The present application claims priority to and benefits of Chinese Patent Application No. 202010108866.X, entitled “CELL ARRAY, BATTERY PACK, AND VEHICLE” and filed by BYD Company Limited on Feb. 21, 2020.
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of batteries and, more specifically, to a cell array, a battery pack, and a vehicle.
The progressive popularization of new energy vehicles is posing higher requirements on power batteries for use in the new energy vehicles. Housings of existing batteries are mostly square aluminum housings. To ensure the cycle performance of a battery with a square aluminum housing and facilitate assembly into the housing without scratching the separator, generally a certain assembly gap is provided between the electrode core and the aluminum housing. However, an excessively large gap not only leads to low space utilization and a waste of the battery capacity, but also results in undesirable movement of the electrode core in the battery. In addition, gas produced during charging and discharging leads to a poor interface state, and lithium ions cannot diffuse through the poor interface to precipitate, affecting the safety and service life of the battery.
The present disclosure aims to resolve at least one of the technical problems existing in the related art. Therefore, the present disclosure provides a cell array. The cell array is arranged more properly, which can improve the electrode plate interface and the electrode core performance while controlling the expansion gap.
A cell array is provided, including a plurality of cells arranged in sequence. Each of the plurality cells includes a housing and an electrode core arranged in the housing. The electrode core includes an electrode plate. The electrode plate includes a current collector and a coating layer arranged on the current collector. The cell array satisfies the following formula 1:
(1−JRw)+(SRw−1)=10%-15% (formula 1).
JRw is an expansion space for the electrode core inside each of the plurality of cells in a first direction, SRw is an expansion space outside the plurality of cells in the first direction, and a thickness direction of each of the plurality of cells is defined as the first direction.
JRw=Pw/(Cellw−Kw−Cw). Pw is a total thickness of all of coating layers in the first direction at any moment, and the total thickness of the coating layers at any moment is a total thickness of the coating layers in the first direction at any moment before expansion, during expansion, or after expansion, Cellw is a thickness of each of the plurality of cells in the first direction before use, Kw is a wall thickness of the housing in the first direction, and Cw is an incompressible thickness in the electrode core in the first direction. SRw=(Mw−MNw)/(Celln×Cellw). Mw is a thickness of the cell array in the first direction, MNw is an incompressible thickness in the cell array in the first direction, and Cello is a number of the cells.
Therefore, JRw and SRw can be adjusted and controlled to allow a cell array 20 to satisfy the formula 1, which can control the expansion gap and improve the electrode plate interface and the electrode core performance.
A battery pack is provided, including a plurality of the cell arrays according to any one of the foregoing.
A vehicle is provided, including the foregoing battery pack.
Additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure are partially given in the following description, and partially become apparent in the following description or may be learned through the practice of the present disclosure.
The foregoing and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and comprehensible in the embodiment description made with reference to the following accompanying drawings.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, where the same or similar elements or the elements having same or similar functions are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals throughout the description. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and used only for explaining the present disclosure, and should not be construed as a limitation on the present disclosure.
In the description of the present disclosure, it should be understood that a direction or location relationship indicated by a term “center”, “on”, “under”, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inner”, “outer”, or the like is a direction or location relationship shown based on the accompanying drawings, and is intended only to conveniently describe the present disclosure and simplify the description, but is not intended to indicate or imply that a mentioned apparatus or element needs to have a particular direction and is constructed and operated in the particular direction. Therefore, the direction or location relationship cannot be understood as a limitation on the present disclosure.
It is to be noted that, the terms “first” and “second” are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined by “first” or “second” can explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. Further, in the description of the present disclosure, unless otherwise stated, “a plurality of” means two or more than two.
