Sectioned Battery Pack Sidewall Assembly for Moisture-Sealed Fastening
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing traction battery enclosures for electrified vehicles face challenges in securely fastening and sealing their sidewall sections, which can lead to potential moisture and contaminant ingress, affecting the integrity and performance of the battery pack.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves an enclosure design with extruded upper and lower sidewall sections that are secured using fasteners accessible from within the enclosure, with a seal placed outside the fastener area to prevent moisture ingress, and a flangeless design that allows for secure attachment and load distribution across the vehicle frame, accommodating multiple battery tiers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If fasteners are used to secure sidewall sections together, then structural integrity is improved, but potential pathways for moisture and contaminant ingress are created
Solution Approach 1:
A seal member is introduced as an intermediary element between the sidewall sections and fasteners. The seal member includes a first portion that contacts the first sidewall section, a second portion that contacts the second sidewall section, and extends between them to prevent moisture and contaminant ingress along the fastener pathway while allowing the fasteners to secure the sections together.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional sealing methods are used at fastener locations, then moisture protection is improved, but structural strength and accessibility are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The seal member is segmented into a first portion and a second portion, where the first portion contacts the first sidewall section and the second portion contacts the second sidewall section. This segmentation allows the seal to provide moisture protection without interfering with the fastener's structural function, as each portion independently seals against its respective sidewall section.
3Ease of operation
If sidewall sections are designed with flanges for external fastening, then ease of assembly is improved, but structural complexity and load distribution are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of providing external flanges for fastening, the design inverts the approach by making the interior surfaces of the sidewall sections substantially planar and using fasteners accessible from within the enclosure. This inversion simplifies the exterior profile, reduces structural complexity, and improves load distribution across the vehicle frame while maintaining ease of assembly through internal fastener access.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack includes an upper sidewall section of an enclosure, a lower sidewall section of the enclosure, and a fastener that moves to a secured position to secure the upper sidewall section to the lower sidewall section. The fastener is configured to be moved to the secured position from within an interior area of the enclosure. The battery pack further includes a gasket seal held between the upper sidewall section and the lower sidewall section at a position outside the fastener relative to an interior area of the enclosure.