Battery Busbar Weak-Zone Fracture for Thermal Runaway Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In large-sized devices like electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles, thermal runaway in one battery can lead to consecutive thermal runaway in adjacent batteries, causing safety incidents such as fires or explosions due to the lack of timely disconnection of the circuit.
Innovation Solution
A battery module design featuring a busbar assembly with a weak zone that overlaps with an explosion-proof piece, which fractures upon burst, creating an open circuit between batteries, thereby preventing the spread of thermal runaway.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If batteries are connected in groups through busbars to achieve high power and large capacity, then the power and capacity requirements are met, but thermal runaway can spread to adjacent batteries causing safety incidents
Solution Approach 1:
The busbar is divided into multiple segments with weak zones between them. Each weak zone acts as an independent segmentation point that can fracture to isolate adjacent batteries, allowing the system to maintain both high power through multiple connections and safety through automatic segmentation during thermal events.
Solution Approach 2:
The weak zone serves as an intermediary element between adjacent battery connections. It normally functions as part of the electrical connection but acts as a mediator that fractures under thermal stress to prevent harmful thermal runaway propagation while allowing normal electrical operation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a circuit disconnection mechanism is added to prevent thermal runaway spread, then safety is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The weak zone is designed to automatically fracture under thermal stress without requiring external control systems. The busbar assembly self-regulates by using the thermal expansion and stress concentration at weak zones to naturally disconnect circuits during thermal runaway events, eliminating the need for complex active disconnection mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The weak zone utilizes the harmful thermal expansion and stress from thermal runaway events to achieve beneficial circuit disconnection. The thermal stress that would normally damage the entire system is instead channeled to selectively fracture the weak zone, converting the harmful thermal effect into a protective disconnection mechanism.
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 solution effectively reduces the risk of safety incidents by disconnecting the electrical connection between batteries when an explosion-proof piece bursts, stopping charging and discharging and preventing thermal runaway in adjacent batteries.
Implementation Method 1
the first weak zone is configured to fracture when the explosion-proof piece of the first battery is burst, to cause an open circuit between the first battery and the second battery
Data Source
AI summary
The present application provides a battery module, a battery pack, and a battery-powered apparatus. The battery module includes a plurality of battery units and a busbar assembly. The plurality of battery units are arranged in a horizontal direction, where each battery unit includes a plurality of batteries stacked in a vertical direction, the plurality of batteries include a first battery and a second battery, the first battery and the second battery each include a first electrode terminal, a second electrode terminal, and an explosion-proof piece. A busbar assembly electrically connects the plurality of battery units, where the busbar assembly includes a first busbar connected to the first electrode terminal and the second electrode terminal. In a first direction perpendicular to the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, the first busbar includes a first weak zone that at least partially overlaps with the explosion-proof piece of the first battery.