There are two types of changes in cell thickness: reversible and irreversible. The reversible changes include thermal expansion and volume change caused by lithium deintercalation, where an original thickness can be restored under the same SOC. The foregoing process will not cause irreversible damage to the cell. Constrained by structural members, coating layers in a positive electrode and a negative electrode of a charged cell will expand, and an electrolyte solution will be discharged from a porous structure (such as a porous electrode or a separator) in an electrode core. As charging progresses, the amount of residual electrolyte solution increases, and reaches the highest level at the end of charging. In this case, the electrode core expands to the greatest extent in a thickness direction, and correspondingly, the cell receives the maximum expansion force. During discharging, the electrolyte solution is absorbed back into the porous structure. This process can be understood as a breathing effect of charging and discharging of the cell. The reversible expansion of the cell usually reflects the characteristics of positive and negative electrode materials, so an expansion ratio can be reduced by optimizing a material system.
Referring to
The cell array 20 satisfies the following formula 1:
(1−JRw)+(SRw−1)=10%-15% (formula 1).
JRw is an expansion space for the electrode core 201 inside each of the plurality of cells 10 in a first direction X, SRw is an expansion space outside the plurality of cells 10 in the first direction X, and a thickness direction of each of the plurality of cells is defined as the first direction X.
JR
w
=P
w/(Cellw−Kw−Cw).
Pw is a total thickness of all of coating layers in the first direction X at any moment. The total thickness of the coating layers at any moment is a total thickness of the coating layers in the first direction at any moment before expansion, during expansion, or after expansion. The electrode core 201 is usually obtained by stacking multiple layers of electrode plates or winding long electrode plates at intervals. The electrode plate usually includes a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate, so the electrode core 201 is obtained by stacking a positive electrode plate, a separator, and a negative electrode plate or winding a positive electrode plate, a separator, and a negative electrode plate. The positive electrode plate includes a positive current collector and a positive coating layer arranged on the positive current collector. The positive coating layer may be single-layer coating or double-layer coating. The negative electrode plate includes a negative current collector and a negative coating layer arranged on the negative current collector. The negative coating layer may be single-layer coating or double-layer coating. Therefore, a total thickness of the coating layer is a thickness of the positive coating layer plus a thickness of the negative coating layer (where the coating layer is single-layer coating) or is twice a thickness of the positive coating layer plus twice a thickness of the negative coating layer (where the coating layer is double-layer coating). If necessary, the electrode core 201 also includes an electrical insulation paper for outside covering.
Cellw is a thickness of each of the plurality of cells 10 in the first direction X before use. That is, Cellw may be a thickness of the housing 100 of the cell 10 when feeding, or may be a thickness of the housing 100 of the cell 10 before assembly, or may be a thickness of the housing 100 neither expanded nor contracted after assembly.
Kw is a wall thickness of the housing 100 in the first direction X (that is, a total thickness measured of side plates of the housing 100 in the first direction, where there may be two or more side plates). Cw is an incompressible thickness in the electrode core 201 in the first direction X. Further, the incompressible thickness in the electrode core 201 includes thicknesses of a separator and a current collector in the electrode core 201, or the incompressible thickness in the electrode core 201 includes thicknesses of a separator, a current collector, and an electrical insulation paper. In some embodiments, the incompressible thickness in the electrode core 201 also includes a thickness of a space occupied by compressed gas in the electrode core 201 in the first direction. The gas produced in each of the plurality of cells in use will accumulate in the housing 100 to provide a certain thickness. Therefore, in this embodiment, the incompressible thickness includes a thickness of the compressed gas.
SR
w=(Mw−MNw)/(Celln×Cellw).
Mw is a thickness of the cell array 20 in the first direction X, MNw is an incompressible thickness in the cell array 20 in the first direction X, and Cello is a number of the cells 10. In this embodiment, an outer case 210 is arranged outside the cell array 20 and includes end plates 211 at two sides in the first direction X; and an incompressible thermal insulation cotton 220 is further provided between the outer case 210 and the cell array 20. In this embodiment, the incompressible thickness in the cell array 20 includes thicknesses of the end plates 211 and the incompressible thermal insulation cotton 220. Mw is a thickness of the cell array 20 in the first direction X, which refers to a thickness in the first direction X at any moment when the cell array 20 is in normal use or not in use.
In the present disclosure, structure of the cell array 20 includes a structure and a material of the cell array 20 on a spatial position. As long as the structure design and/or material selection satisfies the formula 1, the cell array 20 of the present disclosure can be obtained.
