Battery Box Collection Chamber for Thermal Runaway Pressure Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery technologies face safety challenges due to the risk of thermal runaway and pressure buildup, which can lead to explosions and fires, especially when emissions from one battery cell can cause short circuits in others, and there is a need to enhance the structural strength while ensuring timely discharge of high-temperature and high-pressure emissions.
Innovation Solution
A battery box design featuring an electrical chamber, a thermal management component, and a collection chamber with pressure relief zones on the collection chamber walls to direct emissions away from the electrical chamber, utilizing a thermal management component to separate and cool emissions, and incorporating temperature-sensitive materials for the pressure relief zones to ensure timely discharge and structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a collection chamber is added to collect emissions from battery cells, then the safety of the battery is improved by containing emissions, but the pressure and temperature inside the collection chamber increase, creating a new safety risk
Solution Approach 1:
The collection chamber is segmented into multiple regions with different pressure relief zones distributed on its walls. Each zone independently relieves pressure from different directions, preventing localized pressure buildup while maintaining overall containment. This segmentation allows the system to benefit from emission collection while distributing and managing the pressure risk across multiple controlled release points.
2Stress or pressure
If pressure relief zones are added to the collection chamber wall, then the pressure relief capability is improved, but the structural strength of the chamber wall is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure relief zones are designed with locally optimized properties - they have reduced thickness or material density only at the specific relief locations while maintaining full structural strength in the surrounding wall areas. This allows the wall to be strong where needed for structural integrity while having localized weak points that reliably fail at controlled pressure thresholds to relieve excess pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure relief zones are pre-designed with predetermined failure characteristics that activate at specific pressure thresholds. Before pressure buildup becomes dangerous, these pre-engineered zones automatically relieve pressure through controlled deformation or rupture, preventing catastrophic failure of the entire chamber structure.
3Device complexity
If the first pressure relief zone is disposed on the bottom wall of the protective member, then the pressure relief function is simplified, but the structural strength and collision safety performance of the battery are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of symmetrically distributing pressure relief zones or placing them centrally on the bottom wall, the zones are asymmetrically positioned on the side walls at strategic locations. This asymmetric placement optimizes both the pressure relief efficiency and the structural integrity during collision, as the side wall positions allow the bottom wall to maintain its full thickness and strength for impact resistance.
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 solution effectively reduces the risk of thermal runaway and structural damage by directing and cooling emissions, enhancing the safety of the battery by preventing explosions and maintaining structural integrity during thermal events.
Implementation Method 1
a thermal management component, configured to accommodate a fluid to adjust the temperature of the battery cell
Implementation Method 2
the thermal management component is configured to separate the electrical chamber and the collection chamber
Implementation Method 3
a pressure relief mechanism, configured to be actuated when an internal pressure or temperature of the battery cell reaches a threshold, to relieve the internal pressure
Implementation Method 4
a wall of the collection chamber is provided with a first pressure relief zone, and the first pressure relief zone is configured to relieve the emissions in the collection chamber
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present application provide a box of a battery. The box includes: an electrical chamber configured to accommodate a plurality of battery cells, a battery cell including a pressure relief mechanism, and the pressure relief mechanism being configured to be actuated when an internal pressure or temperature of the battery cell reaches a threshold, to relieve the internal pressure; a thermal management component configured to accommodate a fluid to adjust the temperature of the battery cell; and a collection chamber configured to collect emissions discharged from the battery cell when the pressure relief mechanism is actuated, where the electrical chamber and the collection chamber are disposed on both sides of the thermal management component, a wall of the collection chamber is provided with a first pressure relief zone, and the first pressure relief zone is configured to relieve the emissions in the collection chamber.