阅读说明：本技术 包括超吸水性片材的能量存储系统 (Energy storage system including superabsorbent sheet ) 是由 李珍圭 于 2020-11-05 设计创作，主要内容包括：根据本发明的实施例公开了一种能量存储系统,其包括：子能量存储系统堆,该子能量存储系统堆包括多个子能量存储系统,所述子能量存储系统包括多个电池模块以及用于容纳所述多个电池模块的电池架；能量存储系统外罩,该能量存储系统外罩用于容纳所述多个子能量存储系统；传感器,该传感器被安设在所述能量存储系统外罩中,以感测所述能量存储系统外罩内的温度和烟雾中的至少一项；第一阻挡片材,该第一阻挡片材被置于彼此相邻的子能量存储系统之间；灭火装置,该灭火装置被用于将灭火剂供应到所述能量存储系统外罩中；和冷却装置,该冷却装置用于将冷却水供应到所述第一阻挡片材。(Disclosed according to an embodiment of the present invention is an energy storage system including: a sub energy storage system stack comprising a plurality of sub energy storage systems, the sub energy storage systems comprising a plurality of battery modules and a battery rack for housing the plurality of battery modules; an energy storage system enclosure for housing the plurality of sub-energy storage systems; a sensor disposed in the energy storage system housing to sense at least one of temperature and smoke within the energy storage system housing; a first barrier sheet interposed between the sub energy storage systems adjacent to each other; a fire suppression device for supplying a fire suppressant into the energy storage system enclosure; and a cooling device for supplying cooling water to the first barrier sheet.)

1. An energy storage system comprising:

a sub energy storage system stack comprising a plurality of sub energy storage systems, each sub energy storage system having a plurality of battery modules and a battery rack for housing the plurality of battery modules;

an energy storage system enclosure configured to house the plurality of sub-energy storage systems;

a sensor disposed in the energy storage system housing to sense at least one of temperature and smoke inside the energy storage system housing;

a first barrier sheet interposed between the sub energy storage systems that are adjacent to each other;

a fire suppression device configured to supply a fire suppressant into the energy storage system enclosure; and

a cooling device configured to supply cooling water to the first barrier sheet.

2. The energy storage system of claim 1, wherein the first barrier sheet is a superabsorbent sheet.

3. The energy storage system of claim 2, wherein the first barrier sheet comprises superabsorbent fibers capable of absorbing and containing 20 to 200g of cooling water per 1 g.

4. The energy storage system of claim 3, wherein the superabsorbent fibers comprise a superabsorbent resin comprising at least one of: starch-based materials, cellulosic materials, and synthetic polymer-based materials.

5. The energy storage system of claim 1, wherein the battery module comprises:

a cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells; and

a module housing configured to house the cell stack.

6. The energy storage system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of battery modules are stacked one on top of the other inside the battery rack.

7. The energy storage system of claim 6, further comprising:

at least one second barrier sheet interposed between the battery modules adjacent to each other in an up-down direction inside the battery rack.

8. The energy storage system of claim 7,

wherein the second barrier sheet is disposed to pass through the battery rack and traverse from one side to another side of the sub energy storage system stack in a stacking direction thereof.

9. The energy storage system of claim 8, wherein the first barrier sheet has a first coupling slit, and

the second barrier sheet is inserted into the first coupling slit and coupled to the first barrier sheet.

10. The energy storage system of claim 8, wherein the second barrier sheet has a second coupling slit, and

the first barrier sheet is inserted into the second coupling slit and coupled to the second barrier sheet.

11. The energy storage system of claim 7, wherein the second barrier sheet is a superabsorbent sheet.

12. The energy storage system of claim 7, wherein the second barrier sheet comprises superabsorbent fibers capable of absorbing and containing 20 to 200g of cooling water per 1 g.

13. The energy storage system of claim 12, wherein the superabsorbent fibers comprise a superabsorbent resin comprising at least one of: starch-based materials, cellulosic materials, and synthetic polymer-based materials.

14. The energy storage system of claim 1, further comprising:

a control device configured to control operation of the fire extinguishing device and the cooling device by referring to at least one of information about temperature and information about smoke generation sensed by the sensor.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an ESS (energy storage system) including a super absorbent sheet, and more particularly, to an energy storage system including a super absorbent sheet, which is adapted to be efficiently cooled with only a relatively small amount of cooling water when an abnormal temperature increase occurs due to heating of a battery module.

The present application claims priority from korean patent application No. 10-2020-0024461, filed in korea on 27/2/2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Background

In an energy storage system including a plurality of battery cells, if an abnormal condition such as a short circuit occurs in some of the battery cells, the temperature of the battery cells continuously increases. As a result, if the temperature of the battery cell exceeds the critical temperature, a thermal runaway phenomenon occurs. Safety problems may occur if a thermal runaway phenomenon occurs in some battery cells.

