Cure acceleration of thermal interface adhesives via adjacent component heating

A method for accelerating a cure time of an adhesive, the method comprising:

• receiving a first battery cell and a second battery cell;
• wetting an interface between the first battery cell and the second battery cell with an adhesive;
• joining the first battery cell and the second battery cell at the interface;
• applying a two-step cure acceleration process comprising:
• directing a charging current to at least one of the first battery cell and the second battery cell for a time equal to a difference between an adhesive open time and a time to fixture strength for the adhesive, thereby heating the adhesive;
• and
• directing a heating fluid through preexisting rails in a thermal management system coupled to at least one of the first battery cell and the second battery cell;
• and
• responsive to determining that a temperature of the adhesive has reached a target temperature, maintaining the temperature of the adhesive for a soak time according to a cure curve of the adhesive to achieve a target bond strength.

A system comprising:

• a vehicle comprising:
• an electric motor;
• a battery pack electrically coupled to the electric motor, the battery pack comprising a first battery cell and a second battery cell;
• and
• a thermal management system coupled to the battery pack, the thermal management system comprising a cooling plate, an upper tray, and a lower tray joined to opposite surfaces of the cooling plate to define an enclosed volume therebetween;
• and
• a memory, computer readable instructions, and one or more processors for executing the computer readable instructions, the computer readable instructions controlling the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
• heating a component of the vehicle adjacent to an adhesive, wherein heating the component comprises:
• prior to a first charge cycle of the battery pack, directing a heating fluid through the enclosed volume to heat the cooling plate, thereby heating the adhesive;
• and
• during the first charge cycle of the battery pack, directing a charging current to at least one of the first battery cell and the second battery cell to heat the respective first battery cell and second battery cell for a time equal to a difference between an adhesive open time and a time to fixture strength for the adhesive, thereby heating the adhesive;
• measuring a temperature of the adhesive;
• and
• responsive to determining that the temperature of the adhesive has reached a target temperature, maintaining the temperature of the adhesive for a soak time according to a cure curve of the adhesive to achieve a target bond strength.