Battery Pack Mechanical Vent With Thermal-Triggered Gas Sealing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery packs in electric vehicles struggle to effectively manage heat generation and contain toxic gas emissions during thermal events, posing risks to safety and durability.
Innovation Solution
A mechanical valve or port that transitions from an open to a closed position in response to thermal events, using materials with different coefficients of thermal expansion or heat-sensitive mechanisms to trap gases within the battery pack.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sealed battery compartment is used to contain toxic gases during thermal events, then safety is improved, but heat dissipation capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic sealing mechanism that transitions between open and closed states based on thermal conditions. The valve remains open during normal operation to allow heat dissipation, then automatically closes when thermal runaway is detected to contain toxic gases. This dynamic adaptability resolves the contradiction by providing both heat dissipation and safety containment at different operational stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes temperature as a triggering parameter to change the system state. When temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold indicating thermal runaway, the valve mechanism changes its sealing parameter from open to closed. This parameter-based control allows the system to optimize between heat dissipation and gas containment based on real-time thermal conditions.
2Reliability
If a valve mechanism is added to enable dynamic sealing, then gas containment capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The valve mechanism is designed as a self-activating system that responds automatically to thermal conditions without requiring external control systems. The bimetallic strip or heat-sensitive material inherently detects temperature changes and triggers the sealing action through its own physical properties, eliminating the need for complex sensors, controllers, or power sources.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention leverages thermal expansion of bimetallic strips or heat-sensitive materials to drive the valve mechanism. When temperature increases during thermal runaway, the differential expansion of layered materials with different thermal coefficients causes automatic deformation that closes the valve. This passive thermal actuation simplifies the mechanism by using the problem's own thermal energy to drive the protective action.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If the valve closes during thermal events, then toxic gas emissions are reduced, but pressure buildup increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of pressure buildup into a beneficial safety feature. The pressure relief mechanism is designed to activate at a predetermined pressure threshold, releasing gases in a controlled manner. This transforms the potentially dangerous pressure accumulation into a controlled pressure management system that prevents catastrophic failure while maintaining gas containment during the thermal event.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing system is segmented into multiple functional zones: a primary sealing region that closes during thermal events, and a secondary pressure relief region that activates at higher pressure thresholds. This segmentation allows the system to handle different stages of thermal runaway separately - initial gas containment followed by controlled pressure release - preventing uncontrolled explosions while maintaining toxic gas containment.
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 dissipation and contains toxic gases, enhancing safety and durability by preventing gas release and potential explosions.
Implementation Method 1
the first material having a larger coefficient of thermal expansion than the second material, such that an increase in temperature above a defined threshold experienced by the curved disc causes the first material to expand more than the second material, thereby transitioning the curved disc from a first equilibrium state representing the open, venting position to a second equilibrium state representing the sealed, closed position
Implementation Method 2
the curved disc formed of a first material positioned on a first major surface of the disc, and a second material positioned on an opposing second major surface of the disc
Data Source
AI summary
A vent for an electric vehicle battery pack configured to transition from a venting, open position to a sealed, closed position in the event of a thermal event experienced by the electric vehicle battery pack, thereby trapping the gasses within the electric vehicle battery pack, including a curved disc shaped and sized to selectively seal an aperture defined by the electric vehicle battery pack, the curved disc formed of a first material on a first major surface of the disc, and a second material positioned on an opposing second major surface of the disc, the first material having a larger coefficient of thermal expansion than the second material, such that an increase in temperature above a defined threshold experienced by the curved disc causes the first material to expand more than the second material, thereby transitioning the curved disc from a first equilibrium state to a second equilibrium state.