Battery Module Bus Bar Cooling Paths for Fast-Charge Heat Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery modules face challenges in effectively cooling bus bars and battery cells, especially under high current and fast charging conditions, leading to potential temperature rises, performance deterioration, and safety risks.
Innovation Solution
A battery module with a novel cooling structure, featuring a bus bar with a cooling flow path that includes a first flow path, a second flow path formed in parallel, and a third flow path formed perpendicular to the direction of the slot, allowing for efficient coolant flow and heat dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a conventional one-way cooling structure is used, then the structure is simple, but the cooling efficiency is insufficient under high current and fast charging conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling flow path is divided into multiple segments: a first flow path extending in a first direction, a second flow path extending in a second direction intersecting the first, and a third flow path extending in a third direction intersecting both previous paths. This segmentation creates a three-dimensional cooling network that improves heat dissipation efficiency while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through modular construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling structure transitions from a conventional two-dimensional planar cooling path to a three-dimensional multi-directional cooling network. The cooling flow paths extend in multiple directions (first, second, and third directions) within the bus bar, creating volumetric heat dissipation that significantly enhances cooling efficiency under high current conditions.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple battery cells are stacked to increase capacity, then the energy density increases, but the heat accumulation problem worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling flow paths are configured to extend in multiple spatial directions (first, second, and third directions) within the bus bar structure, transforming the cooling approach from surface-level to volumetric. This multi-dimensional cooling network effectively dissipates heat generated by stacked battery cells, preventing heat accumulation while maintaining high capacity.
3Power
If the bus bar cross-sectional area is increased to reduce resistance, then the electrical performance improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single large-cross-section bus bar, the invention segments the cooling function into multiple flow paths within the bus bar structure. The first, second, and third flow paths are distributed throughout the bus bar, allowing effective cooling without requiring an excessively large overall cross-sectional area, thus maintaining electrical performance while controlling structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling flow paths are configured to extend in multiple directions (first, second, and third directions) within the bus bar, creating a three-dimensional cooling network. This multi-directional approach distributes the cooling function throughout the bus bar volume, reducing the need for a uniformly large cross-section and thereby controlling device complexity while maintaining effective heat dissipation.
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 improved cooling structure effectively lowers the temperature of battery cells and bus bars, enhances the stability of the battery module by minimizing internal temperature deviations, and ensures safer operation by preventing overheating and performance degradation.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling flow path is formed in the bus bar... allowing for efficient coolant flow and heat dissipation
Implementation Method 2
heat dissipation... effectively lowers the temperature of battery cells and bus bars
Data Source
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AI summary
A battery module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a battery cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked, a module frame that surrounds the battery cell stack, a bus bar frame that covers the portion of the battery cell stack exposed from the module frame, and a bus bar mounted on the bus bar frame and connected to an electrode lead protruding from the battery cell stack, wherein a cooling flow path is formed in the bus bar.