Battery Pack External Cooling Plate Thermal Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery packs face challenges in efficiently cooling battery cells while maintaining a gas-tight housing and ensuring safety against pressure buildup, particularly in the event of an accident, without increasing the complexity of the cooling system or the number of interfaces.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design featuring a metal housing with a cooling system that includes external cooling plates and flow channels within the housing walls, which allows for effective heat dissipation and gas containment, with a gas-tight structure that includes an overpressure relief mechanism to prevent explosions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a cooling system with internal cooling channels is used within the housing, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but the complexity of the cooling system and number of interfaces increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling plates are extracted from the internal housing structure and positioned externally on the housing surface. This separation removes the cooling system components from inside the gas-tight housing, reducing internal complexity and interface requirements while maintaining effective thermal contact through the housing's thermally conductive material.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing serves multiple functions: it provides structural containment for the battery cells, maintains gas-tight sealing, and acts as a thermal conduction path from the battery cells to the external cooling plates. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate internal cooling channels, reducing system complexity.
2Reliability
If the housing is made gas-tight to prevent gas leakage, then safety is improved, but pressure buildup in case of accident cannot be relieved
Solution Approach 1:
A rupture disc is pre-installed in the housing as a safety feature. Under normal operating conditions, the housing remains gas-tight for reliable containment. However, when abnormal overpressure occurs during accidents, the rupture disc automatically breaks open to release pressure, preventing catastrophic failure while maintaining gas-tight operation during normal use.
3Temperature
If cooling channels are integrated into the housing walls, then cooling efficiency is improved, but leak-critical points increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling channels are extracted from the housing wall structure and replaced by external cooling plates that contact the housing externally. This eliminates internal coolant channels and their associated seals and interfaces, removing leak-critical points while maintaining effective heat transfer through the housing material's thermal conductivity.
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 design reduces the complexity of the cooling system, minimizes leak-critical points, and ensures safe operation by preventing coolant contact with battery cells, while maintaining a compact and simplified interface with vehicle-specific cooling systems.
Implementation Method 1
heat is dissipated from the at least one battery cell through the cover plate to the cooling plate. The housing of the battery pack, in particular the cover plate, has a relatively high level of thermal conductivity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a battery pack (50) comprising a housing (72) in which at least one battery module (60) having at least one battery cell (2) is arranged, as well as a cooling system for cooling said at least one battery cell (2). The cooling system at least comprises a cooling plate (62) arranged outside the housing (72), said at least one cooling plate (62) lying flat against a cover plate (80) of the housing (72) and heat dissipating from the at least one battery cell (2) to the cooling plate (62) through said cover plate (80).