WO2017045928A1 - Cooling module for a battery, and battery with cooling module - Google Patents

Cooling module for a battery, and battery with cooling module Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2017045928A1
WO2017045928A1 PCT/EP2016/070658 EP2016070658W WO2017045928A1 WO 2017045928 A1 WO2017045928 A1 WO 2017045928A1 EP 2016070658 W EP2016070658 W EP 2016070658W WO 2017045928 A1 WO2017045928 A1 WO 2017045928A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
battery
flat tube
cooling module
contact
equal
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2016/070658
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Roland Haussmann
Original Assignee
Valeo Klimasysteme Gmbh
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Valeo Klimasysteme Gmbh filed Critical Valeo Klimasysteme Gmbh
Publication of WO2017045928A1 publication Critical patent/WO2017045928A1/en

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M10/60—Heating or cooling; Temperature control
    • H01M10/61—Types of temperature control
    • H01M10/613—Cooling or keeping cold
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M10/60—Heating or cooling; Temperature control
    • H01M10/65—Means for temperature control structurally associated with the cells
    • H01M10/655—Solid structures for heat exchange or heat conduction
    • H01M10/6556—Solid parts with flow channel passages or pipes for heat exchange
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M10/60—Heating or cooling; Temperature control
    • H01M10/62—Heating or cooling; Temperature control specially adapted for specific applications
    • H01M10/625—Vehicles
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M10/60—Heating or cooling; Temperature control
    • H01M10/64—Heating or cooling; Temperature control characterised by the shape of the cells
    • H01M10/647—Prismatic or flat cells, e.g. pouch cells
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M10/60—Heating or cooling; Temperature control
    • H01M10/65—Means for temperature control structurally associated with the cells
    • H01M10/656—Means for temperature control structurally associated with the cells characterised by the type of heat-exchange fluid
    • H01M10/6567—Liquids
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M2220/00—Batteries for particular applications
    • H01M2220/20—Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02E60/10—Energy storage using batteries

Definitions

  • Cooling Module for a Battery, and Battery with Cooling
  • the invention concerns a cooling module for active cooling of a battery, with a flat tube having at least one channel for receiving a cooling medium, and a metallic contact element for forming a heat-conductive contact between a side face of the flat tube and a contact face of the battery.
  • the invention also concerns a battery with such a cooling module.
  • high-voltage batteries are used which are cooled during the charging and discharging process in order to prevent overheating and associated damage to the batteries.
  • Such lithium-ion or nickel-metal hydride accumulators depending on chemical composition, should be operated below a temperature range of 40 to 60°C.
  • Such batteries are normally composed of a plurality of battery cells connected together. The battery cells should be cooled as homogenously as possible. The aim is to maintain a relative temperature difference between two cells to be cooled which is less than or equal to 5K, in order to avoid thermal ageing of individual battery cells.
  • Cooling modules of the type described initially may be used for active cooling of such high-voltage batteries.
  • a particular challenge is to create a reliable and homogenous heat- conductive contact between the cooling module and the battery to be cooled.
  • the design of a cooling arrangement depends on the geometric form of the battery cells used and the respective pipeline through which the cooling medium is conducted.
  • the battery cells may have a circular cylindrical or prismatic basic form.
  • the pipelines may have a substantially circular or rectangular cross-section.
  • EP 2 337 141 Al and EP 2 337 142 Al concern designs for providing a heat transfer between flat base surfaces of prismatic battery cells and pipelines or cooling spirals with circular pipe cross section.
  • contact elements are provided which partly surround the circular pipelines on the periphery and also provide a contact area to the battery.
  • the circular round pipelines only allow a small contact area for heat transfer.
  • an additional structure is required for receiving the cooling spirals.
  • Pipelines with substantially rectangular pipe cross section have the advantage over pipelines with round cross section that they have flat or planar side faces which can be brought into direct contact with a flat surface of a prismatic battery to be cooled. In this way, in principle without intermediate elements, a sufficiently large contact area can be provided for the heat transfer between the battery to be cooled and the pipeline .
  • US 2010/147 488 Al regarded as the closest prior art, provides a cooling spiral formed from flat pipelines to delimit a chamber in which prismatic battery cells can be received.
  • flat contact plates are provided between the pipelines and the battery cells.
  • an additional bracing frame is required. Because of the necessary horizontal bolting of the bracing frame, it is not possible to install the arrangement inside the battery housing.
  • the invention is based on the technical problem of providing a cooling module for active cooling of a battery, and a battery, which do not have or at least only have to a lesser extent the disadvantages described above, and in particular allow a homogenous cooling of the battery in a reliable and economic fashion .
  • the technical problem outlined above is solved by a cooling module for active cooling of a battery, with a flat tube having at least one channel for receiving a cooling medium, and a metallic contact element for forming a heat-conductive contact between a side face of the flat tube and a contact face of the battery.
  • the metallic contact element has at least one spring element which is configured to be braced spring- elastically between the flat tube and the contact face of the battery.
  • the contact element firstly serves to provide a heat-conductive connection between the flat tube and the battery to be cooled, and in final mounted state it is arranged between the side face of the flat tube and the contact face of the battery. Secondly, in final mounted state, by the spring elastic bracing, the contact element guarantees a reliable contact of the contact element with both the battery and the flat tube .
  • the necessary compression or mounting forces can be set by the stiffness of the spring element to be braced between the battery and the flat tube.
  • the production tolerances between the side face of the flat tube and the contact face of the battery are compensated, wherein a defined contact and homogenous cooling can be achieved without mechanically damaging and in particular deforming the battery. Therefore in a reliable fashion and with low compression forces, a heat-conductive connection can be created to a contact face, in particular a base surface, of a battery even if this contact face is curved or uneven.
  • the contact elements are advantageous for applications in which particularly rigid flat tubes are provided which resist burst pressures greater than 260 bar, which is accompanied by a high bending stiffness of the flat tube.
  • the flat tube of the cooling module may for example be an extrusion profile and have a plurality of internal channels suitable for conducting a cooling medium.
  • the channels may have a substantially circular or rectangular cross-section, and/or be arranged substantially parallel with each other.
  • the channels may preferably extend in a longitudinal direction of the flat tube and/or be separated from each other by partition walls.
  • the side faces of the flat tube may be formed substantially flat and/or rectangular.
  • the thickness of the flat tube limited by two side faces of the flat tube facing away from each other, may be less than one third, preferably less than one quarter, further preferably less than one fifth of the width of the flat tube, wherein the width of the flat tube is measured transversely to a longitudinal direction of the flat tube.
  • the flat tube may have a substantially rectangular cross-section.
  • the thickness of the flat tube may be for example 2.5 mm.
  • the contact face of the battery mentioned here is a face formed on a battery to be cooled which is suitable for contact with a side face of the cooling module.
  • a contact face may for example be a substantially planar or flat base or side face of the battery cell of the battery.
  • a contact face assigned to the cooling module may be composed of a plurality of densely packed or mutually adjacent battery cells of a battery .
  • the battery may have a plurality of prismatic battery cells which can be combined in blocks into battery modules.
  • the battery may therefore be composed of a plurality of battery modules which each comprise a plurality of densely packed battery cells.
