Resistive Mesh Sensor for Battery Enclosure Damage Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery pack enclosures in electric vehicles are prone to undetected damage during crash events, which can lead to thermal propagation and failure, as the existing protection mechanisms do not effectively monitor damage to the battery modules and cells, especially when damage is not visually apparent.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack enclosure with a mesh of resistive wires embedded between the battery modules and the enclosure surface, monitored by an electronic control unit to detect changes in resistance, allowing for early detection of damage before a thermal event occurs, and enabling the specific damaged module to be located and disabled.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional battery pack enclosures are used without additional sensing mechanisms, then the device complexity is low, but the reliability of damage detection is insufficient leading to undetected crash damage
Solution Approach 1:
The mesh sensor is integrated directly into the battery pack enclosure structure, merging the sensing function with the structural component. This eliminates the need for separate sensing mechanisms while providing continuous damage monitoring capability, thereby improving reliability without significantly increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure structure itself serves dual purposes: providing mechanical protection and acting as the sensing medium through the embedded mesh. The structure monitors its own integrity by detecting changes in the mesh resistance caused by deformation or damage, enabling self-diagnosis without external monitoring systems
2Reliability
If no real-time monitoring of battery module integrity is implemented, then the manufacturing cost is lower, but the ability to detect damage early is insufficient leading to thermal propagation risk
Solution Approach 1:
The mesh sensor provides continuous monitoring of the battery module enclosure integrity before thermal events can occur. By detecting deformation or damage early through resistance changes in the mesh, the system can trigger protective actions before thermal propagation develops, preventing catastrophic failure
Solution Approach 2:
The electronic control unit continuously monitors the resistance of the mesh sensor and compares it against baseline values. When changes exceed predetermined thresholds, the system provides feedback to disable affected battery modules, creating a closed-loop protection mechanism that responds dynamically to enclosure integrity changes
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 provides early detection of damage, preventing thermal propagation and ensuring a safer battery enclosure by allowing for the identification and isolation of damaged modules, thereby reducing the risk of non-passive failure in the energy storage system.
Implementation Method 1
A battery pack enclosure with a mesh of resistive wires embedded between the battery modules and the enclosure surface, monitored by an electronic control unit to detect changes in resistance
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack enclosure, a battery module, and a method are provided to detect damage to in a crash event. The battery pack enclosure may include a plurality of battery modules, wherein each battery modules includes a plurality of adjacent battery cells. The battery pack enclosure may also include a sensor and an electronic control unit electronically connected to the sensor, the electronic control unit configured to monitor the sensor to detect damage to the battery pack enclosure. The sensor may comprise a mesh of resistive wires, and the electronic control unit monitors the overall resistance of the mesh resistive wires. The overall resistance of the mesh resistive wires can be used to determine whether there is damage to the battery pack enclosure. If damage is detected, the damage can further be located, and an alert sent.