Battery Pack Cooling Housing With Bypass Inlet
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-output, large-capacity battery packs generate excessive heat during charging and discharging, leading to temperature deviations between battery cells, which degrade performance and pose a risk of explosion if not properly managed.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design with a housing system that includes multiple units of battery modules, a coolant flow pathway, and a bypass inlet to efficiently distribute a cooling medium, reducing temperature differences and pressure variations between cells by directing coolant flow through both ends and central portions of the modules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a large-capacity battery module is configured by electrically connecting a plurality of battery cells to increase output and capacity, then the output voltage or output current increases, but the battery pack generates a large amount of heat during charging and discharging
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is divided into multiple battery modules, each with its own cooling channels. The cooling system is segmented into first cooling channels through battery cells and second cooling channels along exterior surfaces, allowing distributed heat management across the entire battery pack structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system transitions from one-dimensional internal cooling to two-dimensional cooling by adding second cooling channels that extend along the exterior surfaces of battery modules in the width direction, providing additional heat dissipation pathways perpendicular to the main flow direction.
2Temperature
If cooling air flows horizontally through the battery pack, then heat discharge is improved, but temperature deviation between battery cells occurs due to uneven heat distribution
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the battery pack are provided with different cooling configurations. First cooling channels are positioned at specific locations within battery modules, while second cooling channels are distributed along exterior surfaces. This local differentiation ensures that each region receives appropriate cooling based on its specific heat generation characteristics, maintaining temperature uniformity across all battery cells.
3Temperature
If the temperature in the battery pack rises due to heat generated from battery cells, then the performance of the battery pack is degraded, but increasing the cooling medium flux increases the operation burden on the fan
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system utilizes the width direction (second direction) as an additional dimension for heat dissipation. Second cooling channels are formed along the exterior surfaces of battery modules in the width direction, allowing cooling medium to flow and dissipate heat laterally. This dimensional expansion increases the effective cooling surface area without requiring proportional increases in cooling medium flux or fan power.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing structure itself is utilized as part of the cooling system. Second cooling channels are formed between the exterior surfaces of battery modules and the interior surface of the housing, using the existing structural space for heat dissipation purposes. This eliminates the need for additional dedicated cooling components and reduces the overall cooling load that the fan must handle.
4Stability of the object's composition
If a bypass inlet is provided to supply cooling medium to both ends of battery modules, then temperature difference between cells is reduced, but the cooling system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing serves multiple functions: it provides structural containment for battery modules and simultaneously acts as a cooling channel structure. The interior surface of the housing forms second cooling channels that directly contact battery module exterior surfaces, eliminating the need for separate cooling plates or additional structural components.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling medium acts as an intermediary that transfers heat from battery cells through first cooling channels and from battery module exterior surfaces through second cooling channels to the housing. This intermediary fluid efficiently carries heat away from multiple locations simultaneously, reducing temperature differences without requiring complex mechanical cooling structures.
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 design enhances the lifespan of the battery pack and fan operation by effectively managing temperature and pressure differences, even with a small flux of cooling medium, thereby improving charging and discharging efficiency and reducing the risk of explosion.
Implementation Method 1
a first coolant flow pathway through the battery modules of the first unit and the second unit
Implementation Method 2
a flow of the coolant medium can be realized between the inlet and the outlet in a flow direction
Implementation Method 3
one or more guide members between a battery module of the second unit and the interior surface of the housing
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
Disclosed is a battery pack capable of improving a temperature difference and a difference pressure between battery cells. The battery pack according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of battery modules disposed at a predetermined interval so as to face sides of a battery cell; and a housing surrounding the battery module and formed an inlet on one surface corresponding to a side of the battery module, wherein the inlet of the housing includes a main inlet supplying the cooling medium to the central portion of the battery module and a bypass inlet supplying the cooling medium to both ends of the battery module. By the configuration, an operation of the fan is reduced, thereby improving lifespan of the fan and the battery pack.