Battery Cooling Bypass for Uniform Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery systems face challenges in maintaining uniform temperature across multiple lithium-ion cells, leading to uneven cooling and potential overheating, which affects performance and service life.
Innovation Solution
A battery system with a temperature control element featuring a thermally conductive connection and a bypass channel that branches off from the main temperature control channel, allowing for parallel flow of conditioned fluid to ensure all cells are cooled uniformly, using a mixture like water and glycol as the temperature control fluid, and is thermally insulated to minimize heating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single temperature control channel is used to cool multiple battery cells in sequence, then the cooling system is simple in structure, but the temperature uniformity across battery cells deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The single temperature control channel is segmented into multiple parallel channels, each serving specific battery cells. This segmentation allows independent temperature control for different cell groups, ensuring uniform cooling across all cells while maintaining reasonable system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
A bypass channel acts as an intermediary element that introduces fresh temperature control fluid into the main flow path. This intermediary mechanism ensures that all battery cells receive adequately cooled fluid, improving temperature uniformity without requiring complete redesign of the entire cooling system
2Device complexity
If temperature control fluid flows through all battery cells sequentially, then the system requires minimal components, but later cells receive warmer fluid and overheat
Solution Approach 1:
The sequential flow path is segmented into parallel flow paths, allowing multiple cells to be cooled simultaneously by the same batch of cool fluid. This reduces the temperature rise experienced by the fluid before reaching subsequent cells, maintaining cooling effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The flow arrangement transitions from a one-dimensional sequential path to a two-dimensional parallel network. This dimensional change allows the fluid to service multiple cells at the same time rather than passing through them in sequence, improving cooling effectiveness without adding significant component complexity
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 design ensures all battery cells are regulated to an approximately equal temperature, enhancing service life and performance by preventing overheating and optimizing cooling conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a temperature control element (16), which has a thermally conductive connection to the battery cells (10) via its temperature control surface (18)
Implementation Method 2
the temperature control fluid is led into the bypass (26), which forms a channel running separately from the temperature control channel (24), in a parallel flow to the temperature control channel (24)
Implementation Method 3
The bypass (26) is arranged outside the temperature control channel (24) and is flow-connected to the temperature control channel (24) by means of a dividing node (28) and a uniting node (30)
Data Source
AI summary
A battery system includes a plurality of battery cells and a temperature-control element that is thermally conductively connected to the battery cells via a temperature-control surface. The temperature-control element has a temperature-control channel in an interior of the temperature-control element. The temperature-control channel is routed on the forward flow side via an inlet and on the return flow side via an outlet from the temperature-control element. A bypass is connected to the temperature-control channel via a dividing node and a merging node with the dividing node being arranged closer to the inlet than the merging node. A motor vehicle includes the battery system.