If a flame is generated in a battery module including a battery cell due to a thermal runaway phenomenon occurring in some battery cells, the temperature of the adjacent battery module rapidly increases, which may propagate the thermal runaway phenomenon to the entire energy storage system in a short time.

As a result, if a thermal runaway phenomenon occurring in some battery cells is not quickly coped with, damage caused by the thermal runaway may extend to a battery module, which is a battery cell having a larger capacity than the battery cells, or to a sub energy storage system including a plurality of battery modules. If the spread of damage caused by thermal runaway is not properly addressed, this may lead to disasters, such as fires and explosions of battery modules and sub-energy storage systems, which may cause not only property damage, but also safety issues.

Therefore, when a flame occurs due to thermal runaway in some battery cells inside the battery module, it is important to block the expansion of the flame generation range inside the sub energy storage system. In addition, if the flame has been fully expanded inside one sub energy storage system, it is important to increase the efficiency of fire suppression and cooling so that the flame does not move to the sub energy storage system adjacent to the sub energy storage system that generated the flame.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the related art, and therefore, the present disclosure relates to performing appropriate fire extinguishing and cooling when a flame is fully expanded inside one sub energy storage system so that the flame does not move to the sub energy storage system adjacent to the sub energy storage system generating the flame.

In addition, the present disclosure relates to performing appropriate fire extinguishing and cooling when a flame is generated in some battery modules included in one sub energy storage system so that the flame does not propagate to adjacent battery modules.

However, the technical objects to be solved by the present disclosure are not limited to the above, and other objects not mentioned herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following disclosure.

Technical scheme

In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an ESS (energy storage system) comprising: a sub energy storage system stack comprising a plurality of sub energy storage systems, each sub energy storage system having a plurality of battery modules and a battery rack for housing the plurality of battery modules; an energy storage system enclosure configured to house the plurality of sub-energy storage systems; a sensor disposed in the energy storage system housing to sense at least one of temperature and smoke inside the energy storage system housing; a first barrier sheet interposed between the sub energy storage systems adjacent to each other; a fire suppression device configured to supply a fire suppressant into the energy storage system enclosure; and a cooling device configured to supply cooling water to the first barrier sheet.

The first barrier sheet may be a superabsorbent sheet.

The first barrier sheet may include super absorbent fibers capable of absorbing and containing 20g to 200g of cooling water per 1 g.

The battery module may include: a cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells; and a module housing configured to receive the cell stack.

The plurality of battery modules may be stacked up and down inside the battery rack.

The energy storage system may further include at least one second barrier sheet interposed between the battery modules adjacent to each other in the up-down direction inside the battery rack.

The second barrier sheet may be disposed to pass through the battery stand and traverse from one side to another side of the sub energy storage system stack in the stacking direction thereof.

The first barrier sheet may have a first coupling slit, and the second barrier sheet may be inserted into the first coupling slit and coupled to the first barrier sheet.

The second barrier sheet may have a second coupling slit, and the first barrier sheet may be inserted into the second coupling slit and coupled to the second barrier sheet.

The second barrier sheet may be a superabsorbent sheet.

The second barrier sheet may include super absorbent fibers capable of absorbing and containing 20g to 200g of cooling water per 1 g.

The superabsorbent fibers may include a superabsorbent resin comprising at least one of: starch-based materials, cellulosic materials, and synthetic polymer-based materials.

The energy storage system may further comprise a control device configured to control operation of the fire suppression device and the cooling device by reference to at least one of information about temperature and information about smoke generation sensed by the sensor.

Advantageous effects

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, when a flame is fully expanded inside one sub energy storage system, appropriate fire extinguishing and cooling can be performed so that the flame does not move to the sub energy storage system adjacent to the sub energy storage system generating the flame.

In addition, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, when a flame is generated in some battery modules included in one sub energy storage system, it is possible to perform appropriate fire extinguishing and cooling so that the flame does not propagate to adjacent battery modules.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the foregoing disclosure, serve to provide a further understanding of the technical features of the disclosure, and therefore the disclosure should not be construed as being limited to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a view illustrating an energy storage system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a view illustrating a sub energy storage system and a first barrier sheet employed at an energy storage system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a view illustrating a battery module according to the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram illustrating control logic for automation of fire suppression and cooling of an energy storage system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a view illustrating an energy storage system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 is a view illustrating a sub energy storage system, a first barrier sheet, and a second barrier sheet employed at an energy storage system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 and 8 are views illustrating a coupling configuration of a first barrier sheet and a second barrier sheet employed at an energy storage system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Before the description, it should be understood that the terms used in the specification and the appended claims should not be construed as limited to general and dictionary meanings, but interpreted based on the meanings and concepts corresponding to technical aspects of the present disclosure on the basis of the principle that the inventor is allowed to define terms appropriately for the best explanation. Accordingly, the description proposed herein is just a preferable example for the purpose of illustrations only, not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure, so it should be understood that other equivalents and modifications could be made thereto without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

An ESS (energy storage system) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 4.

