Immersion Battery Pack Layout for Low-Resistance Cooling Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery packs face challenges in efficiently managing cooling fluid flow resistance and temperature variation across battery cells, leading to localized overheating and reduced performance.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design with inlets and outlets positioned to face the narrower side surfaces of battery cells, reducing flow resistance and pressure drop, and utilizing an electrically insulating cooling fluid to immerse the cells, promoting symmetrical fluid flow and balanced cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If inlets and outlets are positioned to face the main surfaces of battery cells, then the cooling fluid can cover a larger area, but the flow resistance and pressure drop increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by positioning inlets and outlets to face the narrower side surfaces of battery cells rather than the larger main surfaces. This localized configuration reduces the flow resistance and pressure drop in specific critical areas while maintaining effective cooling coverage through the strategic arrangement of multiple inlets and outlets along the cell arrangement direction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional cooling approach (cooling from the ends of the battery pack) to a three-dimensional approach by immersing battery cells in cooling fluid and providing inlets and outlets along both width and length directions. This dimensional expansion enables symmetric fluid flow patterns and reduces pressure drop while maintaining comprehensive cooling coverage.
2Temperature
If cooling fluid flows through the accommodating space immersing battery cells, then temperature variation is reduced, but flow resistance increases due to the immersed configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the asymmetric geometry of battery cells (with narrower side surfaces compared to main surfaces) to optimize cooling fluid flow. By positioning inlets and outlets to face the narrower side surfaces, the system creates an asymmetric flow configuration that reduces flow resistance while maintaining effective cooling, leveraging the natural geometric asymmetry of the cells rather than forcing a symmetric arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the cooling fluid flow into multiple independent paths by providing multiple inlets and outlets spaced apart along the battery cell arrangement direction. This segmentation divides the overall cooling task into smaller flow segments, reducing the pressure drop and flow resistance in each segment while collectively achieving comprehensive cooling coverage across all battery cells.
3Stability of the object's composition
If multiple inlets and outlets are spaced apart along the battery cell arrangement direction, then symmetric fluid flow is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing structure serves multiple functions: it provides structural containment for battery cells, defines the accommodating space for cooling fluid, and integrates the inlet and outlet configurations. This multi-functionality reduces overall device complexity by combining several functions into a single component rather than requiring separate structures for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the inlet and outlet configurations into a unified symmetric arrangement along the battery cell arrangement direction. By combining the positioning of multiple inlets and outlets into a coordinated symmetric pattern, the system achieves balanced fluid flow while minimizing the complexity of the overall configuration through integrated design.
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 design enhances driving efficiency by minimizing flow resistance and temperature variation, ensuring balanced cooling and improved performance of battery cells.
Implementation Method 1
cooling fluid which flows through an accommodating space of the housing from the inlets to the outlets and immerses at least a portion of each of the battery cells
Implementation Method 2
increasing the driving efficiency to form a forced flow of cooling fluid due to the reduced flow resistance
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack includes battery cells capable of reducing flow resistance of cooling fluid through inlets for inflow of cooling fluid and outlets for outflow of cooling fluid, increasing driving efficiency to form a forced flow of cooling fluid due to the reduced flow resistance or a reduced pressure drop caused by the reduced flow resistance, and reducing temperature variations on different sides of the battery cells, thereby preventing local overheating.