Hexagonal Battery Module Layout for Dense EV Pack Cooling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery modules face limitations in space utilization, energy density, cooling efficiency, and structural rigidity, particularly in electric vehicles, due to restrictive packaging and dead space generation around wheelhouses.
Innovation Solution
A battery module design featuring a hexagonal base plate with split plates and a housing with a hexagonal pillar shape, incorporating a cell tray, bus bar frame assembly, and a mounting pin with a flow path for cooling fluid, allowing for flexible shape configuration and improved structural rigidity and cooling performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional battery pack shapes are used to fit OEM vehicle specifications, then the battery pack can be installed in the vehicle, but dead space is generated near wheel houses leading to reduced energy density
Solution Approach 1:
The battery module is divided into three cell stacks arranged in a triangular configuration within a hexagonal housing. This segmentation allows the battery pack to be composed of multiple modular units that can be flexibly arranged to fit different vehicle spaces, reducing dead space while maintaining high energy density
Solution Approach 2:
The hexagonal pillar-shaped housing with triangular cell stack arrangement serves multiple functions: it maximizes space utilization in diverse vehicle configurations, provides structural rigidity through its geometric shape, and enables flexible packaging to minimize dead space near wheel houses while maintaining adaptability to different OEM specifications
2Quantity of substance
If battery module structure is optimized to minimize dead space and improve energy density, then energy density increases, but cooling efficiency and structural rigidity may decrease
Solution Approach 1:
Each cell stack is equipped with an independent cooling plate, creating three separate cooling channels. This segmented cooling approach ensures efficient heat dissipation from each cell stack while maintaining the compact high-density triangular arrangement, preventing thermal management efficiency loss despite the optimized space utilization
3Quantity of substance
If battery module structure is optimized to minimize dead space and improve energy density, then energy density increases, but structural rigidity may decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The hexagonal housing with triangular cell stack arrangement creates an asymmetric yet geometrically efficient structure. The hexagonal pillar shape provides inherent structural rigidity while the triangular configuration of three cell stacks optimizes space utilization, achieving both high energy density and structural strength
Solution Approach 2:
The hexagonal pillar-shaped housing serves dual purposes: it provides structural rigidity through its geometric shape that resists deformation, and simultaneously enables flexible packaging arrangements to minimize dead space. The housing structure itself becomes both a protective element and a space-optimization tool
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 design minimizes dead space, enhances energy density, and maintains structural rigidity while improving cooling efficiency by allowing the battery pack shape to be adjusted and utilizing a cooling system that effectively dissipates heat.
Implementation Method 1
The mounting pin may have a flow path formed by penetrating a central portion thereof to allow a cooling fluid to pass therethrough
Data Source
AI summary
A battery module including: three cell stacks where each of the three cell stacks includes a plurality of battery cells; a cell tray including a base plate on which the three cell stacks are seated, and three split plates disposed upright on the base plate to partition a space so that the three cell stacks may be disposed in spaces separated from each other; a housing for the three cell stacks and the cell tray, where the housing has a hexagonal pillar shape; and a bus bar frame assembly configured to cover an opening formed in an upper portion of the housing, where the bus bar frame assembly electrically connects the plurality of battery cells.