Battery Module Venting Screen to Block Thermal Runaway Fragments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large-capacity battery modules used in electric vehicles face challenges in stability against fire or explosion, as thermal runaway can propagate to adjacent cells, causing secondary explosions and increased damage.
Innovation Solution
A battery module design featuring a module case with exposure holes and a screen member with ventilation holes smaller than the exposure holes, which physically blocks high-temperature active material fragments while allowing gas and flame to escape, preventing chain ignition and thermal runaway.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If exposure holes are provided in the module case to allow gas venting, then gas and flame can escape during thermal runaway, but high-temperature fragments can propagate to adjacent battery cells causing secondary explosions
Solution Approach 1:
A screen member is introduced as an intermediary component between the exposure hole and the external environment. The screen member has ventilation holes that are smaller than the exposure hole, allowing gas and flame to pass through while physically blocking high-temperature fragments from reaching adjacent battery cells. This mediator structure resolves the contradiction by selectively permitting harmful factor discharge while preventing fragment propagation.
Solution Approach 2:
The screen member creates a localized quality difference in the ventilation system. The exposure hole has a larger opening for gas discharge, while the ventilation holes in the screen member have smaller openings that selectively allow gas passage but block fragments. This local quality variation enables differentiated functionality within the same ventilation path, allowing gas escape while preventing fragment propagation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the ventilation hole size is reduced to block fragments, then fragment propagation is prevented, but gas venting efficiency may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The ventilation system is segmented into two distinct components: the exposure hole in the module case and the ventilation holes in the screen member. The exposure hole maintains a larger opening for efficient gas discharge, while the screen member's ventilation holes are smaller to block fragments. This segmentation allows each component to optimize its function - the exposure hole for gas venting efficiency and the screen member for fragment blocking - without compromising either function.
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 suppresses the movement of high-temperature active material fragments, preventing them from reaching adjacent battery cells and thus reducing the risk of secondary explosions and improving overall safety.
Implementation Method 1
a screen member located at any one or more of an upper portion and a lower portion of the module case and having a plate shape, the screen member being configured to have a ventilation hole with a smaller size than the exposure hole
Implementation Method 2
the screen member being configured to have a ventilation hole with a smaller size than the exposure hole
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is a battery module with improved stability against fire or explosion, and a battery pack and a vehicle including the same. The battery module includes a plurality of battery cells, each having electrode terminals respectively formed at an upper portion and a lower portion thereof; a module case configured to accommodate the plurality of battery cells and having a plurality of exposure holes configured to expose the upper portion or the lower portion of the battery cell; and a screen member located at any one or more of an upper portion and a lower portion of the module case and having a plate shape, the screen member being configured to have a ventilation hole with a smaller size than the exposure hole.