Battery Pack Flame Barrier Layout for Thermal Runaway Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery packs face challenges in preventing flames generated within the pack from being exposed to the outside, which can lead to the spread of fire and increase the risk of explosion.
Innovation Solution
The battery pack incorporates a polyhedral upper case with a flame propagation preventer, including a blocking wall and passage walls, to contain and extinguish flames, while also featuring a water injection system and a battery management system to enhance safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If battery modules are concentrated in a small space to increase capacity, then energy density is improved, but heat generation increases and flame may be generated
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is divided into multiple battery modules, each separated by partition walls. This segmentation allows heat to be distributed and managed in distinct zones, preventing localized heat accumulation that could lead to flame generation while maintaining high overall capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
Heat dissipation fins are introduced as intermediary structures between battery modules. These fins act as thermal mediators that conduct heat away from the battery cells and dissipate it to the surrounding air, reducing temperature buildup while allowing continued operation at high capacity.
2Reliability
If flame propagation preventer structures are added to prevent flame spread, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flame propagation preventer integrates multiple functions into a single structural component. The partition walls serve both as physical separators between modules and as flame barriers, while heat dissipation fins simultaneously manage thermal loads and act as additional flame blocking structures, reducing the need for separate safety components.
Solution Approach 2:
The upper case structure is designed to perform multiple functions: it provides mechanical enclosure, acts as a flame propagation barrier through its polyhedral geometry, and incorporates discharge holes for pressure relief. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional dedicated safety components.
3Reliability
If partition walls and flame propagation preventers are installed to isolate battery modules, then flame spread is prevented, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The partition walls and flame propagation preventers are designed as nested structures where smaller components fit within or between larger structural elements. The heat dissipation fins are positioned within the spaces between modules, and partition walls are integrated into the module housing structures, allowing assembly through sequential nesting rather than complex joining operations.
Data Source
AI summary
The battery pack includes a lower case having a plate shape, a plurality of battery modules disposed on the lower case, an upper case having a polyhedral shape without a bottom surface and coupled to the lower case while covering the battery modules, and a flame propagation prevention unit disposed inside the upper case so as to be spaced apart from a front surface of each of the battery modules, which is a surface of a side, at which an electrode terminal is disposed, thereby preventing flame generated in the battery module from being propagated. The flame propagation prevention unit includes a blocking wall disposed to be spaced apart from an inner rear surface of the upper case, and a passage wall having one end connected to the blocking wall and extending away from the blocking wall and which is spaced apart from an inner surface of the upper case.