  • the spring element In a pre-mounted unbraced state, the spring element may extend at least partially in a direction pointing away from the flat tube. In the final mounted, braced state, the spring element may extend partially in a direction pointing away from the flat tube, or lie at least partially to block between the cooling contact face and the side face, so that the cooling contact face and the side face viewed in cross-section lie at least partially substantially gap-free against faces of the spring element facing away from each other.
  • the spring element is a tab which has a freely protruding end portion.
  • the tab may be arranged in particular on a web which lies against the side face of the flat tube.
  • Such a tab constitutes a particularly economic and simple embodiment of a spring element.
  • the free end portion of the tab may extend, starting from the web, in or transversely to the longitudinal direction of the flat tube.
  • the tab may at least in portions be formed arcuate in cross-section. Where the term "cross-section” is used here, this means a section transverse to a longitudinal extension of the flat tube.
  • the arcuate tab may lie against a substantially planar or flat contact face of the battery .
  • the tab is curved to the outside starting from the flat tube, and in cross-section describes a substantially convex arc portion.
  • the contact face viewed in cross-section therefore lies tangentially against the curved tab.
  • a substantially linear contact may be formed between the tab and the contact face.
  • a broad contact may be formed between the tab and the contact surface.
  • the tab may at least in portions have a convex curvature, wherein the tab may be formed such that in final mounted state it lies at least in portions over a broad area on the contact face.
  • the free end portion encloses, with a plane arranged parallel to and spaced from the side face, an angle greater than or equal to 20° and less than or equal to 45°.
  • a portion of the tab assigned to the side face encloses with the side face an angle greater than or equal to 30° and less than or equal to 55 ° .
  • a particularly homogenous cooling of the battery can be achieved if, according to a refinement of the cooling module, the contact element has a plurality of spring elements, wherein the spring elements are in particular arranged in pairs.
  • a plurality of spring elements may be arranged distributed over the side face in order, in final mounted state, to achieve an even bracing of the contact element between the side face and the contact face, and form a plurality of contact regions between the contact element and the contact face of the battery, via which heat can be dissipated from the battery.
  • spring elements may be arranged distributed along the flat tube in a longitudinal direction and/or transverse direction, in particular at regular intervals.
  • the contact element and the spring element are made integrally from a sheet metal material.
  • this is a spring sheet metal element.
  • the spring elements for example the tabs or similar described above, may be worked directly from a sheet metal . A punching tool or a multistage tool may be used for this.
  • the contact element may be a sheet metal on which tabs are formed by punching, and bent into spring elements by one or more bending processes.
  • the contact element can thus be produced economically and in large numbers, wherein the sheet metal material is provided in particular in coils.
  • the sheet metal material may have a wall thickness less than or equal to 0.5 mm, preferably less than or equal to 0.2 mm.
  • the wall thickness of the sheet metal material is at least 0.05 mm, preferably at least 0.1 mm. It is clear that such a thin sheet metal material is easily deformable. During installation of the cooling module therefore only small compression or bracing forces are required in order to brace the contact element, made from the sheet metal material, between the contact face of the battery and the side face of the flat tube.
  • the contact element and/or the flat tube are made from an aluminium material, in particular an aluminium alloy. Aluminium is distinguished by a low weight and high thermal conductivity and is therefore particularly suitable for the present application.
  • a reliable heat dissipation from the battery can be achieved in particular if the thermal conductivity of the material of the contact element and/or of the flat tube is greater than or equal to 130 W/ (m*K) , preferably greater than or equal to 180 W/ (m*K) .
  • the difference of the electrochemical potential of the material of the contact element relative to the material of the flat tube is less than or equal to 100 mA, preferably less than or equal to 50 mA.
  • This material choice reduces the risk of electrochemical corrosion so that the durability of the cooling module can be increased, in particular in comparison with a material pairing of steel and aluminium.
  • the flat tube sits in a carrier element arranged on a side of the flat tube facing away from the contact element, wherein the carrier element in particular is made at least partly of a material with low thermal conductivity, and wherein the thermal conductivity of the material is in particular less than or equal to 1 W/ (m*K) , preferably less than or equal to 0.25 W/ (m*K) .
  • Such a carrier element may serve, in final mounted state of the cooling module, to create a thermal isolation between the flat tube and the battery housing.
  • the carrier element may for example lie against the battery housing with a surface facing away from the flat tube. Consequently, the flat tube may rest on the battery housing via the carrier element.
  • the carrier element may be made of a plastic.
  • the carrier element may then serve as an intermediate element or spacer between the flat tube and a battery housing, in order to prevent an electrochemical corrosion between the flat tube and the battery housing, wherein preferably there is no direct contact between the flat tube and the battery housing.
  • the flat tube may be preassembled on the carrier element so as to facilitate final installation of the cooling module.
  • the carrier element may have two webs arranged spaced apart which delimit a receiver region corresponding substantially to the width of the flat tube, so that the flat tube can be received between these webs .
  • a thermal isolation between the battery housing and the flat tube may be further improved if the carrier element has ribs on a side facing the flat tube, which lie against a side face of the flat tube.
  • the side face of the flat tube facing the carrier element therefore lies only on narrow rib surfaces, so that air gaps or spaces are formed between the carrier element and the flat tube.
  • the low thermal conductivity in the region of the air gaps promotes the thermal isolation.
  • the carrier element has ribs on a side facing away from the flat tube, which are configured to lie against a battery housing in final mounted state.
  • the contact area of the carrier element to a contact surface of the battery housing may be reduced, so that air gaps are formed between the battery housing and the carrier element which ensure a good thermal isolation of the flat tube from the battery housing.
  • Low ambient temperatures may mean that the battery must be heated or preheated in order to be operated in an optimum temperature range.
  • the cooling module may have heating elements, in particular heating wires, on a side face of the flat tube facing away from the contact element, wherein the heating elements are arranged in intermediate spaces formed between the ribs. In this way, a compact integration of the heating elements in the cooling module is achieved.
  • a further metallic contact element is provided, wherein the metallic contact elements are arranged on side faces of the flat tube facing away from each other.
  • the flat tube may therefore be surrounded on two sides by two metallic contact elements.
  • Such a cooling module is particularly suitable for arrangement between two battery modules of a battery, wherein both battery modules are cooled by the cooling module.
  • the cooling module may be braced between mutually facing base surfaces of two battery modules.
  • the technical problem described initially is also solved by a battery, in particular for a motor vehicle, with at least one cooling module for active cooling of the battery, wherein the cooling module is configured in the manner according to the invention.
  • the battery may comprise at least one battery module which has a contact face.
  • the contact element serves to bridge a space or air gap formed between the contact face and a side face of the flat tube facing the contact face, and in this way create a heat-conductive contact .
  • the contact face and the assigned side face of the flat tube may be arranged substantially parallel to each other and spaced apart .
  • the contact element may be formed or configured depending on this distance, so as to guarantee reliably a defined contact of the contact element against both the contact face and the side face of the flat tube.
  • the contact element may have a tab protruding in the direction of the contact face which serves to bridge the gap and be braced spring-elastically between the side face and the contact face.
  • the tab may have an end portion protruding freely in the direction of the contact face, wherein the tab in cross-section may have a freely protruding length L0 measured starting from the web.
  • LI constitutes a length of the heat-transmitting part of the tab which is determined starting from the web up to a contact region of the tab at the contact face.
