Battery Pack Cooling Plates with Wick-Driven Natural Convection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large-capacity battery packs used as motor driving power sources generate excessive heat during charge and discharge operations, leading to potential battery cell deterioration, and existing cooling solutions require separate drivers to circulate coolant, increasing costs.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design featuring a plurality of cooling plates with a coolant flow passage and wicks that allow coolant to flow naturally, eliminating the need for a separate driver, and utilizing thermally conductive materials for efficient heat dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a separate driver is used to circulate coolant, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The coolant circulation system is designed to operate autonomously without external drivers. The wick structure enables natural capillary action to drive coolant flow through the cooling plates, and the battery cells themselves provide the heat source that drives natural convection currents, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating the need for external pumping equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical pumping systems with passive physical phenomena. Instead of using motor-driven pumps to circulate coolant, the system utilizes capillary action through wicks and natural convection currents generated by temperature differences, substituting mechanical actuation with fundamental physical effects.
2Temperature
If multiple cooling plates are used, then heat dissipation capability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into multiple discrete cooling plates that can be manufactured independently and then assembled. Each plate contains integrated wick structures and coolant channels, allowing for standardized mass production of individual units that are then stacked to form the complete cooling assembly, facilitating modular manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling plates utilize composite construction combining different materials with complementary properties. The plates incorporate wick materials with appropriate capillary characteristics, thermally conductive materials for heat transfer, and structurally sound base materials, creating a multi-material composite structure that optimizes both performance and manufacturability.
3Temperature
If coolant flow passage is integrated into cooling plates, then heat exchange efficiency is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coolant flow passages are integrated directly into the cooling plate structures themselves rather than being separate components. The wick materials and coolant channels are combined within the same plate body, creating a unified component that performs both cooling and fluid transport functions, thereby reducing the total number of parts and assembly steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling plates incorporate porous wick materials that provide distributed coolant flow paths throughout the plate structure. This porous network enables coolant to reach intimate contact with heat-generating surfaces through capillary action, creating efficient heat exchange without requiring complex machined channels or hollow cavity structures.
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 enhances heat exchange efficiency, reducing battery cell deterioration and manufacturing costs by allowing coolant to flow without a separate driver, while maintaining effective heat dissipation.
Implementation Method 1
A battery pack design featuring a plurality of cooling plates with a coolant flow passage and wicks that allow coolant to flow naturally
Implementation Method 2
utilizing thermally conductive materials for efficient heat dissipation
Implementation Method 3
A battery pack design featuring a plurality of cooling plates with a coolant flow passage
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack capable of efficiently dissipating heat generated from battery cells by increasing heat exchange efficiency using coolant, and not requiring a separate driver for driving the flow of cooling water by causing the cooling water to flow in a natural, uncompelled manner. In one exemplary embodiment, the battery pack (100) includes a plurality of battery cells (200), a cooling part (300) coupled to the plurality of battery cells (200) and including a plurality of cooling plates including a first plate (310) having a coolant inlet opening (311) and a coolant exhaust opening (312), a second plate (320) having a coolant flow passage, and a third plate (330), wherein the plurality of cooling plates (310, 320, 330) is sequentially arranged adjacent the plurality of battery cells (200). The battery back (100) further comprises a coolant reservoir (380) for supplying coolant to the first plate (310) and for receiving the coolant from the first plate (310).