Battery Cooling Duct Rigidity Layout for Rear Collision Energy Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicles with batteries mounted below the rear seat face challenges in absorbing rear collision energy effectively, leading to potential damage to the battery and increased risk to occupants during rear-end collisions.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle design incorporating a cross member and a duct with a high rigidity portion located rearward of the battery, where the high rigidity portion is designed to crush and absorb collision energy, while a lower rigidity portion minimizes damage to the battery by absorbing impact before it reaches the battery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the battery is mounted below the rear seat to improve space utilization, then the vehicle can achieve better space efficiency, but the battery becomes vulnerable to damage during rear-end collisions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cushioning member positioned between the battery and the rear seat that deforms during rear-end collisions to absorb impact energy. This beforehand cushioning mechanism protects the battery from direct collision forces while maintaining the space-efficient mounting configuration below the rear seat.
Solution Approach 2:
The cushioning member acts as an intermediary element between the external collision force and the battery. It mediates the impact by deforming and absorbing energy, preventing the full force of the collision from reaching the battery while allowing the battery to remain in its space-efficient position.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a rigid protective structure is added around the battery to prevent collision damage, then battery protection is improved, but the vehicle structure becomes more complex and heavier
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the rigidity parameter of the protective structure by using a cushioning member with controlled deformation characteristics. Instead of a fully rigid structure, the cushioning member has optimized mechanical properties that allow it to deform under collision forces while providing adequate protection, thus reducing structural complexity and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The cushioning member appears to be constructed from composite materials or a specially engineered material that combines energy-absorbing properties with structural integrity. This allows the protective structure to be both effective and relatively simple, avoiding the need for complex rigid frameworks.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a soft cushioning material is used to protect the battery from collision, then collision energy is absorbed, but the battery may move forward excessively during impact
Solution Approach 1:
The protective structure is segmented into multiple functional zones: a cushioning zone that absorbs energy through deformation, and a constraint zone that limits battery movement. This segmentation allows the system to simultaneously achieve energy absorption and position stability without requiring a single complex component.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective structure incorporates dynamic elements that adapt their behavior during collision. The cushioning member deformability is optimized to provide initial energy absorption while progressively restricting battery movement as deformation increases, achieving both energy absorption and position stability through dynamic response.
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 design effectively consumes collision energy, reducing battery damage and occupant risk by utilizing the high rigidity portion to absorb impact and the lower rigidity portion to protect the battery, thereby enhancing vehicle safety.
Implementation Method 1
the high rigidity portion comes into contact with the cross member and is crushed in an event of a rear end collision, and hence collision energy in the event of the rear end collision can be consumed by the crushing of the high rigidity portion
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes a battery, a cross member, and a duct. The cross member is provided rearward of the battery to extend in a left-right direction of the vehicle. The duct is configured to circulate air inside and outside the battery. The duct includes a high rigidity portion located rearward of the cross member and having a rigidity higher than a rigidity of another portion of the duct.