Battery Heat Exchanger Pipe Brazing With Inner-Surface Joint
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchangers for vehicle batteries require sacrificial layers on both surfaces of metal plates, leading to increased material costs due to the need for brazing a pipe member to the outer surface, which complicates manufacturing and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
A configuration where the first and second flow-path-forming plates are brazed with sacrificial layers only on their inner surfaces, and the pipe member is brazed to the inner surface of the first plate, eliminating the need for an outer sacrificial layer on the first plate, and allowing simultaneous brazing of multiple pipe members.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the pipe member is brazed to the outer surface of the first plate, then the pipe member can be brazed simultaneously with the first and second plates, improving manufacturing efficiency, but a sacrificial layer is required on the outer surface of the first plate, increasing material cost
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the pipe member brazing operation from the outer surface brazing process and relocates it to the inner surface. By inserting the pipe member into the through hole and brazing it to the inner surface of the first plate, the need for a sacrificial layer on the outer surface is eliminated, thus reducing material cost while maintaining simultaneous brazing capability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the dimension of the brazing location from the outer surface (external dimension) to the inner surface (internal dimension) through the through hole. This dimensional relocation allows the pipe member to be brazed in a different spatial context, avoiding the need for an outer sacrificial layer while enabling simultaneous brazing operations
2Ease of manufacture
If sacrificial layers are provided on both surfaces of the first plate, then the pipe member can be brazed to the outer surface, but the material cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by providing the sacrificial layer only where it is truly needed - on the inner surface of the first plate where the pipe member is brazed. The outer surface does not require a sacrificial layer since brazing occurs internally, thus optimizing material usage while maintaining brazing capability
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 configuration reduces material costs and improves manufacturing efficiency by minimizing the need for sacrificial layers on both plate surfaces while ensuring accurate placement and sealing of pipe members during brazing.
Implementation Method 1
A first flow-path-forming plate made of a metal and a second flow-path-forming plate made of a metal are brazed to each other
Implementation Method 2
A flow path that allows a liquid heat exchange medium to flow is provided between the first flow-path-forming plate and the second flow-path-forming plate
Implementation Method 3
the liquid medium and the battery module exchange heat while the liquid medium is flowing through the refrigerant flow path
Data Source
AI summary
A first flow-path-forming plate made of a metal and in contact with the outer surface of a battery, and a second flow-path-forming plate made of a metal and joined to an opposite side to the battery are brazed to each other. A flow path that allows a liquid heat exchange medium to flow is provided between the first flow-path-forming plate and the second flow-path-forming plate. The first flow-path-forming plate has a through hole for insertion of a base end portion of a pipe member for supplying and discharging the heat exchange medium. A brazing portion is provided at a portion of the base end portion of the pipe member located inside the flow path, the brazing portion being brazed to the inner surface of the first flow-path-forming plate.