Battery Pack Cooling Structure with Discharge Pressure Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery pack cooling structures face challenges in maintaining even temperature distribution between battery modules, leading to potential overcharging or overdischarging, which affects battery performance and longevity due to variations in air flow and static pressure within the cooling system.
Innovation Solution
The proposed cooling structure incorporates a U-turn or dual-sided-discharging design with strategically placed holes in the discharge passage to manage static pressure and air flow, ensuring consistent cooling by allowing partial air discharge from the exhaust passage, thereby reducing temperature variations between battery modules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a chamber inner protrusion is arranged in the intake chamber to increase static pressure and limit unevenness, then temperature distribution uniformity is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the static pressure control function from the intake chamber and relocates it to the discharge passage by removing the chamber inner protrusion. The discharge passage is designed with a specific cross-sectional area that is smaller than the intake passage cross-sectional area, which naturally creates the necessary static pressure increase without adding complex structural elements to the intake chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the discharge passage, specifically setting its cross-sectional area to be smaller than that of the intake passage. This parameter change creates a pressure differential that controls air flow distribution uniformly across battery modules, achieving temperature uniformity without modifying the intake chamber structure.
2Temperature
If the discharge passage cross-sectional area is made smaller than the intake passage cross-sectional area, then air flow distribution is improved and temperature uniformity is enhanced, but pressure loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by creating a localized reduction in cross-sectional area specifically in the discharge passage, while maintaining larger cross-sectional areas in the intake passage and ventilation passages. This localized constraint is sufficient to create the necessary pressure differential for uniform air distribution without causing excessive pressure loss throughout the entire air flow path.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses partial action by applying the cross-sectional area reduction only where needed in the discharge passage, rather than constraining the entire air flow path. This partial constraint achieves the required pressure differential and uniform air distribution while minimizing overall pressure loss.
3Productivity
If cooling air flow is increased to improve cooling efficiency, then temperature control is enhanced, but variations in air flow between battery modules increase leading to uneven cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The invention creates equipotential conditions in the discharge passage by designing it with a smaller cross-sectional area, which equalizes the static pressure across different air flow paths. This pressure equalization ensures that cooling air is distributed uniformly to all battery modules, preventing variations in air flow and achieving even cooling across the entire battery pack.
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 effectively limits variations in air flow and temperature between battery modules, enhancing the cooling efficiency and maintaining consistent battery performance by stabilizing static pressure and air flow, while providing increased layout flexibility compared to structures with chamber protrusions.
Implementation Method 1
The first end of the discharge passage and the intake port of the intake passage are located at the same side. The discharge passage is defined by a wall that includes a communication portion.
Implementation Method 2
a cooling structure of a battery pack that cools an assembled battery accommodated in the battery pack
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling structure of a battery pack includes an assembled battery including stacked battery modules, an intake passage, and a discharge passage. Ventilation passages extend between adjacent ones of the battery modules. The intake passage extends in a stacking direction of the battery modules and includes an intake port to draw in cooling air from a blower. The discharge passage extends in the stacking direction and includes a discharge port at a first end to discharge the cooling air, which flows through the ventilation passages, to the outside. The first end of the discharge passage and the intake port of the intake passage are located at the same side. The discharge passage is defined by a wall that includes a communication portion disposed at a position toward a second end of the discharge passage opposite to the first end to partially discharge air from the exhaust passage.