CN214706164U

CN214706164U - Battery module, battery package and vehicle

Info

Publication number: CN214706164U
Application number: CN202120729055.1U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘建; 陈涛; 赵建明; 王高武
Original assignee: BYD Co Ltd
Current assignee: BYD Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-04-09
Filing date: 2021-04-09
Publication date: 2021-11-12
Anticipated expiration: 2031-04-09

Abstract

The utility model relates to a battery module, battery package and vehicle, this battery module include blast pipe, gas/smog inductor and a plurality of battery monomer, and a plurality of battery monomer arrange in proper order along the first direction, and the blast pipe extends and all communicates with the free explosion-proof valve of every battery along the first direction, and at least one end of blast pipe is open to form the gas vent, gas/smog inductor setting is in the inside of blast pipe. In the battery module, the gas or smog homoenergetic that arbitrary battery monomer produced after taking place the thermal runaway can in time be monitored by gas/smog inductor, do benefit to and carry out effective early warning at the thermal runaway initial stage, can strive for more time of fleing and time of putting out a fire, reduce the risk that the battery module takes place to catch a fire and explode. The sensing signal of the gas/smoke sensor is transmitted to the client or the cloud, so that the battery module out of control due to thermal runaway is positioned, and the battery module is extinguished pertinently. And after thermal runaway, the failure analysis of the battery module is facilitated.

Description

Battery module, battery package and vehicle

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of vehicle parts, and in particular, to a battery module, a battery pack including the battery module, and a vehicle including the battery pack.

Background

The development of new energy automobiles promotes the rapid development of high-energy-density lithium ion batteries. However, the spontaneous combustion and even explosion of the new energy automobile caused by the failure of the lithium ion battery still happen occasionally. In order to solve the problem, a gas sensor is designed at a battery cladding level, and gas generated in the process of runaway is monitored and early warned by related technical means. However, when the thermal runaway is out of control, the gas diffuses from the battery monomer to the module and then reaches the battery pack, a certain time is needed, and early warning cannot be given at the first time of thermal runaway. After the explosion-proof valve on the battery monomer is opened, inflammable and explosive gas is rapidly accumulated in the bag body and gradually reaches the explosion limit, and once meeting the condition that sparks can immediately generate deflagration, the diffusion of thermal runaway in the battery bag is greatly accelerated, so that the risk of the battery bag generating fire explosion is higher. In addition, because the gas sensor is arranged at the battery cladding level, after thermal runaway occurs, the position where the thermal runaway occurs first in the battery pack may not be accurately positioned, that is, the battery module where the thermal runaway initially occurs may not be accurately positioned.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model aims at providing a battery module, including the battery package of this battery module and including the vehicle of this battery package, when taking place the thermal runaway, this battery module is favorable to reducing the risk that takes place the explosion on fire, still is favorable to pinpointing the battery module that takes place the thermal runaway in the battery package.

In order to realize above-mentioned purpose, this disclosure provides a battery module, including blast pipe, gas/smog inductor and a plurality of battery monomer, a plurality of battery monomer arrange in proper order along the first direction, the blast pipe extends and all communicates with the explosion-proof valve of every battery monomer along the first direction, at least one end of blast pipe is open to form the gas vent, gas/smog inductor sets up the inside of blast pipe.

Optionally, both ends of the exhaust pipe are open, and the gas/smoke sensor is located in the middle of the exhaust pipe in the first direction.

Optionally, the inner wall of the exhaust pipe is provided with a high-temperature-resistant fireproof layer.

Optionally, the exhaust pipe includes a first plate and a second plate extending downward from opposite sides of the first plate, a lower end of the second plate is used for being hermetically connected with the housings of the plurality of battery cells, and the first plate, the two second plates, and the plurality of battery cells together define an exhaust passage.

Optionally, the battery module further includes a sealing member, a flange is formed at a lower end of each second plate, and the sealing member is located between the flange and the housing of the battery cell.

Optionally, the battery module further includes a pair of end plates, the pair of end plates are arranged at intervals along the first direction, the plurality of battery cells are located between the pair of end plates, a lug extending towards the end plate is further provided on the second plate, and the exhaust pipe is fixed to the end plate through the lug.

