Battery Pack Dividers for Thermal Vent Path Isolation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traction battery packs in electrified vehicles face challenges in containing and directing gases and debris released during thermal events, which can lead to cascading thermal issues among battery cells due to lack of effective compartmentalization and venting mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
The use of dividers within the battery pack enclosure to compartmentalize the interior area into isolated compartments, with fin portions projecting outward to guide vented gases and debris away from non-venting cells, and porous spacers to inhibit thermal energy transfer, while being biased against the enclosure to seal and direct the vent path through cross-member assemblies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the battery pack enclosure is compartmentalized into isolated compartments using dividers, then thermal events are contained and prevented from spreading to adjacent cells, but the device complexity increases due to additional divider components and assembly steps
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack enclosure is divided into multiple isolated compartments using dividers positioned between cell stacks. Each compartment contains specific battery cells and is separated from adjacent compartments by these dividers, preventing thermal events and vented materials from spreading between compartments while maintaining structural organization.
Solution Approach 2:
Dividers serve as intermediary components between adjacent cell stacks, physically separating them into isolated compartments. These dividers act as barriers that intercept and contain thermal events and vented gases/debris, preventing direct interaction between adjacent cells and thus resolving the contradiction by adding a controlled structural element.
2Reliability
If fin portions of dividers project outward to guide vented gases and debris away from non-venting cells, then thermal event propagation is prevented, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase due to bending and positioning of fin sections
Solution Approach 1:
The dividers incorporate fin portions with specific local geometries that project outward from the cell stack axis. These fin portions have first sections bent toward axial ends and second sections bent away, creating localized structures optimized for directing vented gases and debris away from non-venting cells while maintaining overall divider functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The fin portions are pre-formed with specific bent configurations during divider manufacturing. The first section is bent toward the axial end and the second section is bent away, preparing the divider in advance to effectively guide vented materials in the correct direction during thermal events, thus reducing on-site assembly complexity.
3Reliability
If porous spacers are used to inhibit thermal energy transfer between compartments, then heat transfer is reduced preventing thermal runaway propagation, but the device complexity increases due to additional spacer components
Solution Approach 1:
Porous spacers made of foam or aerogel materials are positioned between cell stacks within the battery pack enclosure. These porous materials provide thermal isolation between adjacent compartments by inhibiting thermal energy transfer through their porous structure, preventing thermal runaway propagation while maintaining a relatively simple assembly approach.
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 solution effectively contains and directs gases and debris from venting cells, preventing thermal events from spreading to adjacent cells, thereby enhancing the safety and reliability of the battery pack by isolating vented compartments and reducing heat transfer.
Implementation Method 1
porous spacers to inhibit thermal energy transfer
Data Source
AI summary
A traction battery pack assembly includes a battery pack enclosure that provides an interior area, and at least one cell stack that includes battery cells and at least one divider distributed along a cell stack axis. The at least one divider compartmentalizes the interior area into a plurality of compartments. Each of the compartments holds at least one of the battery cells.