Battery Pack Side-Cover Venting for Thermal Runaway Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The safety of large-capacity battery packs, particularly in vehicles, is compromised by secondary explosions and thermal runaway due to fire propagation and damage from external impacts, which can lead to coolant leakage and electrical shorts.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design featuring side covers with elongated body portions, gas discharge inlets, and a gas discharge portion to safely vent high-temperature gases, protect cooling pipes, and include a stopper to seal/discharge ports based on temperature, enhancing structural integrity and preventing fire spread.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a large-capacity battery pack with multiple battery modules is used, then energy density is improved, but fire propagation and thermal runaway risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is divided into multiple independent battery modules, each equipped with its own discharge port and cooling channel. This segmentation isolates thermal runaway events to individual modules, preventing fire propagation to other modules while maintaining high energy density through the multi-module configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
A discharge port is introduced as an intermediary component between the battery modules and the external environment. This discharge port provides a controlled pathway for gas and heat release, acting as a safety valve that prevents uncontrolled thermal runaway while allowing the battery pack to maintain high energy density.
2Reliability
If cooling members are added to prevent thermal runaway, then safety is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The side cover is designed to perform multiple functions: it provides structural support, houses the cooling channels, and contains the discharge port. By integrating these functions into a single component, the design improves safety through active cooling and controlled discharge while avoiding the structural complexity of separate cooling members.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling channel is merged with the side cover structure, eliminating the need for separate cooling members. The side cover simultaneously serves as a structural component and a thermal management component, reducing overall structural complexity while maintaining safety improvements.
3Reliability
If discharge ports are opened to release gases, then thermal runaway prevention is improved, but structural integrity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The side cover is designed with differentiated local qualities: the main body maintains high structural integrity, while the discharge port area is specifically designed to allow controlled gas release. This local differentiation enables thermal runaway prevention through gas venting while preserving overall structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The discharge port is pre-positioned and pre-sized in the side cover design to handle expected gas release scenarios. This preliminary action ensures that when thermal runaway occurs, the discharge port is already in place to safely release gases, preventing uncontrolled failures that would compromise structural integrity.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If side covers with gas discharge portions are used, then fire spread prevention is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gas discharge portion is merged into the side cover as an integrated feature rather than a separate component. This merging simplifies manufacturing by reducing the number of parts and assembly steps, while still providing fire spread prevention through controlled gas release from the discharge port.
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 effectively prevents thermal runaway and fire spread by safely discharging gases, protects cooling components, and maintains structural integrity, thereby increasing safety and energy density.
Implementation Method 1
a gas discharge portion configured to transport the gas introduced from the inlet to the discharge hole
Implementation Method 2
a stopper configured to seal the discharge port below a predetermined temperature and melt above the predetermined temperature to open the discharge port
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack includes a plurality of battery modules respectively having a discharge port configured to discharge a gas generated therein to the outside; a tray to which the plurality of battery modules are mounted, the tray having a discharge hole for discharging a gas to the outside; and a pair of side covers having body portions elongated in one direction and respectively located at one side and the other side of the tray, a plurality of inlets formed by opening a part thereof and respectively connected to the discharge port, and at least a gas discharge portion configured to transport a gas introduced from the inlet to the discharge hole.