Optionally, the width b of the exhaust channel is 20mm-200mm, and the height h is 5mm-50 mm.

Optionally, the exhaust pipe is made of a material with high thermal conductivity and high temperature resistance.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a battery pack is provided, which includes the above battery module.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle is provided that includes the battery pack described above.

In the battery module provided by the present disclosure, when thermal runaway occurs in the battery cell, the gas pressure of the gas or smoke generated by the battery cell is very high, and the gas or smoke enters the exhaust pipe through the explosion-proof valve of the battery cell, rapidly diffuses in the exhaust pipe, and is sensed by the gas/smoke sensor. So, in the battery module, the gas or the smog homoenergetic that arbitrary battery monomer produced after taking place the thermal runaway can in time be monitored by gas/smog inductor, is favorable to carrying out effective early warning at the thermal runaway initial stage, can strive for more time of fleing and time of putting out a fire for the car owner and fire control, reduces the risk that the battery module takes place to catch a fire and explode, reduces personnel and loss of property's risk.

In addition, due to the arrangement of the exhaust pipe, gas, smoke or sparks generated by the battery monomer have relatively long exhaust channels, and the temperature reduction of the gas, the smoke or the sparks is facilitated. Because lack oxygen in the exhaust passage, compare in shorter exhaust passage, longer exhaust passage is favorable to realizing the space isolation of spark and blast pipe outside air, is favorable to further reducing the risk that battery module and battery package catch fire.

In addition, through the sensing signal with gas/smog inductor conveying to customer end or high in the clouds, can fix a position the battery module that takes place the thermal runaway, for example, the first battery module that sends alarm signal, be the first battery module that takes place the thermal runaway promptly, this is favorable to guiding the fire control to put out a fire to specific battery module. And after thermal runaway, the failure analysis of the battery module is facilitated according to the previous induction signal information.

Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the detailed description which follows.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the disclosure without limiting the disclosure. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an exhaust pipe of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating another perspective view of an exhaust pipe of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is a schematic top view of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in which end plates and side plates are not shown.

Description of the reference numerals

100-a battery module; 10-an exhaust pipe; 11-a first plate; 12-a second plate; 121-flanging; 13-a lug; 20-gas/smoke sensor; 30-a battery cell; 31-an explosion-proof valve; 32-a cover plate; 40-an exhaust port; 50-high temperature resistant fireproof layer; 60-end plate; 70-side plate.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present disclosure is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the present disclosure, are given by way of illustration and explanation only, not limitation.

In the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, the use of directional terms such as "upper, lower, left, and right" generally means that the terms are defined based on the drawing direction of the drawings, and "inner and outer" mean that the components are inner and outer with respect to each other. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like are used merely to distinguish one description from another, and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

In the description of the present disclosure, it should also be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the terms "disposed," "connected," "mounted," and "connected" are to be construed broadly and may, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood in specific instances by those of ordinary skill in the art.

According to the behavior characteristics of the battery pack after safety failure (thermal runaway), the failure process can be roughly divided into three stages, namely, the first stage, the problem of short circuit and the like of the battery monomer occurs, and the internal air pressure of the battery monomer is increased. When the air pressure is increased to a certain degree, the explosion-proof valve 31 of the battery cell is opened, and a large amount of smoke or flammable and explosive gas (such as CO, H) is sprayed out of the battery cell₂，CH₄Etc.); in the second stage, the heat generation is gradually accumulated due to thermal runaway, the heat generation power reaches the peak value, the temperature is rapidly increased to reach the melting and decomposition temperature of the pole piece, and active substances or aggregates in the battery monomer 30The fluid is sprayed out along with the gas, and sparks are generated at a certain probability; in the third stage, the sparks contact with combustible gas and air, violent combustion and even explosion occur, and the thermal runaway is further aggravated.

Experiments show that the time difference between the first stage and the second stage is more than 1 minute, and the specific interval time is determined according to the electrical core material body, the structural design and the production process level of the battery monomer; the second and third stages often occur simultaneously or at very short intervals. Therefore, if the first stage of thermal runaway can be effectively early-warned, more escape time and fire extinguishing time can be strived for the vehicle owner and the firemen, the risk of fire and explosion of the battery pack is reduced, and the risk of personnel and property loss is reduced. In addition, studies have shown that the energy released by the third stage combustion explosion accounts for over 70% of the overall thermal runaway. That is, if it can be avoided that the battery pack is exploded by fire after thermal runaway, the damage of thermal runaway will be greatly reduced.

