Cell-array Battery Pack System with Enhanced Cooling Efficiency

Authors: James Pousson, Ping-Chuan Wang, Fetah Medunjanin, Anthony Ramirez Grijalba, Dean Schepisi, Tenmetey Tetteh-Nartey

SUNY Campus: SUNY New Paltz

Presentation Type: Poster

Location: Old Union Hall

Presentation #: 21

Timeslot: Session C 1:45-2:45 PM

Abstract: As world infrastructure and transportation evolve and green energy sources become more widespread, the need for reliable and efficient energy storage systems becomes greater. The goal of our project is to explore the effectiveness of cell-array battery systems with built-in heat dissipation capability. The most common form of large-scale battery is found in electric vehicles, where layers of battery components are folded on themselves to allow for quick charge and recharge rates with high energy capacity. This design presents two main issues with serious safety and reliability implication. First, large amounts of heat can be generated near the center of the battery pack which can accelerate the degradation in the energy capacity of the batteries. Second, if the casing of the battery pack is compromised anywhere, the entire battery pack can fail suddenly and catastrophically. Both issues can be addressed when working with smaller arrays of battery cells assembled to match the performance of a larger battery pack. An innovative cooling mechanism is then routed between each individual cell for more effective heat dissipation and to allow for more even heat distribution. This design is expected to improve the performance and reliability of the battery pack, as well as to avoid catastrophic failure of the entire battery pack by containing the local cell fail within an array. In this presentation, we introduce the proposed internally cooled cell-array battery system design, demonstrate its effectiveness and potential, and recommend plans for further development.