Multi-Face Heat Pipe Cooling for EV Battery Cells
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing thermal management systems for electric vehicle batteries fail to ensure homogeneous temperature distribution and efficient cooling under critical conditions, particularly during rapid charging, leading to potential overheating and reduced lifespan.
Innovation Solution
Thermally coupling a heat pipe to multiple faces of the electric cell, including at least three, four, or five faces, to enhance heat exchange surface area and improve temperature homogeneity and drainage of calories, using rigid or flexible materials to conform to the cell shape and facilitate installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a heat pipe is placed against a single face of an electric cell, then the heat transfer from the electric cell to the heat exchanger is improved, but the temperature distribution within the electric cell becomes inhomogeneous
Solution Approach 1:
The heat pipe system is segmented to contact multiple faces (at least three, preferably four or five) of the electric cell, dividing the heat extraction function across multiple contact points rather than relying on a single face contact, thereby achieving both efficient heat transfer and homogeneous temperature distribution
Solution Approach 2:
The heat pipe arrangement transitions from a single-face (2D contact) to multi-face (3D distributed contact) configuration, adding spatial dimensionality to the heat exchange surfaces and enabling more uniform thermal management throughout the electric cell volume
2Productivity
If rapid charging is performed on the electric cell, then the charging time is reduced, but the heat generation within the electric cell increases beyond critical thresholds
Solution Approach 1:
The heat generated during rapid charging, which would normally be a harmful effect, is converted into a manageable thermal load by distributing it across multiple heat pipe contact faces, allowing the thermal management system to efficiently extract and dissipate the heat without compromising cell temperature limits
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal management system uses a composite approach combining multiple heat pipe contact surfaces with a heat exchanger, creating an enhanced thermal conduction pathway that can handle the high heat fluxes generated during rapid charging operations
3Stability of the object's composition
If the heat pipe contact area with the electric cell is increased, then the temperature homogeneity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat pipe system is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it provides thermal conduction across multiple faces, distributes heat extraction uniformly, and adapts to different electric cell configurations (at least three, four, or five faces), reducing the need for additional specialized components
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 solution achieves improved thermal capacity and reliability by enhancing temperature homogeneity and efficient heat transfer, protecting the cell from overheating during rapid charging and maintaining optimal operating temperatures.
Implementation Method 1
the heat pipe providing the thermal connection between the electric cell and the heat exchanger
Implementation Method 2
heat exchanges to be distributed over a larger contact area, further homogenizing the temperature throughout the entire electric cell
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The invention relates to a vehicle electrical energy storage device (1) configured to power at least one electric motor providing traction for the vehicle, the electrical energy storage device (1) comprising at least one electric cell (2) of parallelepipedal cross section delimited by at least two faces (21 – 23), the electrical energy storage device (1) comprising at least one heat exchanger (4) thermally coupled to the electric cell (2), at least one heat pipe (3) being thermally coupled to the electric cell (2) and thermally coupled to the heat exchanger (4), characterized in that the heat pipe (3) is thermally coupled to the at least two faces (21 – 23) of the one same electric cell (2).