US 8,999,548 B2Granted

Liquid-cooled battery module

AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC

InventorsHongguang Sun, Regan P. Dixon

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Abstract

A battery module having a cooling plate assembly made from two non-contiguous cooling plates is provided. Each cooling plate has a side panel contiguous with a base panel, and the cooling plates are disposed opposite one another such that the base panels are coplanar and separated by a gap. An inlet duct runs along an upper edge of each side panel, and a manifold having coolant channels in fluid communication with the inlet duct is located in each side panel. The base panels have an outlet duct in fluid communication with the manifold. The cooling plate is designed to decrease friction loss as coolant flows through the inlet duct, manifold and outlet cut, and coolant channels in the manifold are designed to maintain a uniform flow rate across the manifold. Individual cells are disposed in the assembly such that the cell sides and bottoms are in heat-transfer contact with the plate side and base panels, respectively. The design of the battery module reduces operational temperature variation in the cells across the battery module and within each battery cell. Methods for reducing coolant flow friction loss, for establishing a more uniform coolant flow rate, and for reducing temperature variation are also provided.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A battery module having a plurality of interconnected electrochemical cells disposed within a cooling plate assembly comprising two non-contiguous cooling plates, each cooling plate comprising a side panel contiguous with a base panel, the cooling plates disposed opposite one another such that the base panels are coplanar and separated by a gap, each side panel comprising an inlet duct running across the battery module from front to back along an upper edge of the side panel, and a manifold comprising coolant channels in fluid communication with the inlet duct, and each base panel comprising an outlet duct in fluid communication with a manifold;

each cell having a top portion, a bottom portion, and two side portions, the cells being in parallel alignment in the cooling plate assembly such that the side portions are in heat-transfer contact with the manifolds, the bottom portions are in heat-transfer contact with the outlet ducts, and the upper edges of the side panels extend above the top portions of the cells;
each inlet duct comprising at least one inlet port at the front, and each outlet duct comprising at least one outlet port at the front;
wherein the coolant channels and ducts are configured to reduce operational temperature variation in the cells across the battery module from front to back, and within each battery cell from top to bottom.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.