Tapered Battery Pack Reinforcement for Side-Impact Load Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle power source protection systems, such as those for battery packs or fuel cells, face challenges in effectively absorbing impact loads without adding significant weight or height, and often result in lateral wall tilting during side impacts.
Innovation Solution
A reinforcement structure with a tapered shape, extending significantly more in length and width than in height, is designed to redistribute impact loads across a vehicle power source, featuring a two-dimensional extension with a triangular shape and ridges and valleys for attachment to the top lid and cross members, thereby minimizing intrusion during side impacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional protection structures (frames, housings) are added to protect the vehicle power source, then protection capability is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement structure transitions from conventional three-dimensional bulky frames to a two-dimensional tapered configuration. By extending primarily in the first and second directions (at least 5 times more than in the third direction), the structure achieves effective load distribution across the vehicle power source while minimizing vertical height and overall material volume, thereby reducing weight without compromising protection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The structure employs a tapered geometric configuration where the cross-sectional area varies along its length, creating optimized stress distribution patterns. This parameter variation in the structure's geometry allows for reduced material usage compared to uniform thick-walled frames, achieving weight reduction while maintaining structural integrity and load-bearing capacity.
2Reliability
If conventional protection structures are added to protect the vehicle power source, then protection capability is improved, but the structure builds too much height
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement structure is designed with a two-dimensional extension characteristic, where the length and width (first and second directions) are at least 5 times larger than the height (third direction). This dimensional reconfiguration distributes protection functionality across horizontal planes rather than vertical stacking, effectively reducing height addition while maintaining comprehensive protection coverage.
3Reliability
If conventional protection structures are used, then protection capability is improved, but lateral wall tilting occurs during side impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement structure is divided into multiple reinforcement units distributed across the vehicle power source housing. Each unit independently reinforces local areas, and their collective arrangement creates a network that distributes lateral impact forces across multiple attachment points, preventing concentrated stress that would cause lateral wall tilting while maintaining overall structural stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement units are strategically positioned and dimensioned to provide localized reinforcement where impact forces are most critical. The tapered configuration concentrates material where needed for load distribution while using less material in areas requiring minimal reinforcement, optimizing both anti-tilting capability and weight efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a reinforcement structure (13a, 13b, 13c, 13d, 13e, 13f) for protection of a vehicle power source, e.g. a battery pack (3) or a fuel cell. The reinforcement structure extends in a first, a second and a third direction (D1, D2, D3) being perpendicular to each other, wherein an extension of the reinforcement structure is at least 5 times larger in the first and second directions than in the third direction. The reinforcement structure has a tapered shape as seen in a plane spanned by the first and second directions. The present disclosure also relates to a reinforcement unit (29a, 29b), a vehicle power source arrangement (9) and a vehicle (1).