Vortex Flow Cooling for Battery Assemblies
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery assemblies face inefficiencies in cooling due to the extended temperature boundary layer when cooling air flows along the lateral surface in the stacking direction, leading to reduced cooling efficiency and increased size.
Innovation Solution
A temperature adjusting structure for electric power storage devices that includes a circulation path on the lateral surface with a vortex flow generation section, guiding air in a longitudinal direction to reduce the contact length and suppress the temperature boundary layer, allowing efficient temperature adjustment without space between stacked elements, thus downsizing the device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If cooling air flows uniformly along the lateral surface of the battery assembly in the stacking direction, then the cooling air contacts the battery assembly, but the cooling efficiency is degraded due to extended temperature boundary layer
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a vortex flow generation section that creates rotational airflow patterns instead of uniform linear flow. The curved streamlines and rotational motion reduce the temperature boundary layer thickness by enhancing mixing between the cooling air and the boundary layer, thereby improving cooling efficiency without extending the contact length in the stacking direction.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the flow parameters of the cooling air by generating vortex flow with specific rotational characteristics. The vortex flow generation section creates controlled turbulence and rotational motion, changing the flow regime from laminar uniform flow to turbulent rotational flow, which enhances heat transfer coefficients and reduces boundary layer effects.
2Temperature
If spacers are arranged between batteries to form cooling air spaces, then cooling air can flow through the battery assembly, but the battery assembly size is enlarged
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the spacer components from the battery assembly structure and replaces them with a vortex flow generation section integrated into the cooling air supply system. This allows cooling air to be injected directly between batteries without requiring physical spacers to maintain flow paths, thereby reducing the overall assembly volume while maintaining effective cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses pneumatic injection of cooling air through the vortex flow generation section to create effective cooling channels between batteries. The pressurized cooling air is injected directly into the inter-battery spaces, using fluid dynamics rather than mechanical spacers to establish cooling flow paths, thus reducing structural volume.
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 vortex flow structure enhances cooling efficiency by reducing the contact length and temperature boundary layer, enabling effective temperature adjustment of electric power storage elements while maintaining a compact device size.
Implementation Method 1
The vortex flow generation section is configured to generate a vortex flow of the air that flows into the circulation path, the vortex flow swirling with the longitudinal direction being a rotational axis
Implementation Method 2
The circulation path is configured to guide the temperature adjusting air in the longitudinal direction, and the air exchanges heat with the case
Data Source
AI summary
In a temperature adjusting structure for an electric power storage device as well as in a temperature adjusting method for an electric power storage device, a temperature adjusting air that exchanges heat with a case in which an electric power generation element is housed is guided in a longitudinal direction of a circulation path. Then, a vortex flow that swirls with the longitudinal direction being a rotational axis is generated in the air that flows through the circulation path, and the vortex flow is brought into contact with a lateral surface of the case.