Li-Ion Battery Storage System with Integrated Relief Duct
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electrical energy storage systems for vehicles with electric propulsion are cumbersome, heavy, and prone to premature battery failure due to thermal shifts and uneven cooling, which complicates their integration into compact vehicle spaces.
Innovation Solution
A compact and lightweight storage system design featuring a tubular container with overlapping groups of Li-Ion batteries, integrated relief ducts that serve as both pressure relief and cooling element supports, and a common cooling element to ensure uniform heat exchange and prevent thermal overload.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate relief ducts and cooling systems are provided for each battery, then safety and cooling effectiveness are improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the relief duct and cooling system into a single integrated component. The relief duct serves dual functions: providing pressure relief through openings connected to safety valves, and facilitating cooling by serving as a heat exchange pathway. This merging eliminates the need for separate relief ducts and cooling systems for each battery, reducing overall system complexity and weight while maintaining safety and cooling effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The relief duct is designed as a multi-functional component that simultaneously performs pressure relief and thermal management functions. By integrating the cooling system into the relief duct structure, a single component accomplishes multiple tasks that would traditionally require separate systems, thereby simplifying the overall battery pack architecture.
2Use of energy by moving object
If Li-Ion electrochemical cells are used to achieve high power-weight ratio, then energy density is improved, but thermal stability deteriorates due to thermal shift risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preventive safety measures by providing each battery with a safety valve connected to the relief duct system before thermal runaway occurs. The relief duct with its openings is positioned to receive and channel away any potential venting from thermal shift events, thereby preventing chain reactions and protecting adjacent batteries. This beforehand cushioning approach allows the use of high-energy-density Li-Ion cells while mitigating their inherent thermal stability issues.
3Temperature
If multiple separate cooling systems are provided for each battery group, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the cooling systems into a common shared structure that serves multiple battery groups simultaneously. The relief duct system is designed as a unified cooling pathway with openings positioned to receive heat from multiple batteries, eliminating the need for separate cooling systems for each battery group. This reduces manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining adequate cooling effectiveness through the shared thermal management pathway.
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 system effectively prevents premature battery failure by uniformly distributing pressure and heat across batteries, reducing the risk of thermal shifts and overheating, while being easier to manufacture and integrate into vehicles with limited space.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling element, which is parallel and opposite to the rigid element and rests against the lower walls of the chemical batteries, so as to be thermally coupled to the chemical batteries
Implementation Method 2
there is a need to relieve the pressure/temperature through a safety valve which is obtained in the outer shell of the chemical battery and opens autonomously; once the safety valve has opened autonomously due to the effect of the thrust of the pressure inside the outer shell
Implementation Method 3
the relief ducts collect the venting and channel the venting outside the vehicle to bring the venting far from the other chemical batteries
Data Source
AI summary
A system for the storage of electrical energy for a vehicle with electric propulsion; the storage system presents: at least one group of chemical batteries, which are arranged aligned with one another and each of which presents an upper wall, which is provided with a pair of electrical terminals and with a safety valve, and a lower wall, which is parallel and opposite to the upper wall; a container, which houses the group of chemical batteries; a relief duct, which rests against the upper walls of the chemical batteries and presents, for each safety valve, a corresponding opening, which is coupled to the safety valve; and a cooling element, which is parallel and opposite to the relief duct and rests against the lower walls of the chemical batteries.