Battery Pack Cooling Member for Targeted Thermal Runaway Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current battery packs face challenges in quickly and effectively suppressing thermal runaway by ensuring coolant water is concentrated at the fire outbreak area, leading to potential cascading thermal runaway due to inefficient water injection methods.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design featuring a cooling member with a fragile part that breaks at predetermined temperatures, combined with a foam pad to guide and concentrate coolant water directly to the fire area, preventing the spread of coolant and enhancing fire suppression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If coolant water is injected into the battery pack to suppress thermal runaway, then fire suppression effectiveness is improved, but the coolant water may not concentrate at the fire outbreak area, reducing suppression efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling member is segmented into multiple independent cooling channels, each capable of independently injecting coolant water at different positions. When thermal runaway occurs at a specific location, only the corresponding cooling channel activates, segmenting the coolant injection to precisely target the fire outbreak area and prevent waste of coolant on non-affected areas.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the cooling member are designed with different functional characteristics. The cooling member includes both sealed cooling channels for general cooling and unsealed channels for targeted fire suppression. This local differentiation ensures that coolant water is delivered with appropriate concentration and pressure exactly where needed, improving both reliability and utilization efficiency.
2Reliability
If a sealed cooling member structure is used to maintain coolant water, then coolant water containment is improved, but rapid injection to the fire area cannot be achieved when thermal runaway occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling member transitions from a static sealed structure to a dynamic system with controllable opening/closing mechanisms. The sealing members can dynamically switch between sealed and unsealed states based on thermal conditions, allowing the system to maintain coolant containment during normal operation and rapidly inject coolant when thermal runaway is detected.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling member incorporates temperature-responsive materials that automatically trigger coolant injection when thermal runaway conditions are detected. The system self-activates without external control, with the sealing members automatically opening in response to temperature changes, ensuring rapid response speed while maintaining containment during normal operation.
3Reliability
If coolant water is injected without targeted guidance, then fire suppression coverage is improved, but the amount of coolant water required increases, reducing efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling member is divided into multiple segmented cooling channels, each responsible for a specific region of the battery pack. This segmentation allows targeted coolant injection only at the fire outbreak location and adjacent areas, providing sufficient suppression coverage while avoiding wasteful dispersion of coolant to non-affected regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different coolant injection strategies to different locations based on thermal runaway detection. High-concentration targeted injection is applied at the fire center, while lower-concentration cooling is applied to surrounding areas. This local differentiation ensures adequate coverage with minimal coolant consumption.
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 allows for rapid and targeted injection of coolant water to the fire area, effectively suppressing internal fires and preventing cascading thermal runaway, thereby enhancing safety and efficiency in battery pack fire management.
Implementation Method 1
at least one fragile part that breaks or melts above a predetermined temperature or pressure is formed on a lower plate of the cooling member
Implementation Method 2
the at least one foam pad that is located between the at least one battery cell stack and the cooling member
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack includes a battery cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked, a pack frame that houses the battery cell stack, a cooling member that is located on an upper side of the battery cell stack and contains a coolant water, and a foam pad that is located between the battery cell stack and the cooling member. At least one fragile part that breaks or melts at a predetermined temperature or pressure or higher is formed on a lower plate of the cooling member. The fragile part of the cooling member is opened, so that the moving path of the coolant water discharged toward the battery cell stack is guided by the foam pad.