  • the ratio 1.15 ⁇ Ll/G ⁇ 3 may apply, preferably 1.3 ⁇ Ll/G ⁇ 2.
  • the free end portion of the tab may enclose with the contact face an angle greater than or equal to 20° and less than or equal to 45°.
  • a portion of the tab assigned to the side face may enclose with the side face an angle greater than or equal to 30° and less than or equal to 55°.
  • the contact element may be made from a sheet metal material.
  • the sheet-metal material may in principle have a wall thickness less than or equal to 0.5 mm, preferably less than or equal to 0.2 mm, and/or at least 0.05 mm, preferably at least 0.1 mm .
  • T is the wall thickness of the sheet metal material in mm
  • HLC is the heat loss of the battery or a cell of the battery assigned to the cooling module in Watt
  • Nb is the number of spring elements, in particular tabs.
  • LI is the length of the heat-transmitting part of a tab in mm.
  • the heat to be dissipated per battery cell may lie in the range from 2 to 20 W.
  • the necessary heat dissipation per battery cell in electric vehicles is around 2 W, whereas in hybrid vehicles, to support deceleration or acceleration processes, higher requirements are imposed on the load profile so that a heat dissipation of up to 20 W per cell may be required.
  • the cooling module has a carrier element in which the flat tube is received, the cooling module is particularly suitable for being arranged between a contact face of a battery and a battery housing.
  • the carrier element may lie on an inner surface of the battery housing and guarantee thermal isolation of the flat tube from the battery housing. Due to the compact integration of the contact element which simultaneously serves as a clamping element, between the side face of the flat tube and the contact face of the battery, the cooling module may have a particularly flat installation form.
  • advantages result with regard to the installation height since no steel springs, provided in this case for deforming the flat tube, need be arranged between the cooling module and battery housing in order to compensate for production tolerances.
  • the battery comprises at least two battery modules which are cooled by means of a cooling module.
  • the cooling module in this case has two contact elements which are arranged on side faces of the flat tube facing away from each other.
  • the cooling module is braced between mutually facing contact faces of the battery module.
  • the spring elements of a first contact element lie against a contact face of a first battery module
  • the spring elements of a second contact element lie against a contact face of a second battery module.
  • the distance between the contact faces of the battery modules may be predefined by spacers lying against the contact faces.
  • the installation space provided for arrangement of the cooling module is therefore determined by the spacers .
  • the battery may comprise a plurality of cooling modules which in particular extend parallel to each other and spaced apart along one or more contact faces of the battery.
  • separate heating elements which also lie against a contact face of the battery, may be arranged between adjacent cooling modules of a battery.
  • the installation height of the cooling module may be reduced by around 50%.
  • the weight of the cooling module may be reduced by more than 80%.
  • the cooling module is connected to a cooling circuit, wherein a coolant is conducted through the flat tube and absorbs the heat flow dissipated from the battery.
  • Fig. 1 a battery according to the invention in a cross section
  • Fig. 2a a spring element in an uncompressed state
  • Fig. 2b a spring element in a minimally compressed state
  • Fig. 2c a spring element in a maximally compressed state
  • Fig. 3a the contact element from Fig. 1 in a top view
  • Fig. 3b a further embodiment of a contact element in a top view
  • Fig. 4 a battery according to the invention in cross- section;
  • Fig. 5a a spring element in an uncompressed state;
  • Fig. 5b a spring element in a compressed state
  • Fig. 6 a battery according to the invention in cross- section
  • Fig. 7 a further battery according to the invention in cross-section; 8a a battery according to the invention with heating elements;
  • the battery 10 shown in Fig. 1 has a battery module 12 and a housing 14.
  • a cooling module 16 for active cooling of the battery 10 is arranged between the battery module 12 and the housing 14.
  • the cooling module 16 has a flat tube 18, a contact element 20 and a carrier element 22.
  • the flat tube 18 has a plurality of separate cooling channels 24 which serve to receive or conduct a cooling medium (not shown) .
  • the cooling channels 24 extend substantially parallel to each other and are separated from each other by partition walls 26.
  • the flat tube has two side faces 28, 30 facing away from each other. The side face 28 is assigned to the contact element 20, while the side face 30 is assigned to the carrier element 22.
  • the contact element 20 is made from aluminium sheet and has spring elements 32 which extend in a direction pointing away from the flat tube 18, starting from webs 34 of the contact element 20 up to the battery module 12.
  • the spring elements 32 are arranged in pairs on the webs 34.
  • the spring elements 32 are formed as tabs which are curved in the manner of an arc and have freely protruding end portions 36.
  • Two spring elements 32 arranged opposite each other on adjacent webs 34 have end portions 36 facing each other.
  • the spring elements are combined into a leaf spring element, i.e. a flat sheet metal component, from the plane of which the spring elements are bent out spring- elastically .
  • the carrier element 22 has ribs 42, 44, wherein the ribs 42 are assigned to the flat tube 18 and the ribs 44 to the housing 14. Furthermore, guide ribs 46 are provided on the carrier element 22 which surround the flat tube 18 and the contact element 20 along its narrow sides.
  • the carrier element 22 is made of a plastic with low thermal conductivity.
  • the cooling module 16 serves to dissipate a heat flow from the battery module 12.
  • the contact element 20 lies with its spring elements 32 on a contact face 48 of the battery module 12.
  • the contact face 48 is a base surface of the battery module 12.
  • the contact element 20 lies with the webs 34 against the flat tube 18.
  • a heat flow to be dissipated from the battery module 12 is consequently transmitted via the spring element 32 to the flat tube 18 which carries a cooling medium in order to absorb and dissipate the heat.
  • the contact element 20 is braced spring-elastically between the contact face 48 and the side face 28 of the flat tube 18, in order to bridge reliably a gap 50 formed between the side face 28 and the contact face 48.
  • the gap has a gap width G.
  • the carrier element 22 here serves to guarantee a thermal isolation between the flat tube 18 and the housing 14. This thermal isolation is promoted by the formation of intermediate spaces 60 between the ribs 42, 44.
  • the flat tube 18 and the contact element 20 are each made of an aluminium material, wherein the thermal conductivity of the materials is greater than 180 W/ (m*K) .
  • the difference of the electrochemical potential of the material of the contact element 20 relative to the material of the flat tube 18 is less than 50 mA. In this way, electrochemical corrosion can be avoided in the contact region of these components.
  • the spring elements 32 are shown in Fig. 1 in an uncompressed and in two compressed positions, wherein the compressed positions are each indicated by the dotted line.
  • the individual positions are explained in more detail below with reference to figures 2a, 2b and 2c .
  • Fig. 2a shows two spring elements 32 in uncompressed state. In this position, the free end portions 36 of the spring elements 32 have a distance dl from the side face 28.
  • Fig. 2b shows the two spring elements 32 from Fig. 2a in compressed state, wherein the free end portions 36 of the spring elements 32 have a distance d2 from the side face 28 which is less than the distance dl .
  • Fig. 2b illustrates the state of minimum compression of the spring elements 32 in final mounted or braced state.
  • Fig. 2c shows the state of maximum compression, wherein the spring elements 32 lie flat against the side face 28 and contact face 48. The spring is thus compressed to block.