In the first direction X, if a reserved space represented by (1−JRw)+(SRw−1) is excessively small, the cell 10 will bear excessive constraint force during long-term cycling, and the electrolyte solution is squeezed out during charging, leading to insufficient electrolyte solution between the interfaces of the positive and negative electrode plates, so that lithium ions cannot be intercalated into the positive electrode to precipitate, resulting in rapid cycle decay. On the contrary, if a reserved space represented by (1−JRw)+(SRw−1) is excessively large, the interface of the electrode plate of each of the plurality of cells 10 will become poor, and the energy density of each of the plurality of cells and the battery pack will be reduced.
In the present disclosure, JRw and SRw can be adjusted and controlled to allow the cell array 20 to satisfy the formula 1, which can control the expansion gap and improve the electrode plate interface and the electrode core performance.
In some embodiments, Pw=JRthickness−Cw, where JRthickness is a thickness of the electrode core 201 inside each of the plurality of cells 10 in the first direction X at any moment. The thickness of the electrode core 201 at any moment may be a thickness of the electrode core 201 in the first direction at any moment before expansion, during expansion, or after expansion. In the formula 1, the thickness of the electrode core 201 inside each of the plurality of cells 10 in the first direction X at any moment is a thickness when each of the plurality of cells 10 satisfies the formula 1 whether it is expanded or not. If each of the plurality of cells 10 still satisfies the formula 1 when a thickness of the electrode core 201 expanded in the first direction X reaches an extreme value, the damage to the interface of the electrode plate caused by the expansion of each of the plurality of cells 10 can be avoided.
In some other embodiments, Pw=Xpositive×Ypositive×(1+Spositive)+Xnegative×Ynegative×(1+Snegative), where the electrode plate includes a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate spaced apart from each other, Xpositive is a number of layers of the positive electrode plate, Ypositive is a thickness of the coating layer in a single layer of the positive electrode plate in the first direction X, Spositive is an expansion coefficient of the coating layer in the positive electrode plate, Xnegative is a number of layers of the negative electrode plate, Ynegative is a thickness of the coating layer in a single layer of the negative electrode plate in the first direction X, and Snegative is an expansion coefficient of the coating layer in the negative electrode plate. In the representation manner in this embodiment, the thickness of the coating layer in the first direction at any moment is represented by the expansion thickness of the coating layer.
Gas is drawn out of the cell under negative pressure at the formation stage of the cell to prevent difficulty in lithium ion deintercalation and poor interface due to excessive gas. The external atmospheric pressure of the cell is greater than the internal pressure of the cell and the housing 100 is tightly attached to and fixes the electrode core 201 by the inward contraction force. During the cycle, the electrode core 201 bears the pressure from the recessed housing 100, the produced gas is continuous drawn out of the cell under the negative pressure, and at the same time, the cavity expands under the breathing effect of charging and discharging. The breathing effect of charging and discharging is reflected by the expansion coefficient S of the coating layer, which can be controlled by adjusting the material of positive and negative electrodes, the compaction density of positive and negative electrodes, the surface density of positive and negative electrodes, the rolling process (one-time rolling and double rolling), the rebound time of the electrode plate after rolling and before assembly, and the like. In addition, the requirements for the cycling capability of the cell at different temperatures are also considered. In some embodiments, when the cell is not fully charged in a factory state, JRw is less than or equal to 94%; and when the cell is fully charged in the factory state, JRw is less than or equal to 100%.
The cycle life of the battery core can be increased by controlling JR/SR. The housing 100 is recessed under negative pressure after gas is drawn out, with a recessed depth that ensures that the housing can be attached to the electrode core 201 in different charged states. The recessed housing, especially a recessed aluminum housing, can simplify the cell design. The large surface of the expanded cell can occupy the space of the recess, reducing the design of gap between two cells in the cell array, simplifying the structural design, controlling the expansion ratio on the basis of ensuring the interface of the electrode plate, and increasing the efficiency of assembly and production.
