Battery Pack Cross-Member Assembly for Tensile and Compressive Loads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing traction battery packs for electrified vehicles face challenges in effectively managing both tensile and compressive loads, which can lead to structural integrity issues and potential damage to the battery cells.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves a structural cross-member assembly for traction battery packs, which includes a ladder frame and reinforcement beams, such as pultruded beams with E-shaped, M-shaped, W-shaped, or C-shaped cross-sections, that are mounted to the ladder frame to provide enhanced load-bearing capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional battery pack structures are used, then the design is simpler, but the ability to manage both tensile and compressive loads is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The cross-member assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: a ladder frame for primary structural support and separate reinforcement beams (first and second reinforcement beams) for targeted load management. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for specific load types (tensile vs. compressive) while maintaining overall structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite structural design by combining the ladder frame with reinforcement beams that have different geometric configurations (e.g., I-shaped, C-shaped, or channel-shaped cross-sections). These composite structures integrate multiple material forms and geometries to simultaneously handle tensile and compressive loads more effectively than a single uniform structure.
2Reliability
If reinforcement beams are added to the ladder frame, then the structural integrity is enhanced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement beams are merged with the ladder frame through direct attachment or integration, forming a unified cross-member assembly. This merging approach ensures that the reinforcement beams and ladder frame work together as a single structural unit, improving reliability while minimizing the need for additional separate components or complex assembly procedures.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the cross-member assembly is designed to handle both tensile and compressive loads, then the protection of battery cells is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different portions of the cross-member assembly are designed with locally optimized properties: the ladder frame provides overall structural support while the reinforcement beams (with specific cross-sectional geometries like I-shaped or C-shaped) provide localized reinforcement at critical stress points. This local quality approach allows targeted protection of battery cells without requiring the entire structure to be uniformly complex.
Data Source
AI summary
Structural cross-member assemblies are provided for use within traction battery packs. An exemplary traction battery pack may include a cell stack including a plurality of battery cells arranged between a first cross-member assembly and a second cross-member assembly. Each cross-member assembly of the cell stack may include a ladder frame and one or more reinforcement beams mounted to the ladder frame. Each reinforcement beam may be a pultrusion. The pultrusion may be configured to enable the cross-member assembly to react against both tensile loads and compressive loads that act on the cell stack.