Segmented Busbar Cooling for Fast-Charging Battery Packs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for managing thermal management issues in vehicle battery packs, such as those arising from rapid charging and discharging, are ineffective due to increased weight, cost, and complexity, and do not adequately address heat buildup in busbars.
Innovation Solution
A busbar cooling system with a conductive assembly and enclosure that bathes conductors in a non-conductive fluid, featuring a unique configuration with spaced-apart conductors and internal cavities to enhance heat dissipation, allowing for higher current levels without increasing material costs or weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If higher charging currents are used to reduce charging time, then charging speed is improved, but thermal management issues worsen due to heat buildup
Solution Approach 1:
The busbar is divided into multiple segments with cooling channels integrated between them. This segmentation allows cooling fluid to flow through and around each segment, effectively removing heat from high-current carrying sections without requiring the entire busbar structure to be enlarged for cooling purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system is merged with the busbar structure itself, creating an integrated thermal management solution. The cooling channels are formed within the busbar housing, and the busbar segments are mechanically and thermally coupled to the cooling fluid flow path, combining electrical current transmission and thermal management into a single integrated component.
2Temperature
If conventional cooling methods are applied to battery packs, then thermal management is improved, but system weight and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is merged with the busbar structure itself, creating an integrated thermal management solution. The cooling channels are formed within the busbar housing, and the busbar segments are mechanically and thermally coupled to the cooling fluid flow path, combining electrical current transmission and thermal management into a single integrated component.
Solution Approach 2:
The busbar housing serves multiple functions: it provides structural support for the electrical connections, acts as a thermal management system through integrated cooling channels, and serves as a mounting structure for the busbar segments. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate cooling plates, mounting brackets, and insulation components.
3Reliability
If busbar cross-sectional area is increased to reduce resistance, then electrical performance is improved, but material cost and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
A liquid cooling fluid is circulated through channels formed in the busbar housing to actively remove heat from the busbar segments. This hydraulic cooling system allows the busbar to operate at higher current densities without excessive temperature rise, effectively replacing the need for larger cross-sectional area with an active thermal management approach.
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
Effectively manages thermal issues by reducing heat buildup, enabling faster charging and discharging, and allowing the use of less expensive, lighter materials while meeting vehicle specifications, thus improving efficiency and reducing downtime.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling system that includes a conductive assembly with an internal cooling core that is bathed with a cooling fluid within the enclosure
Implementation Method 2
These thermal management issues, namely the build-up of heat, result from the high current flow over electrical components that have resistances
Data Source
AI summary
A busbar cooling system includes an enclosure and a conductive assembly. The enclosure has a first non-conductive housing and a second non-conductive housing that are configured to permit fluid to flow through the busbar cooling system, the upper housing having an upper internal wall arrangement and the lower housing having a lower internal wall arrangement, wherein the upper and lower internal wall arrangements collectively define a plurality of distinct and concentrically arranged cavities. The conductive assembly is configured to permit electrical current to pass through the busbar cooling system, said conductive assembly includes an internal cooling core having a plurality individual conductors that are concentrically arranged in a spaced apart relationship to one another, and wherein each cavity is configured to receive a substantial extent of one of the conductors of the internal cooling core.