Segmented Battery Cooling Block for Uniform Cell Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Direct cooling methods for battery packs face challenges in evenly distributing coolant across closely packed battery cells, leading to uneven cooling and reduced performance and cycle life.
Innovation Solution
A battery cooling block with a housing featuring a flow chamber and compartments defined by partially open walls with circumferentially spaced segments, allowing coolant to flow directly around cylindrical battery cells and enhancing heat exchange through turbulent flow, while being formed via additive manufacturing for structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If direct cooling method is used with closely packed battery cells, then cooling efficiency is improved, but uneven cooling occurs leading to reduced performance and cycle life
Solution Approach 1:
The compartment wall is segmented into multiple wall segments spaced apart circumferentially around the compartment axis. This segmentation creates gaps that allow coolant to flow through and directly contact the battery cell at multiple locations, ensuring more uniform heat extraction across the cell surface while maintaining the direct cooling method's high efficiency.
2Area of stationary object
If closely packed arrangement of battery cells is used, then space utilization is improved, but coolant distribution becomes uneven
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system provides locally optimized coolant flow paths through the segmented wall structure. Each gap between wall segments creates a localized flow channel that directs coolant to specific regions of the battery cell, ensuring uniform cooling across the entire cell surface even in the closely packed arrangement where space is constrained.
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 ensures more uniform and efficient cooling of battery cells by increasing the surface area contact between coolant and cells, improving cooling performance and maintaining structural integrity through the use of additive manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
the cooling fluid directly contacts the battery cells to provide a more immediate heat exchange between the battery cells and the cooling fluid
Implementation Method 2
enhancing heat exchange through turbulent flow
Data Source
AI summary
A battery cooling block, including: a housing defining a flow chamber and including a first and second port configured to allow flow of coolant through flow chamber along a first axis; the housing further including a plurality of compartments disposed in the flow chamber, each compartment extending along a respective compartment axis perpendicular to first axis and each compartment configured to receive respective cylindrical battery cell; wherein each compartment is defined by partially open compartment wall within flow chamber, compartment wall including a plurality of wall segments extending parallel to compartment axis and which are circumferentially spaced apart around compartment axis wherein respective battery cell is partially exposed to flow of coolant. A battery assembly, including: plurality of cylindrical battery cells; and battery cooling block as described above. Each of the plurality of cylindrical battery cells is received in respective one of the plurality of compartments of battery cooling block.