Battery Cold Plate Passageway Geometry for Uniform Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery pack cold plates exhibit uneven temperature distribution and inefficiencies in thermal management, leading to reduced battery performance, capacity fade, and potential safety risks due to overheating.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design featuring multiple layers of battery cells with active heat exchangers as cold plates, optimized for fluid flow characteristics such as passageway radius, curvature, and spacing to minimize temperature deviations and pressure drop, ensuring uniform thermal management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If heat exchange media flows across the cold plate, then cooling effect is achieved, but temperature distribution becomes uneven across the plate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the passageway characteristics (width, curvature radius, length) at different locations across the cold plate. Specifically, the first passageway has different characteristics than the second passageway, allowing each region to be optimized for its local thermal conditions. This enables more uniform temperature distribution across the entire cold plate surface while maintaining effective heat exchange.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by modifying passageway geometry parameters including width, curvature radius, and length. The first passageway has a first curvature radius and the second passageway has a second curvature radius that differs from the first. These parameter variations optimize fluid flow distribution and heat transfer efficiency, reducing temperature deviations across the cold plate.
2Stress or pressure
If passageway curvature radius is increased, then pressure drop is reduced, but temperature distribution uniformity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different curvature radii to different passageways based on their specific location and thermal requirements. The first passageway has a first curvature radius optimized for its region, while the second passageway has a second curvature radius optimized for its region. This localized optimization allows each passageway to maintain appropriate flow characteristics without causing excessive pressure drop or temperature deviation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs asymmetry by deliberately making the passageway curvature radii asymmetric - the first passageway has a different curvature radius than the second passageway. This asymmetric design allows the system to optimize for both pressure drop and temperature uniformity simultaneously, as each passageway can be tailored to its specific functional requirements rather than using a uniform symmetric design.
3Quantity of substance
If multi-layer battery stack is implemented, then energy density is increased, but thermal management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the thermal management system into multiple independent cold plates, each serving a specific battery module layer. Each cold plate is a self-contained unit with its own passageway system optimized for that layer's thermal requirements. This segmentation allows the complex thermal management of multi-layer stacks to be broken down into manageable, independently optimized units, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high energy density.
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 optimized cold plate design achieves improved temperature uniformity and reduced pressure drop, enhancing battery performance, extending lifespan, and reducing the risk of thermal runaway.
Implementation Method 1
battery cold plates positioned above and/or below each layer to form a multi-layer battery stack... enable heating and cooling of the battery cells via communication with a thermal management system that feeds a heat transfer medium through internal passages of the cold plates
Implementation Method 2
feeds a heat transfer medium through internal passages of the cold plates... optimized characteristics of the channels or heat exchange media passageways across the cold plate
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
A battery pack includes battery cells arranged in an array to form a battery module layer. Multiple layers are vertically stacked with thermal management devices, such as active heat exchangers in the form of battery cold plates (120), above and below each layer to form a multi-layer battery stack that may be held in compression. The battery cold plates include liquid heat exchange medium passageways (124), the characteristics of which influence the heating and cooling capabilities of the cold plates. The battery cold plates, including at least arrangement and features of the passageways across the battery cold plate, are optimized to achieve desirable pressure drop and temperature distribution across the cold plates, among other benefits.