Battery Heat Exchange Assembly With Uniform Channel Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchange systems in battery systems fail to maintain uniform temperature of the heat exchange fluid, leading to uneven heat transfer among battery cells, which affects their performance and lifetime.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchange assembly with a fluid distribution member that includes an inlet port and an outlet port, arranged to facilitate uniform fluid flow distribution through channels, allowing for a U-turn configuration to enhance thermal performance and even heat exchange across battery cells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a heat exchange system uses a heat exchange fluid that flows through channels to transfer heat between battery cells and the fluid, then heat exchange function is achieved, but the temperature of the heat exchange fluid changes along the flow direction leading to uneven heat exchange across battery cells
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchange element is divided into multiple independent channels (first channels and second channels) that are arranged in parallel. The fluid distribution member segments the incoming fluid flow into multiple streams, directing them into different channels. This segmentation ensures that each channel receives fluid at a controlled temperature, preventing the progressive temperature change that occurs in single-channel systems and achieving more uniform heat exchange across all battery cells.
Solution Approach 2:
Different channels are designed to serve different local regions of the battery cell array. The fluid distribution member creates local variations in fluid flow paths, allowing each channel to be optimized for its specific location. This enables tailored heat exchange performance for different zones within the battery system, addressing the non-uniform temperature distribution problem by providing locally adapted thermal management.
2Productivity
If the heat exchange fluid flows through the heat exchange system, then heat transfer between battery cells and fluid is achieved, but the temperature change of the fluid leads to some battery cells exhibiting higher degree of heat exchange than others
Solution Approach 1:
The fluid distribution member divides the fluid flow into multiple segmented streams that enter different channels simultaneously. This segmentation ensures that all channels receive fluid at essentially the same temperature point in the thermal cycle, preventing the situation where early channels receive cooler fluid and later channels receive warmer fluid. The result is uniform heat exchange degree across all battery cells while maintaining high overall efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates equipotential conditions for heat exchange by ensuring that all channels operate under similar thermal potential conditions. The fluid distribution member balances the thermal potential across all channels by distributing fluid at uniform temperature to each channel entrance, eliminating the thermal potential gradient that naturally develops in sequential flow systems and thereby achieving uniform heat exchange across all battery cells.
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 solution ensures more uniform heat exchange, improving the thermal performance and efficiency of battery cells by maintaining consistent temperature distribution, thereby enhancing their operational safety and longevity.
Implementation Method 1
A system for heat exchange transfer normally employs a heat exchange fluid for heat exchange between the battery cells and the heat exchange fluid
Implementation Method 2
The temperature of the battery cells is critical for the performance of the battery cells... During operation, the battery cells produce heat which needs to be properly rejected from the battery
Data Source
Figure 1~2b
Figure 3a~4
Figure 5
AI summary
There is provided a heat exchange assembly for a battery system, the battery system comprising a plurality of battery cells, the heat exchange assembly comprising: a heat exchange element extending along a first direction and having: a first surface and a second surface facing the first surface along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; at least one first channel and at least one second channel each for accommodating a fluid and provided between the first surface and the second surface, each of the at least one first channel and the at least one second channel extending along the first direction, and at least one first opening provided on the first surface, the at least one first opening being in a fluid communication with the at least one first channel, and at least one second opening provided on the second surface, the at least one second opening being in a fluid communication with the at least one second channel, the heat exchange assembly comprising further: a fluid distribution member mounted on the heat exchange element, the fluid distribution member comprising an inlet port for distributing a fluid in the at least one first channel via the first opening and an outlet port for distributing a fluid out of the at least one second channel via the second opening.