Battery Pack Cooling Pipe Support for Stable Thermal Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle battery cooling systems experience significant variations in cooling performance due to temperature fluctuations, affecting the thermal contact resistance and overall cooling efficiency of battery modules.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle battery pack configuration featuring a cooling pipe with an urging member having elastically-deformable legs aligned along its longitudinal direction, which maintains consistent contact with the battery module surface, utilizing the weight of the battery module to apply a uniform restoring force and absorb attachment errors through elastic deformation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single continuous arm portion is used in the spring sheet, then the cooling pipe can be urged along its entire length, but the urging force fluctuates significantly with temperature changes
Solution Approach 1:
The single continuous arm portion is divided into multiple separate arm portions (first arm portion and second arm portion) that are positioned at different locations along the cooling pipe. Each arm portion independently urges the cooling pipe at its specific location, which distributes the thermal contact resistance across multiple points and reduces the impact of temperature fluctuations on the overall urging force stability.
2Force
If the cooling pipe is made rigid to maintain stable contact, then the urging force remains constant, but attachment errors and misalignments cannot be absorbed
Solution Approach 1:
The urging member is designed with elastically deformable arm portions that can change their physical state from rigid to flexible based on operational needs. During assembly, the elastic deformation capability allows absorption of attachment errors and misalignments. During operation, the restored urging force maintains stable thermal contact, thus achieving both manufacturing precision tolerance and force stability.
3Manufacturing precision
If the arm portion is made soft to absorb temperature variations, then attachment errors can be absorbed, but the urging force becomes insufficient at low temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
Different arm portions are strategically positioned at different locations along the cooling pipe to perform specialized functions. Some arm portions are optimized for absorbing attachment errors through elastic deformation, while others are positioned to maintain adequate urging force under various temperature conditions. This localized optimization allows the system to achieve both attachment error absorption and sufficient urging force magnitude.
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 stabilizes the urging force and thermal contact resistance, ensuring consistent cooling performance across temperature variations and improving the reliability and efficiency of battery module cooling.
Implementation Method 1
The urging member has plural elastically-deformable legs that are aligned in a longitudinal direction of the cooling pipe
Implementation Method 2
a cooling pipe in a flat plate shape that abuts a surface of the battery module
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle battery pack capable of suppressing a variation in cooling performance for a battery module by a cooling pipe. A vehicle battery pack includes a cooling pipe in a flat plate shape that abuts a lower surface of respective one of battery modules; and an elastic urging member that urges the cooling pipe upward to make the cooling pipe abut the lower surface of respective one of the battery modules. The elastic urging member has plural elastically-deformable legs that are aligned in a longitudinal direction of the cooling pipe.