Fire-Retardant Insert Assembly for Battery Module Gap Venting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lithium secondary battery assemblies face safety concerns due to thermal runaway, which can lead to fires and explosions, with empty spaces in battery modules allowing flames to spread easily, posing a significant risk to the electric vehicle market.
Innovation Solution
A fire-retardant assembly is introduced, featuring a fire-retardant member with silicon dioxide and an exterior material that melts at a lower temperature than the fire-retardant member, designed to be inserted into empty spaces between busbar assemblies and cell tabs, effectively preventing hot gas discharge and providing a path for venting hot gases during thermal runaway.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If empty spaces are left in battery modules for structural design flexibility, then ease of manufacture and assembly are improved, but fire spread risk increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
A fire-retardant member is introduced as an intermediary substance filled into empty spaces between battery cells and busbar assemblies. This member acts as a mediator that prevents direct contact between flames and adjacent components, blocking fire spread paths while maintaining the structural flexibility needed for manufacturing and assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The fire-retardant member is constructed from composite materials including silicon dioxide particles dispersed in a heat-resistant matrix. This composite structure provides both fire-retardant properties and appropriate mechanical characteristics to fill empty spaces effectively, resolving the contradiction between safety and manufacturability.
2Reliability
If fire-retardant members with high melting point materials are used, then fire resistance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases due to processing difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The fire-retardant member utilizes silicon dioxide particles with a high melting point (approximately 1700°C) dispersed in a polymer matrix. By changing the material parameters to use inorganic particles with known thermal properties, the invention achieves high fire resistance while maintaining manufacturability through conventional mixing and molding processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The fire-retardant member is designed with a porous structure that accommodates silicon dioxide particles within a matrix. This porous configuration allows the material to maintain structural integrity at high temperatures while being manufacturable through standard injection molding or compression molding techniques, reducing processing complexity.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If exterior material melts at lower temperature than fire-retardant member, then controlled venting path is achieved, but structural stability decreases under thermal stress
Solution Approach 1:
The fire-retardant assembly is segmented into two distinct functional layers: an exterior material layer with lower melting point for controlled venting, and an inner fire-retardant member with high melting point silicon dioxide for structural stability and fire blocking. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function without compromising overall assembly integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the fire-retardant assembly have different thermal properties tailored to their specific functions. The exterior material is designed with lower melting point characteristics for venting control, while the inner fire-retardant member maintains high thermal stability. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction between controlled venting and structural stability.
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 significantly enhances the thermal and fire resistance of battery assemblies, preventing the spread of heat and flames, thereby improving safety and stability, particularly in electric vehicles and energy storage systems.
Implementation Method 1
The exterior material may start to melt when a preset temperature is reached.
Implementation Method 2
a fire-retardant member including a fire-retardant material... preventing or mitigating hot gas generated from a battery assembly... from being discharged toward a tab of the battery cell
Implementation Method 3
venting hot gas generated from a battery cell in which thermal runaway has occurred along an intended path
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiment of the present disclosure relate to a fire-retardant assembly including a fire-retardant member including a fire-retardant material and a pillar-shaped exterior material for accommodating the fire-retardant member therein, and a method of manufacturing the same. And the fire-retardant assembly is arranged into an insertion space formed between a plurality of battery cells and an accommodation case.