Battery Pack Extinguishant Circulation Through Cooler Rupture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicles fail to effectively supply extinguishant to power storage stacks to lower their temperature sufficiently due to increased pressure within the pack case, leading to incomplete immersion and insufficient cooling.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle design with a refrigerant circulation path equipped with an extinguishant inlet, a fragile portion in the cooler that breaks under pressure, and a pressure release valve located higher than the power storage stacks, allowing extinguishant to be introduced into the housing case and discharged at a lower temperature, ensuring complete immersion and effective cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the extinguishant inlet and fragile portion are provided in the coolant circulation path to supply extinguishant into the pack case, then the coolant circulation path can be used as a path for supplying extinguishant, but the introduced extinguishant is kept in the pack case and not replaced with a new extinguishant, and the entire battery may not be immersed in the extinguishant due to increased pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from a static sealed pack case to a dynamic system with pressure-dependent communication. The fragile portion remains intact during normal operation but breaks when extinguishant pressure exceeds a threshold, dynamically opening a communication path between the coolant circulation path and pack case interior, allowing continuous extinguishant supply and circulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The fragile portion is designed to be discarded (broken) under specific conditions (high extinguishant pressure) to achieve the desired function (extinguishant circulation). This intentional failure mode transforms the sealed structure into an open circulation system, allowing used extinguishant to be replaced with fresh extinguishant from the coolant circulation path.
2Temperature
If the pressure release valve is positioned at the top of the housing case, then extinguishant can be discharged from the opened pressure release valve to supply new extinguishant at lower temperature, but the pressure inside the housing case must become equal to or more than a predetermined pressure to open the valve
Solution Approach 1:
The high pressure that initially prevents complete battery immersion is converted into a beneficial force. This pressure buildup is necessary to break the fragile portion and ultimately opens the pressure release valve, creating a circulation pathway that allows cold extinguishant to enter and hot extinguishant to exit, transforming the harmful pressure into a useful circulation driver.
Solution Approach 2:
The system operates in periodic cycles: extinguishant is pumped into the pack case, pressure builds up, the fragile portion breaks, the pressure release valve opens, extinguishant circulates and discharges, then the cycle repeats. This periodic action ensures continuous replacement of extinguishant and maintains effective cooling.
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 design ensures reliable and effective supply of extinguishant to power storage stacks, effectively lowering their temperature by immersing them in a new extinguishant at a lower temperature, thereby preventing overheating.
Implementation Method 1
a fragile portion to be broken by pressure of the extinguishant introduced from the extinguishant inlet into the refrigerant circulation path
Implementation Method 2
refrigerant for cooling the one or more power storage stacks being allowed to flow through the cooler
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes: one or more power storage stacks; a housing case; a cooler placed adjacent to the housing case, refrigerant being allowed to flow through the cooler; and a refrigerant circulation path that is placed outside the housing case and allows the refrigerant discharged from the cooler to be circulated through the refrigerant circulation path and introduced again into the cooler, the refrigerant circulation path is equipped with an extinguishant inlet that allows an extinguishant to be introduced into the refrigerant circulation path, the cooler is equipped with a fragile portion to be broken by pressure of the extinguishant introduced from the extinguishant inlet into the refrigerant circulation path, to cause an inside of the housing case to communicate with the refrigerant circulation path, and the housing case is equipped with a pressure release valve located higher than the one or more power storage stacks.