Battery Pack Cooling Apparatus with Laminated Duct Array
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery packs for electric vehicles face challenges in temperature regulation, leading to inefficient cooling, uneven temperature distribution, and reduced lifespan due to the weight and inefficiency of current cooling systems, which are critical for maintaining consistent cell performance and safety.
Innovation Solution
A novel battery pack cooling apparatus utilizing laminated cells connected by a clip system and a cooling grid array with strategically designed coolant flow paths facilitated by rubber sheets, ensuring even heat exchange and compact, lightweight design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If traditional heat sinks with coolant loops are used to cool battery modules, then cooling capability is provided, but the system becomes heavy and bulky with poor cooling efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a coolant loop system with pumps and channels to circulate cooling fluid through the battery pack, replacing heavy solid heat sinks with a hydraulic cooling system that achieves better cooling efficiency while reducing weight
Solution Approach 2:
The battery pack is divided into modular sections with individual cooling channels for each cell or group of cells, allowing targeted cooling and reducing the overall cooling system weight compared to a single large heat sink
2Temperature
If thick heat sinks are used to cool battery modules, then cooling is provided, but the battery pack volume increases and weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hydraulic coolant loop system provides efficient heat removal without requiring thick solid heat sinks, enabling compact battery pack design with reduced volume
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling channels are integrated within the plane of the battery module structure rather than adding thickness, allowing cooling functionality without increasing the primary dimensions of the battery pack
3Device complexity
If centralized cooling is used for battery modules, then cooling system is simplified, but temperature uniformity across cells deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple independent channels, each serving specific cells or cell groups, allowing individualized cooling control that maintains temperature consistency while keeping the system structurally simple
Solution Approach 2:
Each cooling channel is designed with local characteristics optimized for its specific cells, creating temperature-uniform cooling zones throughout the battery pack without requiring a complex centralized system
4Productivity
If cooling systems are designed for high power capacity, then cooling performance is improved, but weight and volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hydraulic coolant loop system achieves high cooling power capacity through optimized fluid flow rates and heat exchange surface area, avoiding the need for heavy structural components
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system parameters (flow rate, coolant temperature, channel dimensions) are optimized to achieve high cooling capacity with minimal system weight and volume
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 provides effective and uniform cooling to each cell, extending battery lifespan, enhancing safety, and reducing weight and cost while enabling standardization of battery packs for broader adoption and cost savings.
Implementation Method 1
The result is that cells in the center of each module are more thermal insulated, resulting in more difficult heat exchange
Implementation Method 2
coolant loop
Data Source
AI summary
Using a simple structure to facilitate a flow path delivering coolant in an even and well-distributed manner, providing efficient and effective cooling for power battery packs in electric vehicles. The heat exchange apparatus is composed of an array of cooling duct plates, with ducts for coolant to flow within, with front and back covers and their respective rubber sheets facilitating the changing of direction of the coolant, providing a pathway for the coolant to flow throughout the array. Individual cells of the battery pack will be fitted in the spaces between these ducts, connected in series by a novel system of electricity-conducting clips, forming a structure where a comprehensive, well-distributed and compact cooling pathway can exist within the battery pack.