Composite Battery Enclosure With Honeycomb Crash Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large capacity batteries in electric vehicles pose a risk during collisions due to potential damage, necessitating a lightweight yet strong battery enclosure to protect both occupants and batteries.
Innovation Solution
A composite battery enclosure comprising a molded top and bottom cover with fiber-reinforced polymer structures, including lateral beams and cross members, which provide enhanced stiffness, impact resistance, and energy absorption, while maintaining a lightweight design to minimize weight addition to the vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional battery enclosures are used, then battery protection during collision is insufficient, but increasing enclosure strength adds significant weight to the vehicle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials consisting of fiber-reinforced polymer matrices combined with honeycomb core structures. This composite construction provides high strength-to-weight ratio, delivering the necessary collision protection while minimizing weight addition to the vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure design incorporates varying material densities and structural configurations in different regions. Critical impact zones feature thicker honeycomb cores and enhanced fiber reinforcement, while non-critical areas use lighter constructions, optimizing protection where needed without unnecessary weight elsewhere.
2Weight of moving object
If lightweight enclosure materials are used, then vehicle performance is maintained, but collision protection capability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes honeycomb core materials with controlled porosity and cell structures. These porous materials provide excellent energy absorption characteristics during impact while maintaining low density, enabling lightweight construction with enhanced collision protection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The combination of lightweight fiber-reinforced polymer face sheets with honeycomb core creates a sandwich composite structure that delivers high specific strength and energy absorption per unit weight, maintaining vehicle performance while improving collision protection.
3Reliability
If enclosure strength is increased to protect batteries, then battery safety improves, but vehicle performance is negatively impacted due to added weight
Solution Approach 1:
The fiber-reinforced polymer composite structure with honeycomb core provides superior strength-to-weight ratio compared to traditional solid materials, ensuring battery safety during collisions while minimizing the weight penalty that would otherwise degrade vehicle performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure concentrates structural reinforcement at critical locations surrounding the battery pack, providing enhanced protection where needed while using lighter materials in non-critical areas, thus protecting batteries without unnecessarily increasing overall vehicle weight.
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 composite battery enclosure effectively absorbs collision forces, protecting batteries and occupants while maintaining vehicle performance by offering increased global stiffness, crash strength, and energy absorption, while being lightweight and easily manufacturable.
Implementation Method 1
The composite battery enclosure effectively absorbs collision forces, protecting batteries and occupants
Implementation Method 2
a molded top composite cover having a monolithic fiber panel, the monolithic panel with a first top fiber layer and a first bottom fiber layer, the first top fiber layer and the first bottom fiber layer made of fibers embedded in a first polymer
Implementation Method 3
the first core of the at least one lateral bean is a honeycomb material
Data Source
AI summary
A modular composite battery enclosure containing multiple individual composite structures attached together. The individual composite structures form covers that enclose an open area for housing a battery system of battery cells and cooling devices. The composite battery enclosures are lightweight and made of materials that can function to absorb energy and insulate the battery housing area. The composite structures contain a core material adhered and sandwiched between fiber layers.