In view of this, as shown in fig. 1 to 4, the present disclosure provides a battery module 100, a battery pack including the battery module 100, and a vehicle including the battery pack. The battery pack may include a plurality of battery modules 100.

Here, the battery pack may be a battery pack for a vehicle, for example, a power battery, or a battery for other electric devices, which is not limited in the present disclosure. Further, the above-mentioned vehicle may be an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the battery module 100 provided by the present disclosure includes an exhaust pipe 10, a gas/smoke sensor 20, and a plurality of battery cells, the plurality of battery cells 30 are sequentially arranged along a first direction, the exhaust pipe 10 extends along the first direction and is communicated with an explosion-proof valve 31 of each battery cell 30, at least one end of the exhaust pipe 10 is open to form an exhaust port 40, and the gas/smoke sensor 20 is disposed inside the exhaust pipe 10 and is configured to monitor gas or smoke passing through the exhaust port 40, for example, monitor the composition and flow rate of the gas or smoke, so as to determine whether thermal runaway occurs in any battery cell 30 in the battery module 100. Here, the first direction may be a length direction or a width direction of the battery module 100, for example, referring to fig. 1, the first direction is a length direction of the battery module 100.

In the battery module 100 provided by the present disclosure, when thermal runaway of the battery cell 30 occurs, the gas pressure of the gas or smoke generated by the battery cell 30 is very high, and the gas or smoke enters the exhaust pipe 10 through the self explosion-proof valve 31, rapidly diffuses in the exhaust pipe 10, and is sensed by the gas/smoke sensor. So, in battery module 100, the gas or the smog homoenergetic that arbitrary battery monomer 30 produced after taking place the thermal runaway can in time be monitored by gas/smog inductor 20, do benefit to and carry out effective early warning at the thermal runaway initial stage (first stage), can strive for more time of fleing for and the time of putting out a fire for the car owner and fire control, reduce battery module 100 and take place the risk of explosion on fire, reduce personnel and property loss's risk.

Generally, the second stage of thermal runaway from the battery cell 30 is still about 1 minute after the explosion-proof valve 31 of the battery cell 30 is opened. Since the space in the exhaust passage inside the exhaust pipe 10 is small, the combustible gas can quickly fill the space inside the exhaust pipe 10 after being discharged from the battery cell 30, and the air inside the exhaust pipe 10 can be discharged. In this way, in the second stage of thermal runaway, although solid matters such as pole pieces are discharged along with the gas, most of the pole piece fragments or sparks will be blocked by the flame-retardant and high-temperature-resistant material in the exhaust pipe 10, and even if there is a spark, the exhaust pipe 10 is lack of air (i.e. lack of oxygen), so that the combustible gas in the exhaust pipe 10 cannot be ignited and detonated. In addition, although the combustible gas inside the battery pack reaches the explosion limit outside the exhaust pipe 10, it may be ignited. However, due to the blockage of the exhaust pipe 10, the probability that the sparks flow out of the exhaust pipe 10 is low, and the sparks flowing out of the explosion-proof valve 31 of the battery cell are prevented from directly contacting with the air outside the battery module 100 to cause explosion, so that the battery pack is not easy to combust or explode.

In addition, due to the arrangement of the exhaust pipe 10, gas, smoke or sparks generated by the battery monomer have relatively long exhaust channels, and the temperature reduction of the gas, smoke or sparks is facilitated. Because of lack of oxygen in the exhaust passage, compare in shorter exhaust passage, longer exhaust passage is more favorable to realizing the space isolation of spark and blast pipe 10 outside air, is favorable to further reducing the risk that battery module 100 and battery package catch fire.

