Battery Damage Detection via Insulating Mediator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrochemical energy storage systems for electric vehicles lack reliable mechanisms to identify mechanical damages, which can lead to false shutdowns or undetected risks of electrical failures and thermal runaway.
Innovation Solution
A damage identification system comprising electroconductive contact elements and an isolating member, with a logical unit that detects contact between these elements due to damage, triggering countermeasures like bridging or fast discharging to ensure safe shutdown.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If simple sensor monitoring is used for battery cells, then the system complexity is low, but the damage identification reliability is insufficient leading to false shutdowns or undetected risks
Solution Approach 1:
An electrically insulating member is introduced as an intermediary between two electrically conductive contact elements. This insulating member normally prevents electrical contact but is designed to break or deform under mechanical damage conditions, thereby enabling the contact elements to touch and signal damage. This intermediary structure provides reliable damage detection while maintaining system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The damage identification system uses the battery cell's own electrical properties and structure to detect damage. The contact elements are positioned to utilize the cell's electrical potential difference, and the insulating member's breakdown under mechanical stress automatically triggers the detection signal without requiring external power or complex electronics.
2Speed
If contact elements are placed close together for rapid detection, then the response speed is fast, but the risk of false contact and false positives increases
Solution Approach 1:
The electrically insulating member serves as a mediator that physically separates the two conductive contact elements while allowing them to be positioned close together. This insulating barrier prevents false contact under normal conditions but is designed to fail specifically under mechanical damage, enabling rapid and reliable damage detection without false positives.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrically insulating member can be implemented as a thin film or flexible insulating layer that maintains the separation between contact elements. This thin insulating structure allows close positioning of contact elements for fast detection while providing sufficient electrical isolation to prevent false contact, and it breaks or deforms under mechanical damage to trigger the signal.
3Reliability
If the isolating member is made robust to prevent false contact, then the false positive rate is low, but the mechanical damage detection sensitivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating member is designed with non-uniform properties: it provides strong electrical insulation under normal conditions to prevent false positives, but contains localized weak points or stress concentration areas that cause it to break or deform specifically under mechanical damage. This local quality variation enables both high reliability and high sensitivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulating member's mechanical or electrical parameters change under mechanical damage conditions. For example, its dielectric strength or structural integrity changes when subjected to impact or deformation, causing it to fail and enable contact between the conductive elements. This parameter change provides sensitive damage detection while maintaining normal insulation performance.
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
Enables reliable and rapid identification of mechanical damages, minimizing false positives and ensuring safe operation by initiating appropriate countermeasures only when actual damage is detected, thus preventing critical cell behavior.
Implementation Method 1
an electric isolating member (3) provided between the first contact element (2) and the second contact element (4) and ensuring that the first contact element (2) and the second contact element (4) are separated and/or electrically isolated from each other
Implementation Method 2
The logical unit (10) is adapted to identify a contact between the first contact element (2) and the second contact element (4)
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~6
Figure 7~8
AI summary
The invention regards a damage identification system (1) of an electrochemical energy storage device (5) comprising: an electroconductive first contact element (2), an electroconductive second contact element (4), an electrically isolating member (3) provided between the first contact element (2) and the second contact element (4), a logical unit, wherein the first contact element (2) and the second contact element (4) are separated and/or electronically isolated from each other due to the isolating member (3), and wherein the logical unit is adapted to identify a contact between the first contact element (2) and the second contact element (4).