Flexible Member for Battery Module Thermal Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery modules have inefficiencies in heat transfer due to non-contact regions between protrusions on partitions and unit cells, limiting effective cooling.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a flexible member between unit battery cells and a separation wall within the housing, made from materials like styrene butadien rubber or thermal conductive metals, to enhance adhesion and heat transfer efficiency, eliminating the need for separate cooling passages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If protrusions are formed on partitions to cool unit cells, then cooling is achieved in contact regions, but regions where protrusions do not contact unit cells remain uncooled
Solution Approach 1:
A flexible cooling film is introduced between the partition and unit cells, conforming to surface irregularities to ensure continuous thermal contact. The film's flexibility allows it to adapt to varying geometries, eliminating gaps where cooling would be ineffective while maintaining simple partition structures with protrusions.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible cooling film acts as an intermediary element between the rigid partition protrusions and the unit cells. It mediates the thermal transfer by ensuring continuous contact across all regions, including areas where rigid protrusions cannot directly touch the battery cells, thereby extending cooling coverage without increasing structural complexity.
2Ease of manufacture
If rigid partitions with protrusions are used for cooling, then manufacturing is simplified, but heat transfer efficiency is reduced due to non-contact regions
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible cooling film maintains the simplicity of rigid partition manufacturing while dramatically improving heat transfer efficiency. The film can be easily manufactured as a thin flexible component and installed between existing rigid partitions and battery cells, eliminating energy loss from contact gaps without requiring complex precision machining of the partitions themselves.
Solution Approach 2:
The introduction of a flexible film changes the contact interface parameters from rigid-point contact to flexible-surface contact. This parameter change enables continuous thermal contact across the entire interface, maximizing heat transfer efficiency while maintaining the simple geometric parameters and manufacturing processes of the rigid partition structures.
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 flexible member improves heat transfer efficiency by ensuring close adherence between unit battery cells and the separation wall, enhancing cooling performance without requiring additional cooling passages.
Implementation Method 1
The flexible member improves heat transfer efficiency by ensuring close adherence between unit battery cells and the separation wall
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a battery module including a flexible member including: a housing; at least one separation wall partitioning an inside of the housing into a predetermined number of separated spaces; at least two unit battery cells including a case, a battery cell included in the case, and negative and positive electrodes tabs connected to the battery cell; and a flexible member inserted between the unit battery cells, wherein the unit battery cells and the flexible member are included in a space partitioned by the separation wall.