Vertical Cooling Plate Structure for Battery Cell Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid cooling plates for battery cells are heavy, costly, and prone to welding defects, affecting flatness, heat exchange efficiency, and safety due to brazing, leading to reduced service life and safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
A vertical cooling plate design featuring a flow tube made of thermally conductive plastic and a flexible thermally conductive plate molded on its surface, fitted perpendicular to the battery cell surface, enhancing contact area and heat exchange efficiency while reducing weight and cost, and accommodating battery expansion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If aluminum alloy cooling plates are used with brazing, then heat exchange efficiency is improved, but weight increases and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling plate uses a composite structure combining aluminum alloy base material with plastic thermally conductive members. The plastic components (inlet/outlet ports and flow channels) are molded directly into the aluminum alloy plate, creating a composite structure that reduces weight while maintaining thermal conductivity. This resolves the contradiction by using materials with different properties in a integrated manner - the aluminum provides structural integrity and base thermal conductivity, while the plastic reduces weight and enables complex flow channel geometries.
2Strength
If aluminum alloy cooling plates are brazed, then structural strength is improved, but welding defects reduce strength and safety
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the problematic brazing process from the manufacturing method. Instead of brazing separate components, the plastic thermally conductive members are molded directly into the aluminum alloy plate in a single injection molding process. This eliminates the brazing step entirely, removing the source of welding defects while still achieving a strong integrated structure through the molding process.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges multiple manufacturing steps into a single injection molding process. The aluminum alloy plate with integrated plastic thermally conductive members is produced in one operation, combining what would traditionally require separate brazing steps. This integration eliminates the brazing process and its associated defects while maintaining structural integrity.
3Temperature
If traditional liquid cooling plates are used, then cooling function is provided, but contact area with battery cell is limited reducing cooling strength
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from traditional bottom-mounted cooling plates to a side-mounted configuration. By placing the cooling plate on the side surface of the battery cell rather than at the bottom, the cooling surface utilizes a different spatial dimension, significantly increasing the contact area between the cooling plate and the battery cell. This dimensional change allows for much larger heat exchange surfaces.
4Stability of the object's composition
If rigid cooling plates are used, then structural stability is improved, but inability to absorb battery expansion reduces reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The invention incorporates a flexible thermally conductive plate layer in the form of a thin film that can deform elastically. This flexible layer is positioned between the rigid cooling plate structure and the battery cell, allowing it to absorb expansion forces from the battery while maintaining thermal contact. The thin film structure provides both flexibility for accommodation and sufficient thermal conductivity for heat transfer.
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 vertical cooling plate improves cooling strength, heat exchange efficiency, and safety by increasing contact area, reducing weight, and ensuring flexibility to absorb battery expansion, thus enhancing operational reliability and safety.
Implementation Method 1
The thermally conductive plate is configured to be fitted on the battery cell, enabling the heat exchange medium to receive heat transferred from the battery cell via the thermally conductive plate and the flow tube
Implementation Method 2
The thermally conductive plate is directly molded on a surface of the flow tube by infusion
Data Source
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AI summary
A cooling plate (100), a method for producing a cooling plate, and a battery pack. The cooling plate (100) is configured to be fitted on a surface of a battery cell perpendicular to a thickness direction of the battery cell. The cooling plate (100) includes a flow tube (10) and a thermally conductive plate (20). The thermally conductive plate (20) is directly molded on a surface of the flow tube (10) by infusion, enabling the thermally conductive plate (20) to wrap the flow tube (10). The flow tube (10) is defined with a flow cavity (101) configured for a heat exchange medium to pass through. The thermally conductive plate (20) is configured to be fitted on the battery cell, enabling the heat exchange medium to receive heat transferred from the battery cell via the thermally conductive plate (20) and the flow tube (10).