Vehicle Battery Cooling via Refrigerant Phase Transitions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery cooling systems for electric vehicles, such as air-cooling and water-cooling systems, face challenges in uniformly cooling battery cells due to the inefficiency of refrigerant phase change, leading to inadequate heat management and potential battery lifespan reduction during high-power and long-distance driving.
Innovation Solution
A battery cooling device that employs a refrigerant channel with continuous phase changes, where a liquid-state refrigerant vaporizes to absorb heat from battery cells and is then cooled back into a liquid state by a coolant flowing through a separate coolant channel plate, maintaining consistent cooling performance across all battery cells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a water-cooling system with increased capacity components (air conditioner compressor, radiator, chiller) is used to remove heat from battery cells during high-current operation, then the heat removal capability is improved, but the device complexity and system size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes phase change of refrigerant (liquid to vapor and back to liquid) in the refrigerant channel to absorb and remove heat from battery cells. The refrigerant evaporates at the battery cell surface absorbing latent heat, then condenses in the heat exchanger, providing efficient heat removal without requiring large-capacity mechanical cooling components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a refrigerant as an intermediary substance between the battery cells and the cooling system. The refrigerant absorbs heat directly from battery cells through phase change and transfers it to the coolant via heat exchanger, providing a more efficient heat transfer path compared to direct water cooling
2Temperature
If air-cooling or traditional water-cooling systems are used to cool battery cells, then the cooling system can be implemented, but uniform cooling performance across all battery cells cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerant undergoes phase change from liquid to vapor at the battery cell surface, absorbing latent heat uniformly across all cells. This phase change mechanism ensures consistent cooling performance across all battery cells regardless of their position in the module
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a two-fluid system with refrigerant flowing through channels in direct contact with battery cells and coolant flowing through a separate heat exchanger. This dual-fluid arrangement enables precise thermal management and uniform heat distribution across all cells
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 solution ensures uniform cooling of all battery cells, enhances cooling performance, and reduces the need for increased capacities in air conditioner compressors and chillers, effectively managing battery temperatures within a predetermined range.
Implementation Method 1
a battery is cooled due to heat of vaporization when a liquid-state refrigerant is vaporized by thermally coming in contact with a battery heat source
Implementation Method 2
the vaporized refrigerant is changed back into liquid state by thermally coming in contact with a separate coolant
Data Source
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AI summary
A battery cooling device for a vehicle is provided. The device repeats phase changes of a refrigerant to cool a battery due to heat of vaporization when a liquid-state refrigerant is vaporized by thermally coming in contact with a battery heat source. The vaporized refrigerant is changed back into a liquid state by thermally coming in contact with a separate coolant. The effect of cooling all battery cells is maximized throughout the entire refrigerant channel for cooling a battery and the battery cells are cooled uniformly.