Aerogel Battery Thermal Member for Thin Fire-Resistant Compression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional insulation materials for battery thermal management are inadequate in providing effective thermal containment and fire protection while minimizing thickness, weight, and maintaining mechanical properties, especially in battery systems with expanding and contracting cells.
Innovation Solution
Aerogel-based thermal management members with heat protection and resilient layers, featuring low thermal conductivity and high compressibility, are designed to minimize thickness and weight while providing resistance to heat and fire propagation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional insulation materials (foam or fiber sheets) are used to provide thermal containment, then thermal insulation capacity is limited, but thickness must be increased to achieve effective insulation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs aerogel, a highly porous material with extremely low density and high porosity (typically 90-99% air content). The porous structure creates tortuous heat transfer paths and minimizes conduction and convection, achieving superior thermal insulation in thin sections. This directly resolves the contradiction by providing high thermal containment capacity without requiring increased thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite aerogel structures combining multiple materials to optimize both thermal insulation and mechanical properties. The composite nature allows simultaneous achievement of low thermal conductivity and adequate compressibility for battery applications, resolving the contradiction between thermal performance and dimensional constraints.
2Reliability
If conventional insulation materials are used, then thermal insulation capacity is limited, but weight increases with increased thickness
Solution Approach 1:
Aerogel's extreme porosity (90-99% air content) results in very low density, typically 0.003-0.2 g/cm³. This allows the material to provide superior thermal insulation while maintaining extremely low weight, directly resolving the contradiction between thermal insulation capacity and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the insulation material by using aerogel with dramatically different density and thermal conductivity values compared to conventional materials. This parameter change enables high insulation capacity with minimal weight penalty.
3Temperature
If rigid fire-resistant materials (mica or ceramic sheets) are used, then high temperature tolerance is achieved, but compressibility is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The porous aerogel structure provides inherent compressibility while maintaining high temperature tolerance. The air-filled pores allow the material to be compressed without structural failure, unlike rigid ceramics. This resolves the contradiction by providing both thermal stability and mechanical compliance for expanding/contracting battery cells.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates composite aerogel materials that combine the high temperature resistance of ceramic components with the compressibility of porous polymer structures. This composite approach simultaneously achieves both high temperature tolerance and adaptability to cell dimensional changes.
4Reliability
If aerogel material is used to increase thermal resistance, then effective insulation is achieved, but material cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs aerogel's exceptional thermal resistance (2-6 times higher than conventional insulation) to achieve effective thermal management. While aerogel production remains costly, the material's superior performance allows thinner sections to be used, potentially offsetting material costs through reduced quantity and system 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
The aerogel-based solution effectively maintains temperature differences across surfaces, even under extreme conditions, and integrates well with battery systems, offering improved thermal management and safety.
Implementation Method 1
Aerogels function as insulators primarily by minimizing conduction (low structural density results in tortuous path for energy transfer through the solid framework)
Implementation Method 2
convection (large pore volumes and very small pore sizes result in minimal convection)
Implementation Method 3
radiation (with IR absorbing or scattering dopants)
Implementation Method 4
The hydrophobic nature of the aerogel composition is maintained
Data Source
AI summary
Battery thermal management materials, compositions and systems are provided. Exemplary embodiments include a battery thermal management member. The battery thermal management member can include a heat protection layer and a resilient layer. Also provided are methods of preparing or manufacturing such battery thermal management members. In certain embodiments, the heat protection layer can include mica, microporous silica, ceramic fiber, mineral wool, aerogel or combinations thereof.