Battery Pack Gas Aspiration for Early Thermal Runaway Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery management systems (BMS) often fail to detect thermal runaway events in large battery packs, leading to potential fires or explosions, and lack an effective early warning system for operators or drivers.
Innovation Solution
A gas sensing system comprising at least one sensor, a fan, a plurality of tubes with aspirating points, and a control unit, which pulls gases and particulates from the battery pack, detects changes in physical stimuli, and determines if a thermal runaway event has occurred based on predefined threshold concentrations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If BMS is used to manage battery packs, then battery performance and longevity are improved, but the system fails to detect thermal runaway events leading to potential fires or explosions
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the battery pack monitoring into multiple independent sensing zones with individual sensors and aspirating tubes positioned at different locations within the battery enclosure, enabling localized detection of thermal runaway events
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces gas sensors and particulate sensors as intermediary detection devices that indirectly sense thermal runaway conditions by detecting gases and particulates released during thermal runaway, rather than directly monitoring battery cell parameters
2Measurement precision
If sensors are positioned inside the battery pack enclosure, then early detection capability is improved, but the system complexity and installation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit serves multiple functions: it controls the fan operation, processes sensor signals from multiple sensor types (gas and particulate), determines thermal runaway events based on threshold comparisons, and activates alarm outputs, consolidating complexity into a single multi-functional controller
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a fan-driven pneumatic aspiration system with tubes to actively draw gases and particulates from the battery enclosure to the sensors, ensuring reliable sample delivery without complex mechanical linkages or moving parts inside the battery pack
3Reliability
If gas sensing system is implemented, then thermal runaway detection is improved, but energy consumption increases due to fan operation
Solution Approach 1:
The fan operates periodically rather than continuously, being activated only when the control unit determines a thermal runaway event is occurring based on sensor threshold comparisons, thereby reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining reliable detection capability
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the natural buoyancy and pressure differential created by thermal runaway gases rising and expanding to assist fan operation, reducing the energy required for gas aspiration during actual thermal runaway events
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 system effectively detects thermal runaway events in battery packs, providing an early warning to operators or drivers, thereby enhancing safety by preventing potential fires or explosions.
Implementation Method 1
a fan positioned in a vicinity of the at least one sensor... control the fan to pull, through the plurality of tubes, gases and/or particulates generated in the battery pack
Data Source
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AI summary
A sensing system 200 comprising a sensor 211 positioned inside an enclosure 201 of a battery pack 107, a fan 207 positioned in a vicinity of the sensor 211, a plurality of tubes 209 each connected between the fan 207 and the battery pack 107, and a control unit 203 connected to the fan 207 and the sensor 211. The control unit 203 is configured to control the fan 207 to pull, through the plurality of tubes 209, gases and/or particulates generated in the battery pack 107, and control the fan 207 to throw the pulled gases and/or particulates onto the sensor 211. The sensor 211 is configured to detect a change in one or more physical stimuli associated with the battery pack 107 based on the pulled gases and/or particulates. Thereafter, the control unit 203 is configured to detect an occurrence of a thermal runaway event in the battery pack 107 based on the detected change in the one or more physical stimuli.