  • the spring elements 32 arranged in pairs opposite each other are dimensioned such that even in the state of maximum compression, a gap is formed between the mutually facing free end portions 36.
  • Fig. 3a shows a top view of the contact element 20 from Fig. 1, wherein it is evident that the spring elements 32 extend from the webs 34 in a direction Q oriented transversely to the longitudinal axis L.
  • the spring elements 32 are arranged in blocks of ten spring elements 32, which blocks are separated from each other by the webs 34 and the transverse webs 52.
  • the spring elements 32 are formed by punching from a sheet metal material.
  • the spring elements 32 may be oriented in the longitudinal direction L of the flat tube 18 as shown in Fig. 3b.
  • Fig. 4 shows a further embodiment of a battery 10 in cross-section.
  • This variant differs substantially from the arrangement discussed with reference to Fig. 1 in that the contact element 20, transversely to the longitudinal extension L of the flat tube 18, has six instead of four spring elements 32.
  • the ribs 42 and the partition walls 26 are arranged substantially at the same height in the transverse direction Q. In this way, a deformation of the flat tube 18 in the region of the side face 30 on bracing of the arrangement can be avoided .
  • Fig. 5a shows a spring element 32 in uncompressed state, wherein the position of angles a and ⁇ is illustrated.
  • the spring element 32 encloses, with a portion 54 assigned to the side face 28, an angle a which is greater than or equal to 30° and less than or equal to 55°.
  • the free end portion 36 encloses, with a plane arranged parallel and spaced from the side face 28, for example the contact face 48, an angle ⁇ which is greater than or equal to 20° and less than or equal to 45°.
  • the spring element 32 describes an arc of total length L0.
  • the spring element 32 In braced state (Fig. 5b), the spring element 32 is compressed, resulting in a length LI, measured starting from the web 34 up to a contact region 56, which substantially corresponds to the length of the path of heat transmission of the spring element 32.
  • the specification 1.3 ⁇ Ll/G ⁇ 2 applies. The aim is to shorten the path of heat conduction as much as possible in order to minimise the temperature loss in the region of the spring elements 32.
  • Fig. 6 shows a further variant of a battery 10 according to the invention in cross-section, wherein the contact element 20 now has eight spring elements 32 distributed over the width of the arrangement.
  • the contact element 20 as a whole is wider than the flat tube 18.
  • a battery 10 has two battery modules 12 between which the cooling module 16 is arranged.
  • the cooling module 16 has two contact elements 20 arranged on side faces 28, 30 of the flat tube 18 facing away from each other. Both battery modules 12 are therefore cooled by means of one cooling module 16.
  • Spacer elements 58 are provided between the battery modules 12 and predefine the spacing between mutually facing contact faces 48 of the battery module 12.
  • FIG. 8a shows such an arrangement of the battery 10 with a cooling module 16, wherein heating wires 62 are arranged in the spaces or air gaps 60 formed between the ribs 42.
  • Fig. 8b illustrates the arrangement of the heating wires or heating wire 62 in a top view.
  • heating pads 64 or heating modules 66 may be provided which are arranged in a battery 10 adjacent to the cooling module 16 (Fig. 9a, Fig. 9b) .
  • the heating pads 64 are pressed against the contact faces 48 by means of an elastic foam 68, while the heating modules 66 comprise a plastic carrier 70 carrying the heating wires 62.
  • Fig. 10 shows the temperature gradient within a spring element 32 in degrees Kelvin over the number of spring elements 32 arranged distributed over the width of the contact surface 48 in cross-section.
  • the wall thickness or thickness of the spring element is in each case 0.15 mm, whereas the length of the path of the heat transmission LI inside the contact element 32 amounts to 2 mm for a first curve with measurement values indicated by crosses, to 1 mm for a second curve with measurement values indicated by triangles, and to 0.5 mm for a third curve with measurement values indicated by squares.
  • the test results apply for a maximum heat amount of 20 W per battery cell to be dissipated from an individual battery cell of the battery module 12. As indicated by the dotted arrow within the diagram, the clear width G between the side face 28 and the contact face 48 becomes less, the smaller the length LI.

Abstract

The invention concerns a cooling module (16) for active cooling of a battery, with a flat tube (18) having at least one channel (24) for receiving a cooling medium, and a metallic contact element (20) for forming a heat-conductive contact between a side face (28, 30) of the flat tube (18) and a contact face (48) of the battery (10). The metallic contact element (20) has at least one spring element (32) which is configured to be braced spring-elastically between the flat tube (18) and the contact face (48) of the battery (10).

Description

Cooling Module for a Battery, and Battery with Cooling
Module
The invention concerns a cooling module for active cooling of a battery, with a flat tube having at least one channel for receiving a cooling medium, and a metallic contact element for forming a heat-conductive contact between a side face of the flat tube and a contact face of the battery. The invention also concerns a battery with such a cooling module.
In modern cars and trucks with electric, hybrid or fuel cell drive, high-voltage batteries are used which are cooled during the charging and discharging process in order to prevent overheating and associated damage to the batteries. Such lithium-ion or nickel-metal hydride accumulators, depending on chemical composition, should be operated below a temperature range of 40 to 60°C. Such batteries are normally composed of a plurality of battery cells connected together. The battery cells should be cooled as homogenously as possible. The aim is to maintain a relative temperature difference between two cells to be cooled which is less than or equal to 5K, in order to avoid thermal ageing of individual battery cells.
Cooling modules of the type described initially may be used for active cooling of such high-voltage batteries. In the design of the cooling modules, a particular challenge is to create a reliable and homogenous heat- conductive contact between the cooling module and the battery to be cooled. Firstly, the design of a cooling arrangement depends on the geometric form of the battery cells used and the respective pipeline through which the cooling medium is conducted. For example, the battery cells may have a circular cylindrical or prismatic basic form. Similarly, the pipelines may have a substantially circular or rectangular cross-section.
Insofar as pipelines with a circular cross-section are used, it is known to provide contact elements between the pipeline and battery to be cooled in order to provide as large as possible a contact area for dissipating heat from the battery. US 2009/214 940 Al discloses an arrangement for cooling circular cylindrical battery cells, wherein the pipelines conducting the cooling medium also have a circular cross-section. Each of the circular cylindrical cells is assigned two cooling fins which lie against the outer casing surface of the respective battery cell. In turn, the pipelines lie against the cooling fins and are in turn surrounded peripherally, at least partially, by the cooling fins. The battery cells, cooling fins and pipelines are clamped together by means of a separate frame structure. The disadvantage with this arrangement is that the pipelines with circular cross-section only provide a reduced contact area for heat transmission. Also, the circular cylindrical battery cells and the frame structure required take up a large installation space.
EP 2 337 141 Al and EP 2 337 142 Al concern designs for providing a heat transfer between flat base surfaces of prismatic battery cells and pipelines or cooling spirals with circular pipe cross section. For this, contact elements are provided which partly surround the circular pipelines on the periphery and also provide a contact area to the battery. As already described in relation to US 2009/0214940 Al , the circular round pipelines only allow a small contact area for heat transfer. Also, an additional structure is required for receiving the cooling spirals. Pipelines with substantially rectangular pipe cross section have the advantage over pipelines with round cross section that they have flat or planar side faces which can be brought into direct contact with a flat surface of a prismatic battery to be cooled. In this way, in principle without intermediate elements, a sufficiently large contact area can be provided for the heat transfer between the battery to be cooled and the pipeline .
