Battery Pack Cooling Part With Elastic Coolant Injection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery modules and packs face challenges in effectively cooling battery cells due to inefficient coolant injection, which can lead to heat accumulation, deterioration, and potential fire or explosion, especially when the coolant housing member is positioned obliquely or not evenly distributed.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design incorporating a coolant housing member with an elastic member that expands and contracts to quickly supply coolant to ignited cells, using a sealing member that melts at high temperatures to allow direct injection, and a partitioned structure for efficient coolant distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the coolant housing member is positioned obliquely to reduce height, then the height of the battery pack is reduced, but the coolant pressure decreases and injection rate slows down
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic member is pre-compressed during assembly and stores elastic potential energy before thermal runaway occurs. When the sealing member melts, this pre-stored energy is rapidly converted to kinetic energy, driving coolant injection at high speed without relying on gravitational pressure from an upright position.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the gravity-based pressure system (which requires vertical positioning) with an elastic potential energy-based system. The elastic member's mechanical energy storage and release mechanism substitutes for the gravitational force that would otherwise be needed to maintain coolant pressure in an obliquely positioned housing.
2Quantity of substance
If the coolant housing member is filled to maximize coolant volume, then the cooling capacity is improved, but the volume of the battery pack increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameters of the coolant system by introducing phase change materials that absorb heat during melting. This allows a smaller volume of coolant to achieve the same cooling effect through latent heat absorption, reducing the required coolant housing volume while maintaining cooling capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system uses composite structures combining elastic members, phase change materials, and coolant in a single integrated housing member. This multi-functional composite design consolidates multiple cooling mechanisms into one compact component, maximizing cooling capacity while minimizing overall volume.
3Loss of time
If the sealing member is designed to melt quickly for fast cooling, then the response time is reduced, but the structural integrity of the housing is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing member is designed with non-uniform thickness, being thinner at the melting point control portion and thicker at the connection portions. This local quality variation allows the sealing member to melt quickly at the coolant release opening while maintaining structural strength at the connection points to the battery cells and housing.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing member is functionally segmented into different regions: a thin melting point control portion for rapid heat response and coolant release, and thicker connection portions for structural support. This segmentation allows different parts of the same component to serve different functions with different mechanical properties.
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 ensures rapid cooling of ignited cells, suppresses thermal runaway, and minimizes volume increase while maintaining effective coolant injection, even in non-vertical orientations.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic member disposed in an inner space of the coolant housing member; wherein a coolant is housed between the elastic member and a lower plate
Implementation Method 2
a sealing member that seals at least one through hole formed in the lower plate of the coolant housing member and is meltable by an increase in the temperature of the battery cell
Implementation Method 3
the pressure (water pressure) of the coolant in the coolant housing member gradually decreases. Therefore, as time passes, the rate at which coolant is injected into a battery cell slows down
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack includes a battery cell stack, a frame, a cooling part, an elastic member, and a sealing member. The frame houses the battery cell stack. The cooling part is disposed on the battery cell stack, and includes a coolant housing member having an upper plate and a lower plate. The elastic member is disposed in the inner space of the coolant housing member, and the sealing member that at least one through hole formed in the lower plate of the coolant housing member and is meltable by an increase in the temperature of the battery cell. A coolant is housed in a space between the elastic member and the lower plate of the coolant housing member, and the elastic member expands as the coolant is housed.