Mixed-Chemistry Battery Pack Layout for Thermal Runaway and Space Use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery pack layouts face challenges in maximizing volume utilization while minimizing the risk of thermal runaway, as the brick arrangement reduces overall capacity and volumetric energy density due to unused space and differing thermal conductivity between nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) and lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack layout utilizing mixed chemistry cells with NCM and LFP cells, where cells have two fixed dimensions and one floating dimension, arranged in a brick or sandwiched style, optimizing cell placement to maximize volume utilization and heat dispersion, with NCM cells surrounded by LFP cells to reduce thermal runaway risk.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cells are arranged in a brick arrangement to improve thermal management, then thermal runaway risk is reduced, but volume utilization and volumetric energy density decrease due to unused space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of battery cells by providing one dimension as a floating parameter that can be adjusted. This allows cells to be customized in size and shape to perfectly fit the available space in the battery pack, eliminating unused gaps while maintaining the thermal management benefits of staggered arrangements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary optimization of cell arrangement by using computational methods to determine the optimal configuration of cells with floating dimensions before manufacturing. This preliminary design stage ensures maximum volume utilization is achieved while maintaining thermal safety, avoiding the need for physical trial-and-error adjustments.
2Reliability
If cells are arranged in a brick arrangement to improve thermal management, then thermal runaway risk is reduced, but volumetric energy density decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By making cell dimensions adjustable (floating parameters), the system can optimize the number and size of cells to maximize energy storage capacity within the fixed battery pack volume, thereby increasing volumetric energy density while preserving thermal safety through optimized spacing and arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes three-dimensional optimization by allowing cells to have different lengths, widths, or heights as floating parameters. This dimensional flexibility enables cells to be arranged in complex 3D configurations that fill the battery pack volume more efficiently, increasing the quantity of active material per unit volume.
3Ease of manufacture
If cell dimensions are fixed to simplify manufacturing, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but volume utilization decreases due to unused space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a hybrid approach where two cell dimensions are fixed for manufacturing simplicity while one dimension is made floating for optimization. This selective parameter adjustment balances manufacturing ease with volume utilization, allowing standardization in most dimensions while providing flexibility only where needed to eliminate waste space.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the cell dimension parameters into fixed and floating categories. By dividing the six cell dimensions (length, width, height, and their variations) into groups with different degrees of freedom, the system maintains manufacturing simplicity for the majority of dimensions while optimizing only the critical dimension that impacts volume utilization.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the disclosure include a layout for a battery pack having mixed chemistry cells. An exemplary battery pack can include a plurality of first battery cells of a first cell chemistry. Each one of the plurality of first battery cells can include a same first height, a same first width, and a same first length. The battery pack can further include a plurality of second battery cells of a second cell chemistry different than the first cell chemistry. The second cell chemistry can provide a lower capacity than the first cell chemistry. Each one of the plurality of second battery cells can include the same first height, the same first width, and a same second length. The second length can be greater than the first length.