EV Battery Cooling Piping Layout for Collision Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery cooling systems in electric vehicles are prone to damage and uneven cooling during side collisions, leading to potential leaks and temperature inconsistencies due to the placement of cooling medium supply and discharge passages along the vehicle's width direction.
Innovation Solution
The cooling medium supply and discharge piping are positioned in the fore-and-aft direction in the middle of the vehicle width, with cooling members extending outward, allowing for a U-turn within the cooling member to prevent damage and ensure even cooling, and featuring a common inlet and outlet for simplified and uniform cooling medium distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cooling medium supply piping and discharge piping are disposed along the side edges in the vehicle width direction, then cooling medium flow rate is sufficient, but the piping is easily damaged in side collisions causing leaks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent repositions the cooling medium supply piping and discharge piping from the lateral edges (vehicle width direction) to the central fore-and-aft direction, changing the spatial dimension of piping placement. This dimensional relocation moves the piping away from high-risk collision zones at the vehicle sides to a more protected central position, reducing vulnerability to side collision damage while maintaining cooling effectiveness.
2Reliability
If cooling medium flows through the cooling passage from one side to the other in the vehicle width direction, then cooling coverage is achieved, but temperature varies between sides causing uneven battery cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional cooling passage flow direction from lateral (vehicle width direction) to longitudinal (fore-and-aft direction). By reversing the flow path orientation, the cooling medium travels from the front to the rear of the battery along the central axis, ensuring symmetric heat extraction from both sides of the battery and eliminating temperature variations between left and right sides.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling passage is designed with an asymmetric U-shaped return path within the cooling member, where the medium flows outward along one side and returns along the other side in the fore-and-aft direction. This asymmetric routing ensures that both sides of the battery receive cooling medium at appropriate temperatures, achieving uniform cooling despite the non-symmetric flow path.
3Reliability
If cooling medium supply and discharge passages are placed at the fore-and-aft direction in the middle, then piping protection is improved, but cooling medium distribution to multiple cooling members must be balanced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the cooling system into multiple independent cooling members, each with its own cooling passage, while sharing common supply and discharge piping at the center. This segmentation allows each cooling member to be independently configured and maintained, simplifying the overall distribution system while ensuring balanced cooling medium flow to multiple battery regions.
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
This configuration enhances the protection of cooling piping during side collisions, prevents leaks, and ensures even cooling across the battery by allowing the cooling medium to flow in a U-turn within the cooling member, maintaining consistent temperatures across the battery.
Implementation Method 1
while cooling medium is flowing through the cooling passage from the upstream side to the downstream side it carries out heat exchange with a high temperature battery
Data Source
AI summary
In a battery cooling device for an electric vehicle, a cooling medium supply piping and a cooling medium discharge piping are disposed in a fore-and-aft direction in a middle part in a vehicle width direction of a vehicle body. A plurality of cooling members extend toward opposite sides in the vehicle width direction from both the pipings. A cooling medium passage returns in an outer end part in the vehicle width direction of the cooling member. Therefore, when the vehicle is involved in a side collision, it becomes difficult for both the pipings to be damaged, and cooling medium is prevented from leaking. Also, the cooling medium flows by making a U-turn inside the cooling member, thereby enabling positions on outside and inside in the vehicle width direction of a battery to be cooled evenly.