In addition, the sensing signal of the gas/smoke sensor 20 is transmitted to the client or the cloud, for example, the gas/smoke sensor 20 can transmit the sensing signal to the client and the cloud through a wire harness or a wireless transmission module (such as a bluetooth transmission module), so that the battery module 100 with thermal runaway can be positioned, for example, the first battery module 100 which sends an alarm signal is the first battery module 100 with thermal runaway, which is beneficial to guiding fire fighting to pertinently extinguish the battery module 100 with thermal runaway, and the fire extinguishing effect can be improved. And, after the thermal runaway, according to the previous information such as the induction signal, it is also beneficial to the failure analysis of the battery module 100.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 2, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, both ends of the exhaust pipe 10 are open, that is, both ends of the exhaust pipe 10 are formed with exhaust ports 40. The gas/smoke sensor 20 may be located in the middle of the exhaust pipe 10 in the first direction. The exhaust pipe 10 has openings at both ends thereof, which is beneficial for discharging gas or smoke generated by the battery cells 30 at any end of the plurality of battery cells 30 in the first direction, so that the gas or smoke flowing out from the battery cells 30 can be discharged out of the battery module 100 in time to discharge the battery pack while ensuring that the gas or smoke has an exhaust passage with a certain length. The gas/smoke sensor 20 is disposed in the middle of the exhaust pipe 10, so that gas/smoke generated after the battery cells 30 at both ends of the battery module 100 run away can be sensed quickly.

In addition, the present disclosure does not limit the specific location and number of inductors. For example, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, the gas/smoke sensor 20 may be two, and the two gas/smoke sensors 20 are respectively used for monitoring gas or smoke passing through the exhaust port 40 of the corresponding end of the exhaust pipe 10.

Optionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the inner wall of the exhaust pipe 10 is provided with a high temperature resistant fire barrier layer 50. By providing the high-temperature-resistant fireproof layer 50, on one hand, high-temperature gas or smoke can be prevented from melting through the exhaust pipe 10; on the other hand, sparks generated in the second stage of thermal runaway can be effectively blocked from the air outside the battery module 100.

The present disclosure does not limit the material of the high temperature and fire resistant layer 50, and optionally, the high temperature and fire resistant layer 50 may be made of fireproof cotton, mica plate, or the like.

The present disclosure does not limit the specific structure of the exhaust pipe 10. Alternatively, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the exhaust duct 10 may include a first plate 11 and a second plate 12 extending downward from opposite sides of the first plate 11, a lower end of the second plate 12 being adapted to be sealingly connected to a housing of the plurality of battery cells 30 (e.g., a cover plate 32 of the battery cells 30), and the first plate 11, the two second plates 12, and the plurality of battery cells 30 together defining an exhaust passage. In the present embodiment, the first plate 11 and the two second plates 12 are configured as U-shaped members, the openings of the U-shaped members face the plurality of battery cells 30, and the exhaust duct 10 utilizes the cover plate 32 of the battery cells 30 as a bottom wall, which is beneficial to simplifying the structure of the battery module 100 and saving cost. Moreover, the U-shaped member has a large opening, and when thermal runaway of the battery cells 30 occurs, gas or smoke can rapidly enter the exhaust pipe 10 through the explosion-proof valve 31, thereby facilitating rapid discharge of the gas or smoke out of the battery module 100 and the battery pack.

It is understood that in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the exhaust pipe 10 itself may have a bottom wall, i.e., the exhaust pipe 10 is constructed in a complete tubular structure, and through holes may be opened on the bottom wall at positions corresponding to the battery cells to allow gas, smoke or sparks to pass through.

In order to prevent the direct overflow of the gas, smoke, or sparks generated from the battery cells, the battery module 100 may further include a sealing member (not shown) between the lower end surface of the base plate and the outer case of the battery cells, optionally in one embodiment of the present disclosure. Optionally, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, a flange 121 is formed at the lower end of each second plate 12, and a sealing member may be located between the flange 121 and the cover plate of the battery cell 30.

The present disclosure does not limit the specific material of the sealing member, and alternatively, the sealing member may be a high temperature resistant elastic sealing member, a mechanical sealing member, or the like.

As shown in fig. 1, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the battery module 100 further includes a pair of end plates 60, the pair of end plates 60 being spaced apart in the first direction, the plurality of battery cells 30 being located between the pair of end plates 60, the second plate 12 further being provided with a lug 13 extending toward the end plate 60, and the exhaust duct 10 being fixed to the end plate 60 by the lug 13.