When the electrode core 201 is obtained by winding long electrode plates at intervals, one part of coating layer is in the first direction X, and the other part of coating layer is in a second direction Y. The part of coating layer in the second direction also has an expansion capability. Therefore, in some embodiments, the cell array 20 also satisfies the following formula 2:
88%≤JRL≤92% (formula 2).
JRL is an expansion space for the electrode core 201 inside each of the plurality of cells 10 in the second direction Y, and a width direction of each of the plurality of cells 10 is defined as the second direction Y. Specifically, referring to
It is to be noted that, the arrangement direction of the electrode core 201 in the cell may be different from the foregoing embodiments. For example, when the part of the side of the electrode core 201 with an arc-shaped region faces a short side of the cell, the corresponding size of each of the plurality of cells 10 in the first direction X satisfies the formula 1, and the corresponding size of each of the plurality of cells 10 in the second direction Y satisfies the formula 2; and when the part of the side of the electrode core 201 with the arc-shaped region faces a long side of the cell, the corresponding size of each of the plurality of cells 10 in the first direction X satisfies the formula 2, and the corresponding size of each of the plurality of cells 10 in the second direction Y satisfies the formula 1.
That is, when the part of the side of the electrode core 201 with the arc-shaped region faces the short side of the cell 10, the corresponding size of the cell 10 in the thickness direction satisfies the formula 1, and the corresponding size of the cell 10 in the width direction satisfies the formula 2; and when the part of the side of the electrode core 201 with the arc-shaped region faces the long side of the cell 10, the corresponding size of the cell 10 in the width direction satisfies the formula 1, and the corresponding size of the cell 10 in the thickness direction satisfies the formula 2. JRL=PL/(CellL−KL−CL), where PL is a total width of all of the coating layers in the second direction Y at any moment, and the total width of the coating layers at any moment is a total width of the coating layers in the second direction Y at any moment before expansion, during expansion, or after expansion, CellL is a width of each of the plurality of cells 10 before use, KL is a wall width of the housing 100 in the second direction Y, and CL is an incompressible width in the electrode core in the second direction Y. Similarly, the incompressible width in the electrode core 201 includes widths of a separator and a current collector in the electrode core 201; or the incompressible width in the electrode core 201 includes widths of a separator, a current collector, and an electrical insulation paper. In other embodiments, the incompressible width in the electrode core 201 also includes a width of a space occupied by compressed gas in the electrode core 201 in the second direction, which is the same as above.
The cell array 20 satisfies the formula 1 and formula 2 in the first direction X and the second direction Y respectively, which can better control the expansion gap and improve the electrode plate interface and the electrode core performance.
In some embodiments, PL=JRwidth−CL, where JRwidth is a width of the electrode core 201 inside each of the plurality of cells 10 in the second direction Y at any moment, and the width of the electrode core 201 at any moment is a width of the electrode core 201 in the second direction Y at any moment before expansion, during expansion, or after expansion.
In some embodiments, PL=Xpositive×Ypositive-second×(1+Spositive) Xnegative×Ynegative-second×(1+Snegative), where the electrode plate includes a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate spaced apart from each other, Xpositive is a number of layers of the positive electrode plate, Ypositive-second is a width of the coating layer in a single layer of the positive electrode plate in the second direction, Spositive is an expansion coefficient of the coating layer in the positive electrode plate, Xnegative is a number of layers of the negative electrode plate, Ynegative-second is a width of the coating layer in a single layer of the negative electrode plate in the second direction Y, and Snegative is an expansion coefficient of the coating layer in the negative electrode plate.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
In some embodiments, the two first surfaces are recessed toward the inside of the housing 100 to clamp the electrode core 201.
Referring to
Referring to
There may be one or more cell arrays 20 and there may be one or more cells 10 in each cell array 20. In actual production, the quantity of the cell 10 may be set according to an actual need, and the quantity of the cell array 20 may also be set according to an actual need, which are not specifically limited in the present disclosure.
As shown in
Although certain embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, a person of ordinary skill in the art may understand that various changes, modifications, replacements, and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present disclosure, and the scope of the present disclosure is as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202010108866.X | Feb 2020 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2021/075786 | 2/7/2021 | WO |