Aluminum Housing Hermetic Seal via Segmented Multi-Layer Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Energy storage cells face premature degradation due to chemical reactivity with metallic canisters, which are also electrically and thermally conductive, especially at elevated temperatures, and hermetic sealing with aluminum housings has proven challenging.
Innovation Solution
A housing for energy storage cells is designed using a multi-layer material where a first layer is compatible with the electrolyte and a second layer provides hermetic sealing, allowing aluminum to be exposed internally for reduced corrosion and stainless steel to be used externally for structural integrity and welding, leveraging existing glass-to-metal seal technology.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a metallic canister is used to provide robust physical protection, then mechanical strength is improved, but chemical reactivity with the energy storage cell increases causing premature degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into two distinct parts: an inner canister made of aluminum that contacts the energy storage cell, and an outer shell made of chemically inert material. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function - the aluminum provides mechanical strength and electrical conductivity, while the inert outer shell prevents chemical reactions with the cell components.
Solution Approach 2:
The aluminum canister acts as an intermediary between the chemically reactive outer shell and the energy storage cell. It provides the necessary mechanical protection and electrical conductivity while being chemically compatible with the cell, thus mediating the interaction between the housing structure and the sensitive energy storage components.
2Reliability
If aluminum is used for the housing to provide favorable electrochemical properties, then chemical compatibility is improved, but hermetic sealing becomes difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is separated from the aluminum canister and assigned to the outer shell made of chemically inert material. This segmentation allows the aluminum canister to focus on providing electrochemical compatibility while the outer shell handles the hermetic sealing, which can be achieved through conventional welding or sealing techniques suitable for the inert material.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing employs a composite structure combining aluminum (for electrochemical compatibility) with chemically inert material (for hermetic sealing). This composite approach leverages the advantages of both materials - the aluminum's favorable electrochemical properties and the inert material's ease of hermetic sealing - to overcome the limitations of using either material alone.
3Reliability
If glass-to-metal sealing techniques are used to achieve hermetic seal, then sealing reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase due to high temperature requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing process parameters are changed by avoiding high-temperature glass-to-metal sealing. Instead, the invention uses conventional welding or sealing temperatures that are compatible with aluminum and other housing materials, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process while maintaining hermetic seal quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive and complex glass-to-metal sealing techniques with more economical sealing methods. By using conventional welding or sealing processes that are already well-established in the industry, the manufacturing cost and complexity are reduced while achieving the same hermetic sealing reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A housing for an energy storage cell includes an interior which provides beneficial properties to fabricators of the cell. The cell may be hermetically sealed by conventional laser welding techniques.