Parallel Cold Plate Battery Cooling for Uniform Pack Temperatures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery cooling systems face challenges in efficiently cooling large batteries due to manufacturing complexities and temperature variations across multiple cold plates in series, leading to inadequate heat management.
Innovation Solution
A battery cooling system with multiple cold plates arranged in parallel, where each cold plate slot is coupled to both a first fluid passage for coolant inlet and a second fluid passage for coolant outlet, allowing coolant to flow through each plate independently to ensure even cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If multiple cold plates are arranged in series to cool a large battery, then the cooling system can handle the thermal load, but the temperature varies across different cold plates leading to uneven cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system divides the battery into multiple sections, each served by its own cold plate connected to independent fluid passages. This segmentation allows each cold plate to receive coolant at the same temperature, ensuring uniform cooling across all battery sections without the temperature gradient problem inherent in series configurations.
2Area of stationary object
If a single large cold plate is manufactured to cool the entire battery, then cooling coverage is sufficient, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of manufacturing one large cold plate, the system uses multiple smaller cold plates that can be independently manufactured and then assembled. This segmentation reduces manufacturing complexity while achieving the same total cooling coverage area, as each smaller plate is easier to produce with consistent quality.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple independently manufactured cold plates are combined through the support rail structure to form a complete cooling system. The fluid passages in the support rails connect all cold plates in parallel, merging their cooling effects to achieve comprehensive battery coverage while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple cold plates are used in parallel to ensure even cooling, then temperature uniformity improves, but the fluid passage configuration becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The support rail structure serves as an intermediary that houses the fluid passages and connects all cold plates in parallel. This intermediary structure simplifies the overall configuration by centralizing the fluid distribution system, making it easier to manage and install compared to direct connections between multiple cold plates.
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 configuration reduces manufacturing complexity and ensures consistent cooling across the battery, maintaining optimal operating temperatures and extending battery performance and longevity.
Implementation Method 1
provide a thermal barrier to inhibit heat conduction from the battery assembly to surrounding components
Implementation Method 2
flowing coolant through the plurality of cold plates arranged in parallel
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for a battery cooling enclosure. In one embodiment, the battery cooling enclosure may be incorporated in an electric vehicle and may comprise battery cooling system, including a first support rail with a first coolant inlet, a second support rail with a first coolant outlet, and a plurality of cold plate slots arranged in parallel between the first support rail and the second support rail. Each slot of the plurality of cold plate slots is coupled to a first fluid passage of the first support rail and a second fluid passage of the second support rail. The battery cooling system of the battery cooling enclosure may thus allow for cooling of a battery using a variable amount of cold plates.