Battery Enclosure Protective Fin for Thermal Port Adaptability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Electrified vehicle battery packs face challenges in thermal management due to varying packaging environments, requiring adaptable enclosure designs that can efficiently manage thermal energy through fluid circulation while accommodating different port configurations.
Innovation Solution
The battery assembly includes a tray and cover with bosses and protective fins, allowing for the creation of coolant ports through machining operations, enabling fluid flow paths with adaptable port locations and protection features to suit diverse vehicle packaging needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the enclosure design uses fixed port configurations, then manufacturing is simpler, but adaptability to different vehicle packaging environments is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure design incorporates multiple boss configurations (first boss, second boss, third boss) that can serve different functions depending on the application. These bosses can provide coolant ports, structural support, or mounting points, allowing the same enclosure design to adapt to various vehicle packaging environments without requiring completely different designs for each application.
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure design allows for selective activation of different port configurations based on the specific vehicle packaging requirements. The coolant ports can be selectively opened or closed, and different boss configurations can be utilized depending on the thermal management needs and spatial constraints of the particular vehicle application.
2Reliability
If coolant ports are provided through bosses, then fluid circulation for thermal management is enabled, but the risk of foreign object damage to ports increases
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure design incorporates protective features such as recessed boss configurations and strategic port positioning that shield the coolant ports from potential foreign object damage. The bosses are designed to protrude in a manner that provides natural protection, and the port locations are selected to minimize exposure to areas where foreign objects might enter the enclosure.
Solution Approach 2:
The boss structures serve as intermediary elements between the external environment and the internal coolant ports. These bosses act as protective barriers that can absorb or deflect foreign objects before they reach the vulnerable port openings, while still allowing fluid circulation when the ports are activated for thermal management.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple boss configurations are used for port provision, then adaptability to different packaging environments is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure design combines multiple boss configurations into a single integrated structure. Rather than manufacturing separate components for different port configurations, all boss types (first boss, second boss, third boss) are incorporated into one enclosure design that can be manufactured as a single piece or pre-assembled unit, reducing the need for multiple tooling sets and simplifying the manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The multiple boss configurations are designed to serve multiple functions within the same enclosure. The bosses can provide coolant ports, structural reinforcement, and mounting points, allowing a single enclosure design to meet various packaging requirements without requiring separate specialized components for each function.
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 design facilitates efficient thermal management by allowing fluid circulation through the battery pack, providing flexible port configurations that can be adapted for different vehicle environments, reducing manufacturing complexity and costs while ensuring effective thermal energy management.
Implementation Method 1
A fluid can communicate through portions of the enclosure outside the open area. The fluid can help to manage thermal energy levels
Data Source
AI summary
An exemplary battery assembly according includes, among other things, a tray, and a cover adjacent the tray to provide a flow path therebetween. The battery assembly further includes a tray boss configured to selectively provide a port through the tray to the flow path, a cover boss configured to selectively provide a port through the cover to the flow path, and a protective fin that is spaced from, and extends at least partially about, the tray boss or the cover boss. An exemplary battery coolant port protection method includes, among other things, forming a cover or a tray with both a boss and a protective fin. The method further removing material from the boss to provide a coolant port to a flow path between the cover and the tray.