In order to compensate for any flatness tolerances between the mutually assigned surfaces of the battery and pipeline, it is known to clamp flat pipelines to a battery to be cooled and press the pipeline for example against the underside of a prismatic battery cell.
Document US 2011/132 580 Al describes such an arrangement wherein a frame with spring elements is provided for bracing the battery against a plate-like cooling body. US 2012/261 107 Al , US 2013/071 707 Al and WO 2012/013 315 Al each disclose cooling arrangements for cooling batteries, wherein flat pipe lines are pressed directly against the base surface of the battery to be cooled.
Here firstly it is disadvantageous that the compression forces necessary to compensate for the production tolerances existing between the battery and the pipeline can exceed the compression forces which can be tolerated by the battery. Consequently, the battery may be mechanically damaged and in particular distorted. Secondly, insofar as the compression forces are limited by corresponding choice of clamping means, production tolerances can lead to the bracing forces in the final mounted state being too low to achieve reliably a broad contact of the respective pipeline against the battery base surface. Also, the bracing means, in particular springs or similar, take up additional installation space and as a whole increase the cost of the device.
US 2010/147 488 Al , regarded as the closest prior art, provides a cooling spiral formed from flat pipelines to delimit a chamber in which prismatic battery cells can be received. To achieve as homogenous a cooling as possible, flat contact plates are provided between the pipelines and the battery cells. In order to bring the cooling device into contact with the battery cells to be cooled, an additional bracing frame is required. Because of the necessary horizontal bolting of the bracing frame, it is not possible to install the arrangement inside the battery housing.
Starting from the prior art described above, the invention is based on the technical problem of providing a cooling module for active cooling of a battery, and a battery, which do not have or at least only have to a lesser extent the disadvantages described above, and in particular allow a homogenous cooling of the battery in a reliable and economic fashion . The technical problem outlined above is solved by a cooling module for active cooling of a battery, with a flat tube having at least one channel for receiving a cooling medium, and a metallic contact element for forming a heat-conductive contact between a side face of the flat tube and a contact face of the battery. The metallic contact element has at least one spring element which is configured to be braced spring- elastically between the flat tube and the contact face of the battery.
Consequently, the contact element firstly serves to provide a heat-conductive connection between the flat tube and the battery to be cooled, and in final mounted state it is arranged between the side face of the flat tube and the contact face of the battery. Secondly, in final mounted state, by the spring elastic bracing, the contact element guarantees a reliable contact of the contact element with both the battery and the flat tube .
In comparison with previously known solutions in which a flat tube is pressed directly against the contact face of the battery to be cooled, the necessary compression or mounting forces can be decisively reduced. In contrast to the prior art, in particular it is not necessary to deform the flat tube or battery by means of such high bracing or compression forces and in this way create a broad contact for heat transfer.
Rather, the necessary compression or mounting forces can be set by the stiffness of the spring element to be braced between the battery and the flat tube.
By means of the at least one spring element, in final mounted state, the production tolerances between the side face of the flat tube and the contact face of the battery are compensated, wherein a defined contact and homogenous cooling can be achieved without mechanically damaging and in particular deforming the battery. Therefore in a reliable fashion and with low compression forces, a heat-conductive connection can be created to a contact face, in particular a base surface, of a battery even if this contact face is curved or uneven.
The contact elements are advantageous for applications in which particularly rigid flat tubes are provided which resist burst pressures greater than 260 bar, which is accompanied by a high bending stiffness of the flat tube. The flat tube of the cooling module may for example be an extrusion profile and have a plurality of internal channels suitable for conducting a cooling medium. The channels may have a substantially circular or rectangular cross-section, and/or be arranged substantially parallel with each other. The channels may preferably extend in a longitudinal direction of the flat tube and/or be separated from each other by partition walls.
The side faces of the flat tube may be formed substantially flat and/or rectangular. The thickness of the flat tube, limited by two side faces of the flat tube facing away from each other, may be less than one third, preferably less than one quarter, further preferably less than one fifth of the width of the flat tube, wherein the width of the flat tube is measured transversely to a longitudinal direction of the flat tube. The flat tube may have a substantially rectangular cross-section. The thickness of the flat tube may be for example 2.5 mm.
The contact face of the battery mentioned here is a face formed on a battery to be cooled which is suitable for contact with a side face of the cooling module. Such a contact face may for example be a substantially planar or flat base or side face of the battery cell of the battery. Alternatively, a contact face assigned to the cooling module may be composed of a plurality of densely packed or mutually adjacent battery cells of a battery .
The battery may have a plurality of prismatic battery cells which can be combined in blocks into battery modules. The battery may therefore be composed of a plurality of battery modules which each comprise a plurality of densely packed battery cells. In a pre-mounted unbraced state, the spring element may extend at least partially in a direction pointing away from the flat tube. In the final mounted, braced state, the spring element may extend partially in a direction pointing away from the flat tube, or lie at least partially to block between the cooling contact face and the side face, so that the cooling contact face and the side face viewed in cross-section lie at least partially substantially gap-free against faces of the spring element facing away from each other.
According to a refinement of the cooling module, the spring element is a tab which has a freely protruding end portion. The tab may be arranged in particular on a web which lies against the side face of the flat tube. Such a tab constitutes a particularly economic and simple embodiment of a spring element. The free end portion of the tab may extend, starting from the web, in or transversely to the longitudinal direction of the flat tube.
The tab may at least in portions be formed arcuate in cross-section. Where the term "cross-section" is used here, this means a section transverse to a longitudinal extension of the flat tube.
In final mounted state, the arcuate tab may lie against a substantially planar or flat contact face of the battery .
Preferably, the tab is curved to the outside starting from the flat tube, and in cross-section describes a substantially convex arc portion. In final mounted state, the contact face viewed in cross-section therefore lies tangentially against the curved tab.
Between the tab and the contact face, in final mounted state, a substantially linear contact may be formed. Preferably, in final mounted state, a broad contact may be formed between the tab and the contact surface. The tab may at least in portions have a convex curvature, wherein the tab may be formed such that in final mounted state it lies at least in portions over a broad area on the contact face.
In order to achieve as light a springing of the tab as possible during mounting, in a further embodiment of the cooling module the free end portion encloses, with a plane arranged parallel to and spaced from the side face, an angle greater than or equal to 20° and less than or equal to 45°.
Alternatively or additionally, a portion of the tab assigned to the side face encloses with the side face an angle greater than or equal to 30° and less than or equal to 55 ° .
The angles cited above are described by the contact element in uncompressed state, i.e. before the contact element is braced between the flat tube and the contact face. Depending on the incline and length of the tab, large air gaps between the contact face and the side face can also be compensated.
A particularly homogenous cooling of the battery can be achieved if, according to a refinement of the cooling module, the contact element has a plurality of spring elements, wherein the spring elements are in particular arranged in pairs. Thus a plurality of spring elements may be arranged distributed over the side face in order, in final mounted state, to achieve an even bracing of the contact element between the side face and the contact face, and form a plurality of contact regions between the contact element and the contact face of the battery, via which heat can be dissipated from the battery.
