Vehicle Battery Case Cooling Structure With Collision-Protected Passages
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing battery case designs for vehicles face challenges in achieving high cooling efficiency, protecting the cooling mechanism, and preventing liquid ingress due to the placement of the refrigerant passage, which is far from the battery and prone to damage during collisions, leading to potential refrigerant leakage into the battery compartment.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates an in-frame passage within the side frames and an in-plate passage within the support plate, with the in-frame passage positioned below the support plate and inner protruding portions to absorb collision loads, and a piping system isolated from the battery compartment to prevent refrigerant leakage, enhancing cooling efficiency and protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the refrigerant passage is disposed on the opposite side from the battery housing space, then the structural simplicity is improved, but the cooling efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The support plate serves as an intermediary thermal conduction medium between the battery and the refrigerant passage. The refrigerant passage is formed inside the support plate, allowing heat to be transferred from the battery through the support plate to the refrigerant, achieving efficient cooling while maintaining structural simplicity.
2Ease of manufacture
If the refrigerant passage is provided above the bottom plate, then the manufacturing ease is improved, but the liquid-proof performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerant passage is nested inside the support plate structure itself, with the support plate forming a protective enclosure around the passage. This nested configuration allows the support plate to simultaneously serve as both the structural support and the protective barrier, preventing refrigerant leakage while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the refrigerant passage is positioned far from the battery, then the structural stability is improved, but the cooling efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The support plate acts as a thermal intermediary that bridges the gap between the battery and the refrigerant passage. By forming the refrigerant passage inside the support plate, the system achieves effective thermal coupling through the plate's conductivity while maintaining the structural stability provided by the support plate's rigid construction.
4Strength
If the first frame receives collision load, then the structural strength is improved, but the reliability of the refrigerant passage deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerant passage is extracted from the load-bearing first frame structure and relocated to the support plate. This separation removes the refrigerant passage from the collision load path, allowing the first frame to receive collision loads without transmitting stress to the refrigerant passage, thereby maintaining both structural strength and passage reliability.
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
This configuration improves cooling performance by direct heat transfer, protects the cooling mechanism from collision damage, and ensures liquid-proofing of the battery compartment, maintaining the battery's integrity and performance.
Implementation Method 1
The refrigerant flowing through the in-plate passage can exchange heat with the battery by solid heat transfer through the support plate
Data Source
AI summary
The battery case includes a frame body having a rectangular frame shape and a support plate provided at a lower portion of the frame body and supporting the battery. Each of the pair of side frames includes a base portion constituting an inner peripheral surface of the frame body and an inner protruding portion protruding inward in the vehicle width direction from a lower end of the base portion, and the support plate is supported on the inner protruding portion. The battery case includes a refrigerant passage including an in-frame passage which is provided in the inner protruding portion, and is disposed on an inner side in the vehicle width direction with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the base portion and below the support plate.