Battery Coolant Drainage Membrane for Reverse-Flow Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery systems lack effective and safe mechanisms for fluid drainage, particularly coolant drainage, which can lead to short circuits and potential fires due to coolant buildup or leakage.
Innovation Solution
A fluid drainage arrangement featuring a trough-shaped base element with a drainage slope, a labyrinth chamber with shaped elements, and a membrane that opens at a predetermined pressure differential, ensuring controlled coolant drainage and prevention of reverse flow, using materials like plastic and aluminum alloy for lightweight and efficient operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fluid drainage arrangement is implemented to prevent coolant buildup, then safety against short circuits and fires is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional components like drainage slopes, labyrinth chambers, and membranes
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage slope, collection chamber, labyrinth chamber, and membrane are integrated into a unified drainage assembly that combines multiple functions (drainage, filtration, one-way flow control) into a single structured unit, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining safety functions
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane acts as an intermediary element between the collection chamber and labyrinth chamber, providing automatic one-way flow control based on pressure differential without requiring external control systems, thus improving reliability while keeping the control mechanism simple
2Ease of operation
If a membrane with predetermined breaking point is used for automatic drainage activation, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase to ensure accurate breaking point behavior
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane is designed with a predetermined breaking point that activates at a specific pressure differential parameter, allowing automatic drainage initiation when coolant buildup reaches critical pressure levels, providing simple operation with reliable parameter-based activation
3Reliability
If a labyrinth chamber with shaped elements is implemented to prevent reverse flow and animal intrusion, then reliability is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The labyrinth chamber employs curved shaped elements arranged in a circular pattern rather than straight linear structures, which effectively prevents reverse flow and animal intrusion while being more amenable to standard manufacturing processes like injection molding, thus improving reliability without excessively complicating manufacturing
4Weight of moving object
If lightweight materials like plastic and aluminum alloy are used, then weight is reduced, but strength and durability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage assembly utilizes composite construction with plastic components for the housing and collection chamber, aluminum for the drainage slope, and specialized membrane materials, combining the advantages of different materials to achieve lightweight construction while maintaining structural strength and durability through material complementarity
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 prevents coolant buildup, reducing the risk of short circuits and enhancing safety by ensuring controlled drainage and preventing animal intrusion, while allowing easy installation and replacement of components.
Implementation Method 1
a base element for a battery assembly, which base element is trough-shaped and has a drainage slope for a coolant
Implementation Method 2
a membrane that opens at a predetermined pressure differential
Implementation Method 3
shaped elements that extend from the side wall into the labyrinth interior to prevent or at least reduce a straight-line flow of a fluid through the labyrinth chamber
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
A fluid drain arrangement (20) for a battery arrangement (12) has a fluid inlet (31), a collection chamber (32), a membrane (40), a labyrinth chamber (34), and a fluid outlet (36). The membrane (40) is located between the collection chamber (32) and the labyrinth chamber (34) and has a closed state (Z1) and an open state (Z2). The membrane (40) is designed to collect a coolant (14) in the collection chamber (32) in the closed state (Z1). The coolant enters the collection chamber (32) via the fluid inlet (31). The membrane (40) then opens from the closed state (Z1) to the open state (Z2) at a predetermined initial differential pressure between a side (51) of the membrane (40) associated with the collection chamber (32) and a side (52) associated with the labyrinth chamber (34). This allows the coolant (14) to drain through the labyrinth chamber (34). Labyrinth chamber (34) to fluid outlet (36) enabled.