Battery Module Vent Sealing for Thermal Runaway Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
In battery modules, fires or thermal runaways can rapidly spread between adjacent cells due to continuous airflow, exacerbating the fire and increasing the risk of further damage.
Innovation Solution
A battery module design featuring a mesh member with a sealing member that expands at high temperatures to block external air intake and vent holes for gas discharge, combined with a module housing that includes a tightly sealed structure to contain and extinguish fires.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If external air is continuously introduced into the battery module for cooling, then heat accumulation is reduced, but fire spreads more rapidly to surrounding battery cells
Solution Approach 1:
The ventilation hole dynamically changes its state based on temperature conditions. At normal operating temperatures, the ventilation hole remains open to allow air flow for heat dissipation. When fire occurs and temperature rises above a threshold, the melting member melts and closes the ventilation hole to prevent oxygen supply and fire spread. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between cooling needs and fire prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical state of the ventilation hole from open to closed based on temperature parameter changes. The melting member undergoes a phase change from solid to liquid at a specific temperature, which automatically seals the ventilation hole. This parameter-based control mechanism allows the system to switch between cooling mode and fire containment mode.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the battery module has a sealed structure to prevent fire spread, then fire containment is improved, but heat dissipation and cooling are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing structure is not static but dynamic, controlled by the temperature-dependent melting member. During normal operation, the ventilation hole remains open for effective heat dissipation. When fire occurs and temperature exceeds the melting point of the melting member, the hole automatically closes to provide fire containment. This dynamic sealing mechanism resolves the contradiction between cooling efficiency and fire containment.
Solution Approach 2:
The melting member is pre-positioned to block the ventilation hole when melted, providing preliminary protection against fire spread before the fire can propagate to adjacent cells. This preemptive closure mechanism prevents the harmful effect (fire spread) before it can fully develop, while maintaining open ventilation during normal conditions for effective cooling.
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 design effectively prevents the spread of fires by blocking external air intake and rapidly discharging high-temperature gases, leading to natural extinguishment of the fire and enhancing user safety.
Implementation Method 1
a sealing member facing the mesh member and configured to expand a volume at more than a predetermined temperature to seal a mesh hole of the mesh member
Implementation Method 2
The sealing member may include a plurality of vent holes to discharge a gas generated inside the module housing to the outside
Data Source
AI summary
A battery module includes a cell assembly having at least two battery cells; a module housing having an inner space accommodating the cell assembly, and including a circulation hole so that the inner space is connected to an outside; a mesh member having a mesh structure and provided in the circulation hole of the module housing; and a sealing member provided at a position facing the mesh member and configured to expand a volume at more than a predetermined temperature to seal a mesh hole of the mesh member.