Battery Pack Cold Plate Integration for Leakage Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery pack designs for electric vehicles face challenges in efficiently managing heat dissipation, particularly due to the risk of coolant leakage from pipes, which can lead to short circuits or fires, and the difficulty in maintaining optimal temperature control for high-performance battery operation.
Innovation Solution
Integration of a cold plate within the battery pack housing, thermally coupled with battery modules, which receives and circulates coolant through a monolithic channel to transfer heat away from the battery cells, reducing the need for internal pipes and minimizing the risk of leakage by externalizing coolant circulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If traditional pipe-based coolant circulation is used within battery packs, then heat dissipation can be achieved, but the risk of coolant leakage increases leading to short circuits or fires
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the coolant circulation function from internal pipes and relocates it to an external cold plate system. The cold plate is positioned outside the battery module housing, with only inlet and outlet ports penetrating the housing, thereby removing the vulnerable internal piping while maintaining heat dissipation capability through thermal coupling.
Solution Approach 2:
The cold plate acts as an intermediary component between the battery modules and the coolant system. It provides a safe interface for heat transfer through thermal coupling while keeping the bulk of the coolant circulation system external, thus mediating between the need for internal heat removal and the desire to eliminate internal pipes.
2Temperature
If multiple internal pipes are used for coolant circulation, then temperature control can be maintained, but device complexity and leakage risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The complex internal pipe network is extracted and replaced by a simple external cold plate with minimal penetration points. The coolant circulation infrastructure is moved outside the battery module housing, reducing internal complexity to just two ports while maintaining temperature control functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The cold plate merges multiple coolant flow paths into a single external component. Instead of having separate pipes for each battery module or region, the cold plate consolidates the coolant circulation function into one integrated structure that thermally couples with multiple modules, simplifying the overall system architecture.
3Temperature
If coolant pipes are integrated within the battery module housing, then heat transfer efficiency can be improved, but the risk of thermal-related failures increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coolant circulation system is extracted from the internal housing structure and relocated to an external cold plate position. This maintains close thermal coupling for efficient heat transfer while removing the source of thermal-related failures (internal pipes) from the battery module environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of internal pipes (leakage risk) into a beneficial external configuration. By positioning the cold plate externally with minimal penetration, the design acknowledges that some interface is necessary for heat transfer, but locations this interface where leakage would be less harmful and easier to manage.
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 enhances the integrity of the battery pack by reducing the risk of coolant leakage and maintaining optimal temperature, thereby ensuring high-performance and long-life battery operation while minimizing the risk of thermal-related failures.
Implementation Method 1
thermally coupled with the battery module
Implementation Method 2
circulate the coolant from the cold plate inlet to the cold plate outlet to transfer heat away from the battery module
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatuses, systems, and methods of providing electric power to components in electric vehicles are detailed herein. A housing can have a bottom panel and side walls defining a cavity. The bottom panel can define an inlet port and an outlet port. A battery module can be disposed within the cavity. A support structure can be on one side wall. The support structure can have a conduit to pass coolant through the housing. A cold plate can be disposed within the cavity and thermally coupled with the battery module. The cold plate can have an inlet, an outlet, and a channel to circulate the coolant from the inlet to the outlet. A distribution plate can be disposed along a bottom surface of the bottom panel. The distribution plate can have a main channel to convey the coolant from the conduit to the cold plate.