Modular Battery Cooling Assembly With Serpentine Fluid Circuit
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current solutions for cooling battery units in hybrid and electric vehicles are inflexible and difficult to maintain, with complex constructions requiring numerous leak-tight connections and resulting in bulky, multicomponent structures that complicate installation and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A modular assembly for the inlet, circulation, and outlet of a heat transfer fluid in a battery unit, featuring base modules with rectilinear channels and bridges that form a U-shaped or serpentine circuit, allowing for flexible configuration and reduced component count, with modules fastened to an extruded metal floor for efficient heat transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If traditional cooling solutions with extruded aluminum floor and rectilinear channels are used, then heat transfer effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and installation difficulty increase due to numerous leak-tight connections required
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into modular components: a floor module containing the extruded aluminum floor with integrated channels, and separate channel modules that can be assembled together. This segmentation allows each module to be manufactured and tested independently, reducing the complexity of assembling numerous leak-tight connections while maintaining effective heat transfer pathways.
Solution Approach 2:
The channel structures are merged with the floor module to create an integrated assembly. The channels are formed as integral parts of the floor structure rather than separate components requiring multiple connections. This merging reduces the number of leak-tight connections needed while preserving the rectilinear channel configuration for effective heat transfer.
2Temperature
If traditional cooling solutions with numerous leak-tight connections are used, then heat transfer fluid circulation is achieved, but maintenance difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into replaceable modules, allowing the channel modules to be independently removed and replaced without disassembling the entire floor structure. This reduces maintenance difficulty by enabling quick replacement of worn or damaged channel modules without affecting other components.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular channel modules are designed to be easily discarded and replaced rather than repaired. When channels become worn or damaged, entire modules can be quickly swapped out, reducing maintenance time and complexity while ensuring continuous effective temperature regulation.
3Temperature
If traditional multicomponent cooling structures are used, then cooling function is provided, but installation complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into pre-assembled modules that can be manufactured separately and then quickly installed. The floor module with integrated channels and the channel modules are designed as complete units that reduce on-site assembly complexity and installation time while maintaining effective cooling functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple cooling functions are merged into integrated modules that combine floor structure, channel networks, and fluid distribution features. This merging reduces the number of separate components that need to be installed and connected, significantly reducing installation time while preserving comprehensive cooling coverage.
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 modular assembly provides a compact, flexible, and efficient temperature regulation system with reduced parts and assembly complexity, enhancing the service life and range of battery units while simplifying maintenance and installation.
Implementation Method 1
The channels (2) are arranged in the floor (12) of said casing (1) and receive a heat transfer fluid for circulating in order to regulate the temperature of said battery unit
Implementation Method 2
circulation of a heat transfer fluid... to improve exchanges of heat and to increase the effectiveness of the regulation
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a modular assembly for the circulation of a heat transfer fluid of a motor vehicle battery housed in a casing (1) with a floor having channels receiving said fluid, characterised in that the casing (1) comprises: —a module (3) for inlet and outlet of said fluid via a base module (4), the latter comprising channels facing and sealingly abutting the ends of the channels of said floor, said base modules (4) being attached on the floor, —a plurality of base modules (4) distributed along each of the two faces of the floor and facing with a sealing abutment on the ends of the channels of the floor, and —a plurality of bridges (5) fluidically connecting two adjacent base modules (4) and two base modules (4) situated on the opposite side of the casing (1) so as to form a serpentine-shaped circuit.