For example, spring elements may be arranged distributed along the flat tube in a longitudinal direction and/or transverse direction, in particular at regular intervals.
According to a refinement of the cooling module, the contact element and the spring element are made integrally from a sheet metal material. In particular, this is a spring sheet metal element. For example, the spring elements, for example the tabs or similar described above, may be worked directly from a sheet metal . A punching tool or a multistage tool may be used for this.
The contact element may be a sheet metal on which tabs are formed by punching, and bent into spring elements by one or more bending processes. The contact element can thus be produced economically and in large numbers, wherein the sheet metal material is provided in particular in coils. The sheet metal material may have a wall thickness less than or equal to 0.5 mm, preferably less than or equal to 0.2 mm. Alternatively or additionally, the wall thickness of the sheet metal material is at least 0.05 mm, preferably at least 0.1 mm. It is clear that such a thin sheet metal material is easily deformable. During installation of the cooling module therefore only small compression or bracing forces are required in order to brace the contact element, made from the sheet metal material, between the contact face of the battery and the side face of the flat tube.
According to a further embodiment of the cooling module, it is provided that the contact element and/or the flat tube are made from an aluminium material, in particular an aluminium alloy. Aluminium is distinguished by a low weight and high thermal conductivity and is therefore particularly suitable for the present application.
A reliable heat dissipation from the battery can be achieved in particular if the thermal conductivity of the material of the contact element and/or of the flat tube is greater than or equal to 130 W/ (m*K) , preferably greater than or equal to 180 W/ (m*K) .
Alternatively or additionally, the difference of the electrochemical potential of the material of the contact element relative to the material of the flat tube is less than or equal to 100 mA, preferably less than or equal to 50 mA. This material choice reduces the risk of electrochemical corrosion so that the durability of the cooling module can be increased, in particular in comparison with a material pairing of steel and aluminium.
According to a refinement of the cooling module, the flat tube sits in a carrier element arranged on a side of the flat tube facing away from the contact element, wherein the carrier element in particular is made at least partly of a material with low thermal conductivity, and wherein the thermal conductivity of the material is in particular less than or equal to 1 W/ (m*K) , preferably less than or equal to 0.25 W/ (m*K) .
Such a carrier element may serve, in final mounted state of the cooling module, to create a thermal isolation between the flat tube and the battery housing. The carrier element may for example lie against the battery housing with a surface facing away from the flat tube. Consequently, the flat tube may rest on the battery housing via the carrier element. The carrier element may be made of a plastic. The carrier element may then serve as an intermediate element or spacer between the flat tube and a battery housing, in order to prevent an electrochemical corrosion between the flat tube and the battery housing, wherein preferably there is no direct contact between the flat tube and the battery housing. The flat tube may be preassembled on the carrier element so as to facilitate final installation of the cooling module. In particular, the carrier element may have two webs arranged spaced apart which delimit a receiver region corresponding substantially to the width of the flat tube, so that the flat tube can be received between these webs .
A thermal isolation between the battery housing and the flat tube may be further improved if the carrier element has ribs on a side facing the flat tube, which lie against a side face of the flat tube. The side face of the flat tube facing the carrier element therefore lies only on narrow rib surfaces, so that air gaps or spaces are formed between the carrier element and the flat tube. The low thermal conductivity in the region of the air gaps promotes the thermal isolation.
Alternatively or additionally, the carrier element has ribs on a side facing away from the flat tube, which are configured to lie against a battery housing in final mounted state. By means of the ribs, the contact area of the carrier element to a contact surface of the battery housing may be reduced, so that air gaps are formed between the battery housing and the carrier element which ensure a good thermal isolation of the flat tube from the battery housing. Low ambient temperatures may mean that the battery must be heated or preheated in order to be operated in an optimum temperature range. For this, the cooling module may have heating elements, in particular heating wires, on a side face of the flat tube facing away from the contact element, wherein the heating elements are arranged in intermediate spaces formed between the ribs. In this way, a compact integration of the heating elements in the cooling module is achieved.
According to a further embodiment of the cooling module, a further metallic contact element is provided, wherein the metallic contact elements are arranged on side faces of the flat tube facing away from each other. The flat tube may therefore be surrounded on two sides by two metallic contact elements. Such a cooling module is particularly suitable for arrangement between two battery modules of a battery, wherein both battery modules are cooled by the cooling module. For example, the cooling module may be braced between mutually facing base surfaces of two battery modules.
The technical problem described initially is also solved by a battery, in particular for a motor vehicle, with at least one cooling module for active cooling of the battery, wherein the cooling module is configured in the manner according to the invention.
The battery may comprise at least one battery module which has a contact face. The contact element serves to bridge a space or air gap formed between the contact face and a side face of the flat tube facing the contact face, and in this way create a heat-conductive contact .
The contact face and the assigned side face of the flat tube may be arranged substantially parallel to each other and spaced apart . The contact element may be formed or configured depending on this distance, so as to guarantee reliably a defined contact of the contact element against both the contact face and the side face of the flat tube.
For example, starting from a web lying on the side face, the contact element may have a tab protruding in the direction of the contact face which serves to bridge the gap and be braced spring-elastically between the side face and the contact face.
The tab may have an end portion protruding freely in the direction of the contact face, wherein the tab in cross-section may have a freely protruding length L0 measured starting from the web.
LI constitutes a length of the heat-transmitting part of the tab which is determined starting from the web up to a contact region of the tab at the contact face. For the ratio of length LI of the tab and the clear gap G measured between the side face and the contact face, according to one embodiment of the battery, the ratio 1.15 < Ll/G < 3 may apply, preferably 1.3 < Ll/G < 2. In the unbraced pre-mounted state, the free end portion of the tab may enclose with the contact face an angle greater than or equal to 20° and less than or equal to 45°. Alternatively or in addition, a portion of the tab assigned to the side face may enclose with the side face an angle greater than or equal to 30° and less than or equal to 55°.
As already described, the contact element may be made from a sheet metal material. The sheet-metal material may in principle have a wall thickness less than or equal to 0.5 mm, preferably less than or equal to 0.2 mm, and/or at least 0.05 mm, preferably at least 0.1 mm . Alternatively or additionally to these requirements, the wall thickness of the sheet metal material, in particular the wall thickness of the spring element, may comply with the requirement T = L1*HLC / ( (NbAl .1) *20) . Here T is the wall thickness of the sheet metal material in mm, HLC is the heat loss of the battery or a cell of the battery assigned to the cooling module in Watt, and Nb is the number of spring elements, in particular tabs. LI is the length of the heat-transmitting part of a tab in mm.
The heat to be dissipated per battery cell may lie in the range from 2 to 20 W. For example, the necessary heat dissipation per battery cell in electric vehicles is around 2 W, whereas in hybrid vehicles, to support deceleration or acceleration processes, higher requirements are imposed on the load profile so that a heat dissipation of up to 20 W per cell may be required.
If the cooling module has a carrier element in which the flat tube is received, the cooling module is particularly suitable for being arranged between a contact face of a battery and a battery housing. The carrier element may lie on an inner surface of the battery housing and guarantee thermal isolation of the flat tube from the battery housing. Due to the compact integration of the contact element which simultaneously serves as a clamping element, between the side face of the flat tube and the contact face of the battery, the cooling module may have a particularly flat installation form. In particular in comparison with previously known arrangements which provide an indirect pressing of the side face of the flat tube against the contact face of the battery, advantages result with regard to the installation height since no steel springs, provided in this case for deforming the flat tube, need be arranged between the cooling module and battery housing in order to compensate for production tolerances.
