Battery Cell Spacer With Protrusions For Thermal Insulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery cell spacers provide inadequate thermal insulation and mechanical compensation for swelling, posing safety risks due to thermal runaway and mechanical pressure in battery stacks for electric vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A spacer design featuring a base plate with protrusions on both sides, where each protrusion forms a hollow bead or dimple shape, reducing contact area and allowing for active cooling and elastic deformation to manage thermal and mechanical stress, formed from materials like fiber-reinforced polymer composites or metallic sheets with insulation layers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If battery cells are placed in direct contact in a stack, then the device complexity and material usage are reduced, but thermal insulation is insufficient and thermal runaway risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer incorporates a porous layer between the base plate and the battery cell surface. This porous structure provides thermal insulation by trapping air pockets that reduce heat transfer, while still maintaining mechanical contact for swelling compensation. The porous material allows the spacer to fulfill the thermal insulation function without requiring a completely complex multi-component structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer is constructed as a composite structure combining a base plate (for mechanical support and swelling compensation) with a porous insulating layer (for thermal insulation). This composite approach allows each layer to perform its specific function optimally, achieving both thermal protection and mechanical functionality in a single integrated component rather than requiring multiple separate elements.
2Reliability
If spacers are used to compensate for battery cell swelling, then mechanical safety is improved, but the contact area increases leading to higher heat transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer applies local quality by having different regions with different properties: the base plate provides mechanical compliance for swelling compensation, while the porous layer provides thermal insulation. The contact points are localized rather than distributed across the entire surface, reducing the effective thermal conduction path while maintaining mechanical functionality where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The porous layer interruptsthe direct thermal conduction path between battery cells. Even though the spacer maintains mechanical contact for swelling compensation, the porous structure creates thermal resistance by trapping air pockets, thereby reducing heat transfer while preserving the mechanical support function.
3Strength
If a large contact area is used between spacer and battery cells, then mechanical support and swelling compensation are improved, but thermal insulation performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer design applies local quality by concentrating mechanical support functions at specific contact points through the base plate, while the porous layer provides distributed thermal insulation. This allows adequate mechanical support with localized contact areas rather than large continuous contact surfaces, thereby maintaining strength while minimizing heat transfer.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite structure of base plate plus porous layer enables the system to achieve both mechanical support and thermal insulation simultaneously. The base plate provides the necessary mechanical strength and swelling compensation, while the porous composite material provides thermal insulation, resolving the contradiction between mechanical support and heat transfer reduction.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional solid spacers are used, then manufacturing is simple, but thermal insulation and active cooling capability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The porous layer can be manufactured using established techniques such as foam injection, sintering, or bonding porous sheets to the base plate. These are standard industrial processes that do not require complex equipment, maintaining ease of manufacture while significantly improving thermal insulation performance compared to solid spacers.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite spacer combining base plate and porous layer can be manufactured as a single integrated component using co-molding, co-curing, or bonding processes. While slightly more complex than solid spacers, these are well-established composite manufacturing techniques that remain cost-effective and scalable, achieving better thermal insulation without sacrificing manufacturing feasibility.
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 spacer design enhances thermal insulation, reduces the risk of thermal runaway, and effectively compensates for battery cell swelling, improving safety and reducing material costs by minimizing weight and contact area while allowing for active cooling and elastic deformation.
Implementation Method 1
the second protrusion directly surrounds the first protrusion, forming a spacer element having a hollow bead shape... The spacer according to one embodiment is formed of an electrically non-conductive material... reducing contact area and allowing for active cooling
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of first protrusions protruding from a plane of the base plate at the first side... a plurality of second protrusions protruding from the plane of the base plate at the second side... allowing for elastic deformation
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The present disclosure refers to a spacer for spacing battery cells from each other in a battery cells stack. The spacer comprises: - a base plate comprising a first side and a second side opposed to the first side; - a plurality of first protrusions protruding from a plane of the base plate at the first side, wherein each of the first protrusions coincides with a depression on the second side; and - a plurality of second protrusions protruding from the plane of the base plate at the second side, wherein each of the second protrusions coincides with a depression on the first side. Each of the first protrusions directly surrounds one corresponding second protrusion.