Battery Thermal Management Assembly With Integrated Cooling Passage
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-performance electric vehicle battery packs generate significant heat due to high current demands, which must be managed to prevent premature failure.
Innovation Solution
A thermal management assembly that includes a body structure with cell-shaped recesses to house battery cells and a thermal management passage to circulate a thermal management fluid, using thermally-conductive materials and phase change materials to extract and manage heat, interfacing with a fluid circulation system for efficient heat removal and distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If high current is used to achieve high performance, then power output is improved, but heat generation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful heat generated by high current operation into a manageable thermal management challenge by implementing a cooling system that uses the thermal energy for potential recovery or dissipation, thereby transforming the adverse thermal effect into a controllable parameter that supports sustained high-power operation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a thermal management system with cooling channels and thermal interface materials as intermediaries between the battery cells and the environment, mediating the heat transfer process to maintain optimal operating temperatures during high-power discharge
2Reliability
If thermal management system is added to manage heat, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the thermal management function with the battery pack structure by integrating cooling channels directly into the battery housing or mounting structure, combining structural support and thermal management functions into a single integrated component to reduce overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the thermal management system to serve multiple functions including cooling during high-power operation, thermal isolation during charging, and potential heat recovery, allowing a single system to address multiple thermal management needs without proportionally increasing complexity
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
Effectively manages heat generated by high-performance electric vehicle battery packs, preventing premature failure and ensuring reliable operation by efficiently extracting and distributing thermal energy.
Implementation Method 1
a thermal management passage positioned within the body structure and configured to circulate a thermal management fluid to extract internally-generated thermal energy from the plurality of battery cells
Implementation Method 2
The body structure may be constructed of a thermally-conductive metallic material
Implementation Method 3
A phase change material may be positioned within the body structure and may be configured to transfer the internally-generated thermal energy from the plurality of battery cells to the thermal management fluid
Data Source
AI summary
A battery cell thermal management assembly includes: a body structure including a plurality of cell-shaped recesses configured to receive a plurality of battery cells; and a thermal management passage positioned within the body structure and configured to circulate a thermal management fluid to extract internally-generated thermal energy from the plurality of battery cells.