The connection manner of the lug 13 and the end plate 60 of the battery module 100 is not limited in the present disclosure, as long as the reliability of the connection therebetween is ensured. Alternatively, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the lugs 13 may be welded to the end plates 60 of the battery module 100. The welding operation is convenient and the connection is reliable.

Specific dimensions of the exhaust passage are not limited in the present disclosure, and alternatively, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the width b of the exhaust passage may be 20mm to 200mm, and the height h of the exhaust passage may be 5mm to 50 mm. The relative size of the exhaust passage is within the range, so that the exhaust passage is small in size, and combustible gas can be discharged out of the exhaust passage quickly.

The length of the exhaust passage may be determined according to the size of the battery module 100 in the first direction, and alternatively, as shown in fig. 4, the length of the exhaust passage may exceed the length of the battery cells 100 at both ends of the battery module 100 in the first direction, so that the battery cells 100 at both ends also have the exhaust passage with a certain size length.

Alternatively, in the present disclosure, the exhaust pipe 10 may be made of a material having high thermal conductivity and high temperature resistance. Because the exhaust pipe 10 is made of a material with good heat conductivity and high temperature resistance, the heat can be uniformly and efficiently dissipated outwards, and the heat accumulation at a certain position is avoided to accelerate the thermal runaway. For example, the material of the exhaust pipe 10 may be aluminum alloy, stainless steel, and may be integrally formed by die casting, and a high temperature insulating varnish is sprayed on the outer surface.

As shown in fig. 1, the battery module 100 may further include a pair of side plates 70 disposed opposite to each other, and the plurality of battery cells 30 are disposed between the pair of end plates 60 and the pair of side plates 70, the pair of end plates 60 and the pair of side plates 70 configuring a housing of the battery module 100.

The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, however, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific details of the above embodiments, and various simple modifications may be made to the technical solution of the present disclosure within the technical idea of the present disclosure, and these simple modifications all belong to the protection scope of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that, in the foregoing embodiments, various features described in the above embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner, and in order to avoid unnecessary repetition, various combinations that are possible in the present disclosure are not described again.

In addition, any combination of various embodiments of the present disclosure may be made, and the same should be considered as the disclosure of the present disclosure, as long as it does not depart from the spirit of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. The utility model provides a battery module, its characterized in that includes blast pipe (10), gas/smog inductor (20) and a plurality of battery monomer (30), a plurality of battery monomer (30) are arranged along the first direction in proper order, blast pipe (10) extend along the first direction and all communicate with explosion-proof valve (31) of every battery monomer (30), at least one end of blast pipe (10) is open to form gas vent (40), gas/smog inductor (20) set up the inside of blast pipe (10).

2. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein both ends of the exhaust pipe (10) are open, and the gas/smoke sensor (20) is located in the middle of the exhaust pipe (10) in the first direction.

3. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein an inner wall of the exhaust pipe (10) is provided with a high-temperature-resistant flame-retardant layer (50).

4. A battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the exhaust duct (10) comprises a first plate (11) and a second plate (12) extending downward from opposite sides of the first plate (11), the lower end of the second plate (12) being adapted to be sealingly connected to the housing of the plurality of battery cells (30), the first plate (11), the two second plates (12), and the plurality of battery cells (30) together defining an exhaust passage.

5. The battery module according to claim 4, wherein the battery module (100) further comprises a sealing member, and a flange (121) is formed at a lower end of each second plate (12), the sealing member being located between the flange (121) and a case of the battery cell (30).

6. The battery module according to claim 4, wherein the battery module (100) further comprises a pair of end plates (60), the pair of end plates (60) are arranged at intervals in the first direction, the plurality of battery cells (30) are located between the pair of end plates (60), the second plate (12) is further provided with a lug (13) extending toward the end plate (60), and the exhaust pipe (10) is fixed to the end plates (60) by the lug (13).

7. The battery module according to claim 4, wherein the width b of the air vent channel is 20mm to 200mm, and the height h of the air vent channel is 5mm to 50 mm.

8. A battery module according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the exhaust pipe (10) is made of a material with high thermal conductivity and high temperature resistance.

9. A battery pack, characterized by comprising the battery module (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A vehicle characterized by comprising the battery pack according to claim 9.