Battery Cell Suppressant Chamber for Thermal Runaway Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery cell systems face challenges in effectively suppressing thermal runaway, which can lead to cell failure and safety issues, particularly in electric vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A system is designed to suppress thermal runaway in battery cells by incorporating a chamber to store a suppressant, which is released through a valve when a thermal runaway condition is detected, effectively mitigating the thermal runaway event.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a suppressant system is added to battery cells to suppress thermal runaway, then safety and reliability are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The suppressant chamber is nested within the battery cell enclosure, with the chamber positioned to contain the suppressant material in a compact space. This nesting approach allows the suppression system to be integrated into the existing cell structure without significantly increasing overall device complexity, while still providing effective thermal runaway suppression capability.
2Reliability
If a chamber and valve system is incorporated to store and release suppressant, then thermal runaway suppression effectiveness is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The suppression system is segmented into distinct functional components: a suppressant chamber for storage, a valve mechanism for controlled release, and a delivery pathway to the battery cell. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured and tested independently, then assembled together, which can actually simplify the overall manufacturing process compared to trying to manufacture a fully integrated suppression system as a single unit.
3Speed
If suppressant is stored in a chamber within the enclosure, then response time to thermal runaway is improved, but available volume for battery cells decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The suppressant chamber is positioned locally within the enclosure at a location that provides rapid access to the battery cell in case of thermal runaway. The chamber is designed with a rupture disk or valve that can quickly release suppressant directly onto the cell, ensuring fast response time. The local placement of the chamber, rather than distributing suppressant throughout the entire enclosure, minimizes the volume occupied by the suppression system while maintaining effective response capability.
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 system effectively prevents thermal runaway from spreading to neighboring cells, allows affected cells to be replaced without affecting surrounding cells, and potentially increases battery pack density.
Implementation Method 1
the suppressant is configured to vaporize upon being released from the chamber to the battery cell stack
Data Source
AI summary
A system configured to suppress thermal runaway in a battery cell. The system includes a battery cell stack including: C cathode electrodes each including a cathode current collector, a cathode active layer arranged on the cathode current collector, and an external connector extending from the cathode current collector; A anode electrodes each including an anode current collector, an anode active layer arranged on the anode current collector, and an external connector extending from the anode current collector; and S separators. C, A, and S are integers greater than one. A chamber is configured to store a suppressant that is configured to suppress thermal runaway. A valve is configured to open in response to a thermal runaway condition at the battery cell stack to release the suppressant from the chamber to the battery cell stack.