat exchangers removes thermal energy from the battery cells
Implementation Method 3
a cover plate with staggered fluid openings to enhance temperature uniformity
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger for thermal management of battery units made-up of plurality of battery cells or battery cell containers housing one or more battery cells. The heat exchanger has a main body portion defining at least one primary heat transfer surface for surface-to-surface contact with a corresponding surface of at least one of the battery cells or containers. A plurality of alternating first and second fluid flow passages are formed within the main body portion each defining a flow direction, the flow direction through the first fluid flow passages being generally opposite to the flow direction through the second fluid flow passages providing a counter-flow heat exchanger. In some embodiments the heat exchanger has two pairs of inlet and outlet manifolds, the heat exchanger providing a single-pass, counter-flow arrangement. In other embodiments the first and second fluid flow passages are interconnected by turn portions forming a U-flow, counter-flow heat exchanger.