Multilayer Battery Cooling Device with Fire Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery cooling devices for electrically driven aircraft lack mechanical stability to protect adjacent cells from mechanical damage and fail to prevent bursting or fire during thermal runaway, posing safety risks.
Innovation Solution
A battery cooling device with a multilayer system comprising mechanically stable fire protection materials and phase change materials, where the phase change material is macroencapsulated and surrounded by two layers of fire protection material, one with hydrated minerals to absorb heat isothermally and the other with fibers for mechanical stability, preventing bursting and providing effective thermal contact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If phase change materials are used for cooling battery cells, then cooling efficiency is improved, but mechanical stability and fire protection are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining phase change material with fire protection material having high mechanical strength and thermal stability. The fire protection material contains inorganic fillers such as glass fibers, ceramic fibers, or basalt fibers, creating a composite structure that simultaneously provides effective cooling through phase change and sufficient mechanical stability to protect against thermal runaway and physical damage.
2Temperature
If phase change materials are used for cooling, then thermal management is improved, but safety during thermal runaway deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of high temperatures during thermal runaway into a beneficial protective mechanism. The fire protection material is designed to undergo endothermic decomposition reactions at elevated temperatures, absorbing thermal energy and releasing inert gases that suppress combustion. This transforms the extreme heat condition into a protective response that prevents thermal runaway propagation.
Solution Approach 2:
The fire protection material provides preliminary anti-action by being pre-configured to resist fire and thermal runaway before they occur. The material's chemical composition and structural design are optimized to activate protective mechanisms (endothermic decomposition, inert gas release, flame inhibition) as soon as elevated temperatures are detected, preventing the development of catastrophic failure modes.
3Device complexity
If conventional cooling materials are used, then simplicity is maintained, but fire protection capability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the thermal and mechanical properties of the cooling material through compositional changes. The fire protection material contains specific inorganic fillers (glass fibers, ceramic fibers, basalt fibers) and binders that alter the material's decomposition temperature, heat capacity, and mechanical strength, enabling it to provide both cooling and fire protection functions within a single integrated structure.
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 absorbs thermal energy during thermal runaway, preventing adjacent cells from overheating and mechanical damage, while the hydrated materials' evaporation displaces oxygen for enhanced fire protection, ensuring safe operation and preventing the phase change material from running or causing overpressure.
Implementation Method 1
The latent heat store is designed to absorb the heat given off by the battery in operation and to cool the battery by means of an isothermal change of state
Implementation Method 2
these batteries require controlled thermal management... phase change materials (PCMs), also known as latent heat stores
Implementation Method 3
the second layer of the fire protection material comprises hydrated material... the hydrated materials' evaporation displaces oxygen for enhanced fire protection
Implementation Method 4
a first layer of the fire protection material is mechanically stable in form... prevents bursting of the battery cell
Data Source
AI summary
A battery cooling device for cooling at least one battery cell (1) of an electrically driven aircraft is provided, with a latent heat store (3). The battery cell is surrounded by a multilayer system having at least two layers (2,4) of fire protection material and a layer of the phase change material of the latent heat store, where an inner layer of the multilayer system, facing the battery cell, and an outer layer of the multilayer system, facing the surroundings, are formed of the fire protection material, and a middle layer, which is disposed between the inner and the outer layers, is formed of the phase change material of the latent heat store, and the fire protection material is of at least two-layer form, where a first layer of the fire protection material is mechanically stable in form and a second layer of the fire protection material comprises hydrated material.