According to an alternative embodiment, the battery comprises at least two battery modules which are cooled by means of a cooling module. The cooling module in this case has two contact elements which are arranged on side faces of the flat tube facing away from each other. The cooling module is braced between mutually facing contact faces of the battery module. In other words, the spring elements of a first contact element lie against a contact face of a first battery module, and the spring elements of a second contact element lie against a contact face of a second battery module.
The distance between the contact faces of the battery modules may be predefined by spacers lying against the contact faces. The installation space provided for arrangement of the cooling module is therefore determined by the spacers .
The battery may comprise a plurality of cooling modules which in particular extend parallel to each other and spaced apart along one or more contact faces of the battery. In addition, separate heating elements, which also lie against a contact face of the battery, may be arranged between adjacent cooling modules of a battery.
In comparison with previously known solutions in which steel springs are provided, the installation height of the cooling module may be reduced by around 50%. By the use of thin aluminium sheets with a wall thickness of maximum 0.2 mm, instead of steel springs which are fitted in the previously known solutions e.g. with a wall thickness of 0.5 mm, the weight of the cooling module may be reduced by more than 80%. Evidently in final mounted state, the cooling module is connected to a cooling circuit, wherein a coolant is conducted through the flat tube and absorbs the heat flow dissipated from the battery.
The invention is described in more detail below with reference to a drawing showing exemplary embodiments. The drawings show diagrammatically:
Fig. 1 a battery according to the invention in a cross section;
Fig. 2a a spring element in an uncompressed state;
Fig. 2b a spring element in a minimally compressed state ;
Fig. 2c a spring element in a maximally compressed state;
Fig. 3a the contact element from Fig. 1 in a top view;
Fig. 3b a further embodiment of a contact element in a top view;
Fig. 4 a battery according to the invention in cross- section; Fig. 5a a spring element in an uncompressed state;
Fig. 5b a spring element in a compressed state;
Fig. 6 a battery according to the invention in cross- section;
Fig. 7 a further battery according to the invention in cross-section; 8a a battery according to the invention with heating elements;
8b the heating elements from Fig. 8a in a top view;
9a an embodiment of a battery according to the invention in cross-section;
9b an embodiment of a battery according to the invention in cross-section;
10 a graphic depiction of the dependency of the temperature gradients within a spring element on the number of spring elements of the contact element .
The battery 10 shown in Fig. 1 has a battery module 12 and a housing 14. A cooling module 16 for active cooling of the battery 10 is arranged between the battery module 12 and the housing 14. The cooling module 16 has a flat tube 18, a contact element 20 and a carrier element 22.
The flat tube 18 has a plurality of separate cooling channels 24 which serve to receive or conduct a cooling medium (not shown) . The cooling channels 24 extend substantially parallel to each other and are separated from each other by partition walls 26. The flat tube has two side faces 28, 30 facing away from each other. The side face 28 is assigned to the contact element 20, while the side face 30 is assigned to the carrier element 22.
The contact element 20 is made from aluminium sheet and has spring elements 32 which extend in a direction pointing away from the flat tube 18, starting from webs 34 of the contact element 20 up to the battery module 12.
The spring elements 32 are arranged in pairs on the webs 34. The spring elements 32 are formed as tabs which are curved in the manner of an arc and have freely protruding end portions 36. Two spring elements 32 arranged opposite each other on adjacent webs 34 have end portions 36 facing each other.
The spring elements are combined into a leaf spring element, i.e. a flat sheet metal component, from the plane of which the spring elements are bent out spring- elastically .
Side guide tabs 38 are provided on the contact element 20 and surround the flat tube 18 in the region of its narrow sides 40. The carrier element 22 has ribs 42, 44, wherein the ribs 42 are assigned to the flat tube 18 and the ribs 44 to the housing 14. Furthermore, guide ribs 46 are provided on the carrier element 22 which surround the flat tube 18 and the contact element 20 along its narrow sides. The carrier element 22 is made of a plastic with low thermal conductivity.
The cooling module 16 serves to dissipate a heat flow from the battery module 12. For this, the contact element 20 lies with its spring elements 32 on a contact face 48 of the battery module 12. The contact face 48 is a base surface of the battery module 12. In the region of the side face 28, the contact element 20 lies with the webs 34 against the flat tube 18.
A heat flow to be dissipated from the battery module 12 is consequently transmitted via the spring element 32 to the flat tube 18 which carries a cooling medium in order to absorb and dissipate the heat.
The contact element 20 is braced spring-elastically between the contact face 48 and the side face 28 of the flat tube 18, in order to bridge reliably a gap 50 formed between the side face 28 and the contact face 48. The gap has a gap width G. The carrier element 22 here serves to guarantee a thermal isolation between the flat tube 18 and the housing 14. This thermal isolation is promoted by the formation of intermediate spaces 60 between the ribs 42, 44.
The flat tube 18 and the contact element 20 are each made of an aluminium material, wherein the thermal conductivity of the materials is greater than 180 W/ (m*K) .
The difference of the electrochemical potential of the material of the contact element 20 relative to the material of the flat tube 18 is less than 50 mA. In this way, electrochemical corrosion can be avoided in the contact region of these components.
The spring elements 32 are shown in Fig. 1 in an uncompressed and in two compressed positions, wherein the compressed positions are each indicated by the dotted line. The individual positions are explained in more detail below with reference to figures 2a, 2b and 2c .
Fig. 2a shows two spring elements 32 in uncompressed state. In this position, the free end portions 36 of the spring elements 32 have a distance dl from the side face 28. Fig. 2b shows the two spring elements 32 from Fig. 2a in compressed state, wherein the free end portions 36 of the spring elements 32 have a distance d2 from the side face 28 which is less than the distance dl . Fig. 2b illustrates the state of minimum compression of the spring elements 32 in final mounted or braced state.
Fig. 2c shows the state of maximum compression, wherein the spring elements 32 lie flat against the side face 28 and contact face 48. The spring is thus compressed to block. The spring elements 32 arranged in pairs opposite each other are dimensioned such that even in the state of maximum compression, a gap is formed between the mutually facing free end portions 36.
Fig. 3a shows a top view of the contact element 20 from Fig. 1, wherein it is evident that the spring elements 32 extend from the webs 34 in a direction Q oriented transversely to the longitudinal axis L.
The spring elements 32 are arranged in blocks of ten spring elements 32, which blocks are separated from each other by the webs 34 and the transverse webs 52. The spring elements 32 are formed by punching from a sheet metal material.
Alternatively to the transverse orientation of the spring elements 32 shown in Fig. 3a, the spring elements 32, starting from the webs 34, may be oriented in the longitudinal direction L of the flat tube 18 as shown in Fig. 3b.
Fig. 4 shows a further embodiment of a battery 10 in cross-section. This variant differs substantially from the arrangement discussed with reference to Fig. 1 in that the contact element 20, transversely to the longitudinal extension L of the flat tube 18, has six instead of four spring elements 32. As also evident in Fig. 1, the ribs 42 and the partition walls 26 are arranged substantially at the same height in the transverse direction Q. In this way, a deformation of the flat tube 18 in the region of the side face 30 on bracing of the arrangement can be avoided .
