Battery Pack Thermal Management via Conductive Tabs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Internal combustion engines contribute to high costs, pollution, and resource depletion, while electric vehicles are limited by battery performance, particularly battery life, which is affected by heating during charging and discharging.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle propulsion system that includes a battery pack with thermal management systems to control and limit battery heating, using a combination of fin systems for convection, refrigeration, and heating elements to maintain optimal temperatures, and a method of constructing battery packs with thermally conductive tabs to efficiently conduct heat away from electrical cells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If battery heating is controlled and limited to improve battery life, then battery life is improved, but battery power capability and efficiency are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is divided into multiple individual cells, each with its own thermal management capabilities through tabs that conduct heat away from specific cells. This segmentation allows selective thermal management of individual cells without affecting the entire battery pack's power capability.
Solution Approach 2:
Thermal management is applied locally at the cell level through thermally conductive tabs attached to individual battery cells. Each tab provides localized heat conduction from its associated cell, allowing different thermal conditions to be maintained in different parts of the battery pack based on local heating requirements.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If thermal management systems are added to control battery temperature, then battery life is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal management function is merged with the existing battery cell structure by attaching tabs directly to the battery cells. These tabs serve dual purposes: electrical connection and thermal conduction. This integration eliminates the need for separate, complex thermal management systems while still achieving effective temperature control.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery cells themselves provide thermal management through the conductive tabs that are already part of their structure. The tabs naturally conduct heat away from the cells based on temperature gradients, requiring no active control systems or additional components. The system self-regulates thermal conditions through passive heat conduction.
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 system effectively extends battery life by controlling temperature, improving battery performance and reducing the negative environmental impacts associated with internal combustion engines.
Implementation Method 1
determining heat conduction paths away from the electrical cells; coupling the electrical cells to a current collector via the tabs, with each tab including a respective length and a respective cross sectional area perpendicular to the length
Implementation Method 2
using a combination of fin systems for convection, refrigeration, and heating elements to maintain optimal temperatures
Data Source
AI summary
A method for withdrawing heat from a battery pack is provided, wherein the heat is transferred from at least one electrode of each cell comprising the battery pack, via an electrically and thermally conductive tab, through a current collector plate and through a thermal interface layer to a temperature control panel that is coupled to an external temperature control system.