Battery Cooling Sheathing for Leak Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooling systems for batteries in hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or electric vehicles face issues with coolant leaks and condensate formation, which can damage batteries and electronic components due to material aging, vibrations, and temperature changes, leading to corrosion and short circuits.
Innovation Solution
A cooling system with sheathing elements surrounding coolant-conducting components to prevent liquid escape and condensate formation, featuring liquid-impermeable, flexible, and thermally insulating sheathing elements with drain openings and moisture sensors to manage leaks and condensate, and a gastight configuration to enhance insulation and leak detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If coolant delivery hoses are fitted with inner tubes to improve leak tightness, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a sheathing element made of flexible, liquid-impermeable material that surrounds the coolant delivery hoses and battery. This thin film approach provides leak protection without requiring complex inner tube structures, resolving the contradiction between reliability and device complexity.
2Reliability
If the cooling system components are surrounded by sheathing elements to prevent liquid escape, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sheathing element is constructed as a flexible, liquid-impermeable thin film that envelops the coolant delivery hoses and battery. This approach provides comprehensive leak protection while maintaining simplicity, as the sheathing can be implemented as a single continuous barrier rather than multiple complex components.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheathing element is arranged to surround both the coolant delivery hoses and the battery within a common protective envelope. This nested configuration allows a single sheathing structure to protect multiple components, reducing overall system complexity compared to individual protective structures for each component.
3Reliability
If sheathing elements are made liquid-impermeable to prevent coolant escape, then reliability is improved, but ease of manufacture worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The sheathing element is made from flexible, liquid-impermeable material that can be manufactured as a continuous film or tube. This material approach balances liquid impermeability requirements with manufacturing feasibility, as flexible impervious materials are commercially available and can be produced using standard extrusion or lamination processes.
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 protects batteries and electronic components from coolant leaks and condensate damage, reducing thermal issues and improving the reliability of the cooling system while maintaining low costs and ease of inspection.
Implementation Method 1
at least some of the further coolant-conducting components are at least partially surrounded by at least one sheathing element, such that a closed volume space is formed between the at least one sheathing element and the at least some of the further coolant-conducting components
Implementation Method 2
featuring liquid-impermeable, flexible, and thermally insulating sheathing elements
Implementation Method 3
the battery to be cooled or battery cells of the battery are usually arranged on or on top of the at least one coolant-conducting heat sink, allowing thermal energy to be transferred between the heat sink and the battery or battery cells
Implementation Method 4
at least one conduit for feeding coolant to the at least one heat sink and at least one conduit for carrying coolant away from the at least one heat sink
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling system includes at least one coolant-conducting heat sink configured to cool a battery. The cooling system also includes further coolant-conducting components including at least one conduit configured to feed coolant to the at least one heat sink and at least one conduit configured to carry coolant away from the at least one heat sink. At least some of the further coolant-conducting components are at least partially surrounded by at least one sheathing element, such that a closed volume space is formed between the at least one sheathing element and the at least some of the further coolant-conducting components.