Battery Tab Cooling Channels for Uniform Pouch Cell Temperature
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current battery cooling methods for electric vehicles lead to thermal gradients across the depth of the battery, causing non-uniform degradation and reduced performance due to poor thermal conductivity and high contact resistance between layers, limiting the lifetime and efficiency of pouch cells.
Innovation Solution
An integrated battery and cooling system with thermally conductive electrical terminals coupled to a heat sink arrangement, allowing in-plane cooling through elongate channels, reducing thermal gradients and enhancing temperature homogeneity across the cells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If interface cooling is used to cool the battery, then the cooling surface area is maximized, but thermal gradients across the depth of the battery increase due to poor thermal conductivity and high contact resistance between layers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from interface cooling (cooling at the external faces of pouch cells) to tab cooling (cooling through the electrical tabs that extend from the cell). This changes the cooling dimension from external surface to internal conductive path, allowing heat to be removed directly from the cell interior through the tab structure without relying on thermal conduction through multiple cell layers.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrical tab acts as an intermediary thermal conduction path. Instead of relying on the cell housing and interface contact for heat transfer, the tab serves as a dedicated thermal conduit that directly connects the internal cell layers to the cooling system, bypassing the high contact resistance interfaces between cell layers.
2Ease of operation
If interface cooling is used, then cooling is provided at the external faces, but the centre of the cell experiences highest temperature and fastest degradation due to perpendicular thermal gradients
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling approach shifts from external face cooling to internal tab-based cooling. The tab structure provides thermal conduction paths that extend into the cell interior, enabling heat removal from the center regions where degradation occurs fastest, rather than relying on heat conduction from the center to the external faces.
Solution Approach 2:
The tab cooling system provides localized cooling at the cell interior through the tab structure, creating different thermal management zones within the cell. The tab regions become preferential heat removal points, creating a more uniform temperature distribution throughout the cell rather than the gradient that develops with external-only cooling.
3Ease of manufacture
If interface cooling is used, then cooling is achieved through external contact, but packing efficiency is reduced due to large gaps required between cell faces
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system moves from external interface contact to internal tab integration. The tabs, which already extend from the cell for electrical connection, are utilized as thermal conduction paths. This eliminates the need for separate external cooling interfaces and large gaps between cell faces, allowing cells to be packed more densely while maintaining effective cooling through the tab structure.
4Temperature
If interface cooling is used, then cooling is provided at the cell boundaries, but temperature homogeneity across the battery is poor due to high contact resistance between layers
Solution Approach 1:
The tab serves as an intermediary thermal conduction path that directly connects internal cell layers to the cooling system. This bypasses the high contact resistance interfaces between cell layers, providing a dedicated low-resistance thermal pathway that enables more uniform heat removal across all cell regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The tab cooling system creates localized thermal management at multiple points within the cell interior. By providing cooling through the tab structure that contacts different cell layers, the system achieves more uniform temperature distribution across the battery, ensuring consistent discharge behavior throughout.
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
Improves battery lifetime and performance by ensuring uniform discharge behavior and increased packing efficiency, while allowing for thicker cells and reduced thickness constraints, with improved thermal conductivity and reduced temperature gradients.
Implementation Method 1
the electrical terminals are substantially planar and form respective sidewalls of a series of elongate channels therebetween, and wherein the heat sink arrangement extends within each channel and is thermally coupled to at least one sidewall thereof
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated battery and cooling system (2) is provided, comprising a plurality of cells (10) and a heat sink arrangement (16). Each cell (10) comprises at least one electrical collector (27) of a first material coupled to a first electrically and thermally conductive electrical terminal (12) extending away therefrom, and at least one electrical collector (27) of a second material coupled to a second electrically and thermally conductive electrical terminal (14) extending away therefrom. The electrical terminals (12, 14) are substantially planar and form respective sidewalls of a series of elongate channels therebetween. The heat sink arrangement (16) extends within each channel and is thermally coupled to at least one sidewall thereof.