Battery Pack Heat Pipe Cooling via Tin Plated Connections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current battery technologies for vehicles face challenges in achieving a balance between mass, efficiency, and size while ensuring reliable operation across varying conditions such as temperature and humidity, and require improved cooling and sealing to enhance performance and lifespan.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design featuring a heat dissipation system with tin-plated connections, heat pipes containing a fluid under absolute pressure, and a heat collection plate, along with grooved internal surfaces and capillary means for fluid displacement, and a sealed casing with external heat dissipation elements to manage thermal resistance and maintain efficiency in non-vertical positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If conventional cooling devices are used with battery modules, then cooling function is provided, but thermal resistance is high and cooling efficiency is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs heat pipes that utilize phase transition of working fluid (evaporation and condensation) to transfer heat from battery cells. The heat pipe converts thermal energy through phase change, achieving low thermal resistance and high cooling efficiency without requiring additional energy input.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces conventional mechanical cooling systems with heat pipe-based passive cooling. The heat pipe system eliminates the need for mechanical pumps and fans, using instead the natural phase transition and capillary action of the working fluid to achieve efficient heat dissipation.
2Weight of stationary object
If battery pack size and mass are reduced, then vehicle integration is improved, but cooling performance and thermal management capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The heat pipes are integrated within the battery module structure itself, with heat dissipation elements nested among the battery cells. This nested arrangement achieves efficient thermal management while maintaining a compact and lightweight battery pack design, as the cooling function is built into the existing structure rather than added as separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat pipe system serves multiple functions: it provides thermal management for battery cells, acts as a structural component of the battery module, and enables passive cooling without additional energy consumption. This multi-functionality reduces the overall mass and complexity of the battery pack while maintaining effective thermal management.
3Temperature
If tin plating is applied to heat pipe connections, then thermal resistance is reduced and heat transfer is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies tin plating to the heat pipe connection surfaces to change the surface properties and reduce thermal resistance. The tin coating improves thermal contact between the heat pipe and battery cells, enhancing heat transfer efficiency. This surface treatment is applied during the manufacturing process to ensure optimal thermal performance.
4Temperature
If heat dissipation elements are placed outside the sealed casing, then cooling performance is improved, but sealing and protection capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The heat dissipation elements are nested within the sealed casing of the battery pack, with heat pipes extending from battery cells through the casing wall to external heat sinks. This nested configuration allows the cooling function to access external air for heat dissipation while the battery cells and critical components remain protected within the sealed environment.
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 solution enhances thermal efficiency, reduces weight, and ensures homogeneous cooling and sealing, thereby improving battery performance and longevity while maintaining compactness and reliability across different driving conditions.
Implementation Method 1
the fluid, which vaporizes at the level of the battery cells, under the effect of the heat emitted during the operation of the battery
Implementation Method 2
the atmospheric air circulating in this dissipation element makes it possible to cool the fluid until it returns to the liquid phase
Implementation Method 3
it is necessary that the fluid, after having returned to the liquid phase, moves to the level of the elements to be cooled. In the case where the battery module is in a vertical position, gravity allows this displacement
Implementation Method 4
The use of a tinning process to make the connection between the dissipation element and the heat pipe, and also at the level of the heat collection plate, makes it possible to reduce the thermal resistance
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
The invention relates to a battery pack comprising a battery module comprising a set of battery cells and at least one cooling device, the device comprising a heat collecting plate in contact with an outer surface of at least one battery cell, a heat pipe in contact with the heat collecting plate, and a heat dissipating element, characterized in that the heat dissipating plate comprises a circular orifice in which the heat pipe is positioned containing a fluid, and in that the securing between the dissipating element and the heat pipe is done by tinning. The invention also relates to a method for producing such a battery pack.