Variable Cooling Conduit for Swelling Battery Cells
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling systems for electric vehicle batteries do not effectively adapt to the varying cooling needs of battery cells as they degrade and age, leading to inefficient temperature management and reduced performance.
Innovation Solution
A cooling system with a variable dimension cooling conduit that adjusts based on the cell swelling mechanism of battery cells, allowing for increased coolant flow as cells swell, ensuring tailored cooling for each cell and improved temperature distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fixed cooling system is used for battery cells, then the cooling structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the cooling efficiency decreases as battery cells degrade and swell
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling conduit is designed with a variable cross-sectional area that changes along its length, allowing the cooling system to dynamically adapt to the swelling battery cells. The cross-sectional area increases from the first end to the second end of the conduit, enabling better contact and heat transfer as cells degrade and expand during their service life.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameter of the cooling conduit by varying its cross-sectional area along the length. This parameter change allows the cooling system to accommodate different cell volumes during aging while maintaining effective thermal contact, thus improving cooling efficiency without requiring a completely complex system redesign.
2Reliability
If the cooling conduit cross-sectional area is increased to accommodate swollen cells, then cooling efficiency improves, but the manufacturing complexity and material usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling conduit features a dynamically varying cross-sectional area rather than a uniform structure. This design allows the conduit to adapt to cell swelling while maintaining manufacturability through standard forming processes that can create gradual area transitions along the conduit length.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a uniform cooling system is used for all battery cells, then the system is simple to implement, but it cannot address varying degradation rates of individual cells
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling conduit is designed with non-uniform local properties, where the cross-sectional area varies at different positions along its length. This local variation allows different sections of the conduit to adapt to the specific swelling characteristics of individual battery cells, providing cell-specific cooling adaptation within a single integrated structure.
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 enhances the performance and service life of battery cells by providing adaptive cooling that matches the changing needs of aging cells, ensuring efficient temperature management and distribution across multiple cells.
Implementation Method 1
the variable dimension of the cooling conduit is variable in dependence on a cell swelling mechanism of the at least one battery cell
Implementation Method 2
The cooling system comprises a cooling conduit for coolant fluid. The cooling conduit is arranged for cooling of at least one battery cell of the electric battery
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to a cooling system for one or more battery cells of an electric battery, comprising: a cooling conduit for coolant fluid, wherein the cooling conduit is arranged for cooling of at least one battery cell of the electric battery, characterized in that, the cooling conduit has a variable dimension being indicative of a variable amount of coolant fluid to flow in the cooling conduit, and the variable dimension of the cooling conduit is variable in dependence on a cell swelling mechanism of the at least one battery cell.