Battery Pack Bus Bar Cooling via Shielding Unit Openings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery modules face challenges in efficiently cooling bus bars and maintaining the stability of battery cells due to heat generation during charge and discharge cycles, which can lead to increased resistance and reduced performance.
Innovation Solution
A battery module design featuring a terminal shielding unit with integrated upper and lower shielding units, including openings for a cooling medium to flow through, which effectively cools the bus bars without requiring additional structural components, and a housing with through holes for fluid communication to enhance cooling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bus bars are covered by a solid shielding unit, then electrical protection is improved, but heat dissipation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The shielding unit is designed with multiple through-holes that allow cooling medium to pass through, creating a porous structure that simultaneously provides electrical shielding and thermal management. The holes are strategically positioned to enable fluid flow paths that cool the bus bar while maintaining overall shielding functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
A cooling medium (fluid) is introduced as an intermediary substance that flows through the shielding unit's holes to transfer heat away from the bus bar. The fluid acts as a heat transfer medium, absorbing thermal energy from the bus bar and carrying it away through the designated flow paths.
2Temperature
If cooling holes are added to the shielding unit, then heat dissipation is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling function is merged into the existing shielding unit structure by integrating holes directly into it. Rather than adding a separate cooling system, the shielding unit itself is modified to include fluid flow channels, combining electrical protection and thermal management functions in a single component.
Solution Approach 2:
The shielding unit is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: electrical shielding, structural support, and thermal management. The same component that provides electrical protection also serves as the cooling system conduit, eliminating the need for additional dedicated cooling structures.
3Power
If multiple battery cells are assembled in a battery module, then output voltage and current are improved, but heat generation increases
Solution Approach 1:
A liquid cooling system is implemented using hydraulic principles, where a cooling fluid circulates through channels in the shielding unit and housing to actively remove heat from the battery module. The fluid flow paths are designed to maximize heat extraction from high-temperature regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple flow paths and holes distributed across the shielding unit and housing, allowing heat to be removed from different regions of the battery module simultaneously. This distributed cooling approach addresses heat generation across multiple battery cells effectively.
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 effectively cools the bus bars and battery cells, improving performance and lifespan by maintaining low temperatures and preventing short circuits, thus enhancing the overall efficiency and reliability of the battery pack.
Implementation Method 1
A cooling medium may be configured to flow into the first opening and to be discharged out of the second opening, the bus bar being in a region between the first and second openings
Implementation Method 2
The solution effectively cools the bus bars and battery cells, improving performance and lifespan by maintaining low temperatures
Data Source
AI summary
A battery module includes a plurality of battery cells aligned in one direction, each battery cell having electrode terminals, a bus bar coupling the electrode terminals, a terminal shielding unit covering the bus bar, the terminal shielding unit including an upper shielding unit and a lower shielding unit with at least one opening, a pair of first and second end plates arranged outside outermost battery cells, and at least one coupling member coupling the first and second end plates.