Vehicle Battery Flood-Port Cooling for Thermal Runaway Mitigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electrified vehicles face challenges in effectively managing battery thermal events, such as thermal runaway, due to the integration of batteries, which can lead to overheating and potential damage.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a battery cooling system that includes a flood port and conduit to provide cooling fluid directly to the battery enclosure, allowing for active cooling and the use of health sensors to detect thermal events, triggering the supply of cooling fluid to mitigate or prevent overheating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a battery cooling system is implemented with flood port and conduit, then battery thermal management effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into distinct functional components: a flood port for fluid intake, a conduit for fluid transport, and a battery enclosure with internal cooling channels. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining overall system reliability for thermal management.
Solution Approach 2:
A conduit acts as an intermediary element connecting the external flood port to the internal battery cooling channels. This intermediary structure enables efficient fluid transport from the exterior to the battery cells, resolving the contradiction by providing a dedicated thermal management pathway without requiring direct modification of the battery cells themselves.
2Reliability
If active cooling system with flood port is added, then battery safety is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flood port serves multiple functions: it acts as an external access point for cooling fluid, a connection interface for the conduit, and a structural integration point on the battery enclosure. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby improving battery safety while maintaining ease of manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The conduit is nested within the battery enclosure structure, with the cooling channels integrated into the enclosure walls. This nesting approach allows the cooling system to be manufactured as part of the battery enclosure assembly, reducing overall assembly complexity while ensuring battery safety through effective thermal management.
3Reliability
If cooling fluid is supplied directly to battery enclosure, then thermal runaway prevention is improved, but fluid flow requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system employs local quality by directing cooling fluid through specific channels positioned adjacent to individual battery cells or cell groups. This localized cooling approach prevents thermal runaway by addressing hot spots at their source, thereby improving thermal runaway prevention while reducing the overall quantity of cooling fluid required compared to bulk cooling methods.
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 effectively prevents, mitigates, or treats battery thermal events by actively cooling the batteries, ensuring the safety and longevity of the vehicle's battery systems.
Implementation Method 1
The flood port is configured to receive a fluid from a fluid source and supply the fluid to the internal volume to cool the battery
Data Source
AI summary
An electrified vehicle includes a chassis, a body coupled to the chassis, a battery enclosure supported by the chassis and defining an internal volume, a battery disposed within the internal volume, and a flood port accessible from an exterior of the electrified vehicle. The flood port is in direct or indirect fluid communication with the internal volume. The flood port is configured to receive a fluid from a fluid source and supply the fluid to the internal volume to cool the battery.