Vehicle Battery Pack Cross-Brace Layout for Rigidity and Cell Capacity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery packs for electric vehicles face a trade-off between increasing the vehicle's range by accommodating more battery modules or cells and ensuring adequate crash performance through the use of reinforcing members, which can compromise the structural rigidity of the battery pack.
Innovation Solution
The battery pack design incorporates a frontward and rearward wall, lateral side walls, a longitudinal member, a transverse member, and reinforcing brackets at their intersections to enhance coupling rigidity, while also including a module mounting bar and a cooling block to support battery modules and maintain structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a plurality of reinforcing members is provided in the battery pack to ensure crash performance, then the structural rigidity is improved, but the number of battery modules or cells that can be accommodated is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcing members are divided into longitudinal members extending in the longitudinal direction and transverse members extending in the transverse direction, creating a segmented reinforcement structure that provides comprehensive support while minimizing space occupation. This segmentation allows the reinforcement structure to be distributed efficiently throughout the battery pack.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcing members are positioned at multiple height levels within the battery pack, creating a three-dimensional reinforcement network. By utilizing the vertical dimension, the structure achieves enhanced rigidity without occupying additional horizontal space that would be needed for battery modules.
2Quantity of substance
If the reinforcing members in the battery pack are decreased to accommodate more battery modules, then the quantity of battery modules is improved, but the rigidity of the battery pack is lowered
Solution Approach 1:
The longitudinal and transverse members are combined to form intersection regions that create a grid-like reinforcement pattern. This merging of reinforcement directions produces synergistic structural support, achieving maximum rigidity with minimum material usage and space occupation.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcing members extend continuously across the battery pack in both longitudinal and transverse directions, providing uninterrupted structural support. This continuous reinforcement network maintains rigidity throughout the entire battery pack structure without requiring additional discrete support elements.
3Quantity of substance
If more battery modules are accommodated to increase vehicle range, then the vehicle range is improved, but the crash performance is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcing members are strategically positioned at critical locations within the battery pack, such as at intersections and along edges, where structural support is most needed for crash protection. This localized reinforcement approach provides optimal crash performance while minimizing the space consumed by reinforcement structures.
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment battery pack for a vehicle includes a frontward wall and a rearward wall, lateral side walls connecting opposite ends of the frontward and rearward walls to define an accommodating space for accommodating battery modules, a longitudinal member having first and second ends supported on the frontward and rearward walls, respectively, while crossing the accommodating space, a transverse member having first and second ends supported on the lateral side walls, respectively, while intersecting the longitudinal member across the accommodating space, and a reinforcing bracket disposed at an intersection between the longitudinal member and the transverse member, the reinforcing bracket increasing a coupling rigidity between the longitudinal member and the transverse member so that the coupling rigidity with the reinforcing bracket is greater than the coupling rigidity of the same structure without any reinforcing bracket.