Immersion Battery Cooling With Recycled Coolant for Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas turbine systems face inefficiencies and weight issues due to bulky cooling systems required for electrical storage, which can lead to overheating and failure of battery cells, and there is a need for improved thermal management to enhance reliability and reduce weight.
Innovation Solution
An energy storage thermal management system that submerges energy storage cells in a liquid coolant bath for nucleate boiling, using a pump and condenser to recycle coolant, eliminating the need for secondary cooling loops and providing corrosion protection, while allowing for single-phase cooling and reverse heat transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If multiple cooling loops are used to cool battery cells, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but system weight and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the cooling function into a single loop system where the same coolant circuit serves both the battery cooling needs and the turbine cooling system. This eliminates the need for separate multiple cooling loops while maintaining effective temperature control of battery cells through integrated heat exchange mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The coolant system is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: cooling battery cells, cooling turbine components, and managing thermal energy storage. This multi-functional approach reduces overall system complexity by eliminating dedicated separate cooling loops for each function.
2Temperature
If multiple cooling loops are used to cool battery cells, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but system weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple cooling functions into a single integrated cooling loop, eliminating redundant coolant circuits, pumps, and heat exchangers. This merger significantly reduces the overall weight of the cooling system while maintaining adequate cooling effectiveness for battery cells through shared thermal management infrastructure.
3Reliability
If active cooling is provided to maintain battery temperature, then battery reliability is improved, but system complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates battery cooling into the existing turbine cooling system, using the same coolant loop and heat exchange infrastructure. This eliminates the need for separate active cooling systems specifically for batteries, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining battery reliability through effective temperature management within the unified thermal management system.
4Temperature
If bulky cooling systems are used to cool battery cells, then cooling capacity is improved, but fuel efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges battery cooling requirements into the turbine's existing cooling system, eliminating bulky dedicated cooling apparatus. This integration reduces the overall mass and energy consumption of the cooling system, thereby improving fuel efficiency while maintaining adequate battery temperature control through the shared thermal management infrastructure.
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 solution reduces weight and complexity, enhances reliability by preventing overheating, and allows for efficient thermal management, improving the performance and efficiency of gas turbine systems.
Implementation Method 1
An energy storage thermal management system that submerges energy storage cells in a liquid coolant bath for nucleate boiling
Implementation Method 2
a heat exchanger configured to receive vapor phase coolant from the chamber and remove thermal energy from the vapor phase coolant to change the coolant from the vapor phase to the liquid phase
Implementation Method 3
a battery including a heat sink configured to transfer thermal energy with the battery
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
An energy storage thermal management system (300) comprising: an energy storage compartment (302) including a liquid coolant bath portion (308); a plurality of energy storage cells (304) positioned within the energy storage compartment (302) and submerged within the liquid coolant bath portion (308); a pump (314) in communication with the energy storage compartment (302); a heat exchanger (316) in communication with the pump (314), the heat exchanger (316) being configured to return liquid coolant to the energy storage compartment (302).