Fig. 5a shows a spring element 32 in uncompressed state, wherein the position of angles a and β is illustrated. The spring element 32 encloses, with a portion 54 assigned to the side face 28, an angle a which is greater than or equal to 30° and less than or equal to 55°. The free end portion 36 encloses, with a plane arranged parallel and spaced from the side face 28, for example the contact face 48, an angle β which is greater than or equal to 20° and less than or equal to 45°. The spring element 32 describes an arc of total length L0.
In braced state (Fig. 5b), the spring element 32 is compressed, resulting in a length LI, measured starting from the web 34 up to a contact region 56, which substantially corresponds to the length of the path of heat transmission of the spring element 32. The specification 1.3 ≤ Ll/G ≤ 2 applies. The aim is to shorten the path of heat conduction as much as possible in order to minimise the temperature loss in the region of the spring elements 32.
Fig. 6 shows a further variant of a battery 10 according to the invention in cross-section, wherein the contact element 20 now has eight spring elements 32 distributed over the width of the arrangement. The contact element 20 as a whole is wider than the flat tube 18. By increasing the number of contact elements 20, as many contact regions 54 as possible should be provided for dissipating the heat from the battery module 12.
The variant illustrated in Fig. 7 of a battery 10 according to the invention has two battery modules 12 between which the cooling module 16 is arranged. The cooling module 16 has two contact elements 20 arranged on side faces 28, 30 of the flat tube 18 facing away from each other. Both battery modules 12 are therefore cooled by means of one cooling module 16. Spacer elements 58 are provided between the battery modules 12 and predefine the spacing between mutually facing contact faces 48 of the battery module 12. With reference to figures 8 and 9, embodiments of batteries 10 according to the invention are now described which additionally comprise heating elements 62, 64. Fig. 8a shows such an arrangement of the battery 10 with a cooling module 16, wherein heating wires 62 are arranged in the spaces or air gaps 60 formed between the ribs 42. Fig. 8b illustrates the arrangement of the heating wires or heating wire 62 in a top view.
As an alternative to integration of the heating wires 62 in the cooling module 16, separate heating pads 64 or heating modules 66 may be provided which are arranged in a battery 10 adjacent to the cooling module 16 (Fig. 9a, Fig. 9b) . The heating pads 64 are pressed against the contact faces 48 by means of an elastic foam 68, while the heating modules 66 comprise a plastic carrier 70 carrying the heating wires 62. Fig. 10 shows the temperature gradient within a spring element 32 in degrees Kelvin over the number of spring elements 32 arranged distributed over the width of the contact surface 48 in cross-section. The wall thickness or thickness of the spring element is in each case 0.15 mm, whereas the length of the path of the heat transmission LI inside the contact element 32 amounts to 2 mm for a first curve with measurement values indicated by crosses, to 1 mm for a second curve with measurement values indicated by triangles, and to 0.5 mm for a third curve with measurement values indicated by squares. The test results apply for a maximum heat amount of 20 W per battery cell to be dissipated from an individual battery cell of the battery module 12. As indicated by the dotted arrow within the diagram, the clear width G between the side face 28 and the contact face 48 becomes less, the smaller the length LI.

Claims

Claims
Cooling module for active cooling of a battery, with a flat tube (18) having at least one channel (24) for receiving a cooling medium, and a metallic contact element (20) for forming a heat- conductive contact between a side face (28, 30) of the flat tube (18) and a contact face (48) of the battery (10) , characterized in that the metallic contact element (20) has at least one spring element (32) which is configured to be braced spring-elastically between the flat tube (18) and the contact face (48) of the battery (10) .
Cooling module according to Claim 1, characterized in that the spring element (32) is a tab (32) which has a freely protruding end portion (36) , wherein the tab (32) is arranged in particular on a web (34) which lies against the contact face (28, 30) of the flat tube (18) .
Cooling module according to Claim 2, characterized in that the tab (32) is formed arcuate in cross- section at least in portions.
Cooling module according to one of Claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the free end portion (36) encloses, with a plane (48) arranged parallel to and spaced from the side face (28, 30) , an angle (β) greater than or equal to 20° and less than or equal to 45°, and/or a portion (54) of the tab (32) assigned to the side face (28, 30) encloses with the side face (28, 30) an angle (a) greater than or equal to 30° and less than or equal to
5. Cooling module according to any of Claims 1 to 4 , characterized in that the contact element (20) has a plurality of spring elements (32), wherein the spring elements (32) are in particular arranged in pairs .
Cooling module according to Claim 5, characterized in that the spring elements (32) are arranged distributed along the flat tube (18) in a longitudinal direction (L) and/or a transverse direction (Q) , in particular at regular intervals.
Cooling module according to any of Claims 1 to 6 , characterized in that the contact element and the spring element are made integrally from a sheet metal material .
Cooling element according to Claim 7, characterized in that the sheet metal material has a wall thickness of less than or equal to 0.5 mm, preferably less than or equal to 0.2 mm, and/or the wall thickness of the sheet metal material is at least 0.05 mm, preferably at least 0.1 mm.
Cooling module according to any of Claims 1 to 8 , characterized in that the contact element (20) and/or the flat tube (18) are made from an aluminium material, in particular an aluminium alloy .
Cooling module according to Claim 9, characterized in that the thermal conductivity of the material of the contact element (20) and/or of the flat tube (18) is greater than or equal to 130 W/ (m*K) , preferably greater than or equal to 180 W/ (m*K) , and/or that the difference of the electrochemical potential of the material of the contact element (32) relative to the material of the flat tube (18) is less than or equal to 100 mA, preferably less than or equal to 50 mA. Cooling module according to any of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the flat tube (18) sits in a carrier element (22) arranged on a side of the flat tube (18) facing away from the contact element (20), wherein the carrier element (22) in particular is made at least partly of a material with low thermal conductivity, wherein the thermal conductivity of the material is in particular less than or equal to 1 W/ (m*K) , preferably less than or equal to 0.25 W/ (m*K) .
Cooling module according to Claim 11, characterized in that the carrier element (22) has ribs (42) on a side facing the flat tube (18), which lie against a side face (30) of the flat tube (18) facing away from the contact element (20) , and/or that the carrier element (22) has ribs (44) on a side facing away from the flat tube (18) , which are configured to lie against the battery housing (14) in final mounted state of the battery module.
Cooling module according to Claim 12, characterized in that in the region of the side face (30) of the flat tube (18) facing away from the contact element (20), heating elements (62, 64) are provided, in particular heating wires, and that the heating elements (62, 64) are arranged in intermediate spaces (60) formed between the ribs (42) .
Cooling module according to any of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that a further metallic contact element (20) is provided, wherein the metallic contact elements (20) are arranged on side faces (28, 30) of the flat tube (18) facing away from each other. Battery, in particular for a motor vehicle, with at least one cooling module (16) for active cooling of the battery (10) , wherein the cooling module (16) is configured according to any of claims 1 to 14.
PCT/EP2016/070658 2015-09-16 2016-09-01 Cooling module for a battery, and battery with cooling module WO2017045928A1 (en)

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