Battery Cooling Jacket with Thermostatic Branch Flow Balancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery cooling systems face challenges in maintaining uniform temperatures across multiple battery packs due to variations in heat generation and flow resistance, leading to inefficient cooling and potential battery deterioration.
Innovation Solution
A battery cooling system with a jacket featuring a branch channel that returns to a main channel, equipped with a self-powered temperature control valve, such as a wax-type, bellows-type, or SMA-type thermostat, which adjusts flow resistance based on temperature to ensure appropriate cooling medium distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a cooling medium flow passage is provided in a battery pack and driven by an electric pump or electric fan, then the cooling medium can be circulated to cool the battery, but the flow rate of cooling medium varies due to variation in passage area, bends, and heat generation amount, making it impossible to make temperatures of all battery packs uniform
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing individual temperature control valves at each battery pack's branch channel outlet. Each valve independently adjusts the flow resistance for its specific battery pack based on local temperature conditions, enabling localized flow rate control to compensate for variations in passage geometry and heat generation, thereby achieving uniform temperature distribution across all battery packs.
2Temperature
If the internal diameter of cooling medium inlets and outlets is set differently for upstream and downstream jackets, then uniform cooling of all battery modules can be achieved, but the system complexity increases and flow rate variation still occurs due to passage area and bend variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by using temperature control valves that dynamically adjust flow resistance parameters at each battery pack outlet. Instead of fixing the flow distribution through complex passage geometry variations, the system changes the flow resistance parameter adaptively at each outlet based on local temperature conditions, simplifying the overall passage design while achieving uniform cooling.
3Quantity of substance
If orifices are provided to make flow rates uniform by water flow resistance, then flow distribution can be controlled, but flow rate variation still occurs due to passage area, bends, and heat generation variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by using temperature control valves that sense local temperature conditions at each battery pack and automatically adjust the flow resistance accordingly. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables the system to adapt to variations in heat generation and passage geometry, maintaining optimal flow rate distribution without requiring complex pre-calculation of orifice sizes for each variation scenario.
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 allows for uniform temperature control across battery packs, prolonging battery life and improving durability while being low-cost, simple, and reliable, with features like leak holes for constant flow monitoring and pressure relief to prevent malfunctions.
Implementation Method 1
a self-powered temperature control valve, such as a wax-type, bellows-type, or SMA-type thermostat, which adjusts flow resistance based on temperature
Implementation Method 2
a battery cooling system that cools a battery including a plurality of battery packs by a jacket with a branch channel
Data Source
AI summary
A battery cooling system (1) configured to distribute a cooling medium at an appropriate flow rate. The battery cooling system cools a battery including a plurality of battery packs (3) by a jacket (2). The jacket includes a branch channel (supply branch channel 12, discharge branch channel 13) that branches from a main channel (supply main channel 10, discharge main channel 11) and returns to the main channel. The main channel is directly coupled to pressure feeding pump (P) that pressure feeds a cooling medium. The battery cooling system includes a temperature control valve (5, 5′, 5″) provided at the branch channel through which the cooling medium flows out from the channel of the jacket to an outside and returns to the main channel. The temperature control valve adjusts a degree of opening of a valve corresponding to a temperature of the cooling medium nearby.