Referring first to fig. 1 and 2, an energy storage system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of sub energy storage systems 100, an energy storage system enclosure 200, a first barrier sheet 300, a fire suppression apparatus 400, a cooling apparatus 500, and a sensor 600.

The sub energy storage system 100 includes a battery holder 110 and a plurality of battery modules 120 received in the battery holder 110. The battery holder 110 has open front and rear surfaces. The plurality of sub energy storage systems 100 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction such that side surfaces of the battery racks 110 face each other, thereby forming one sub energy storage system stack.

Referring to fig. 2, a plurality of battery modules 120 are stacked in an up-down direction inside the battery frame 110 to form a module stack.

Referring to fig. 3, the battery module 120 includes a plurality of battery cells 121, a bus bar frame 122, a module cover 123, an air inlet 124, and an air outlet 125.

The battery cell 121 is provided in plurality, and a plurality of battery cells 121 are stacked to form one cell stack. As an example, a pouch type battery cell may be applied as the battery cell 121. The battery cell 121 includes a pair of electrode leads 121a, the electrode leads 121a being drawn to both sides in the longitudinal direction, respectively.

The bus bar frames 122 are provided in pairs, and the pair of bus bar frames 122 respectively cover one side and the other side in the width direction of the cell stack. The electrode leads 121a of the battery cells 121 are drawn out through slits formed at the bus bar frame 122, and may be bent and electrically connected by the bus bar frame 122.

The module housing 123 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and accommodates the cell stack therein. The air inlet 124 and the air outlet 125 are formed at one longitudinal side and the other longitudinal side of the module housing 123.

The air inlet 124 is formed at one side in the stacking direction of the cell stack, i.e., one longitudinal side of the battery module 120, and is formed in the form of a hole passing through the module housing 123. The air outlet 125 is formed at the other side in the stacking direction of the cell stack, i.e., the other longitudinal side of the battery module 120, and is formed in the form of a hole passing through the module housing 123.

The air inlets 124 and the air outlets 125 are diagonally located at opposite sides along the longitudinal direction of the battery module 120.

Meanwhile, a hollow space is formed between the bus bar frame 122 and the module case 123. That is, one hollow space is formed between one of the six outer surfaces of the module cover 123 facing one longitudinal side of the battery cells 121 and the bus bar frame 122, and another hollow space is formed between one of the six outer surfaces of the module cover 123 facing the other longitudinal side of the battery cells 121 and the bus bar frame 122, so that air for cooling the battery cells 121 can flow through the hollow space. The two hollow spaces are formed at both sides in the width direction of the battery module 120.

The air inlet 124 is formed at the following positions: the positions correspond to hollow spaces formed at one side in the width direction of the battery module 120, and the air outlets 125 are formed at the following positions: the position corresponds to a hollow space formed at the other side in the width direction of the battery module 120.

In the battery module 120, the air introduced into the battery module 120 through the air inlet 124 cools the battery cells 121 while moving from the hollow space formed at one side in the width direction of the battery module 120 to the hollow space formed at the other side in the width direction of the battery module 120, and is then discharged through the air outlet 125. That is, the battery module 120 corresponds to an air-cooled battery module.

Since the battery module 120 applied to the present disclosure has the air cooling structure as described above, flames are likely to be ejected from the module case 123. That is, if an abnormality occurs in some of the battery cells 121 included in the battery module 120 such that the temperature inside the battery cells 121 increases and thus gas leaks out through ventilation, flames may be generated. The generated flame may be ejected from the module housing 123 through the air inlet 124 and the air outlet 125 formed for air cooling.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, when an abnormal temperature increase occurs in a certain battery module 120 as described above and thus a flame is generated, the first barrier sheet 300 prevents the flame from moving to the sub energy storage system 100 adjacent to the sub energy storage system 100 including the battery module 120 having the above problem.

To perform the above function, the first barrier sheet 300 is interposed between the sub energy storage systems 100 adjacent to each other. The first barrier sheet 300 is a super absorbent sheet. That is, the first barrier sheet 300 includes super absorbent fibers, and the super absorbent fibers may absorb and contain about 20g to 200g of cooling water per 1 g. The superabsorbent fibers may include, for example, a superabsorbent resin (or superabsorbent polymer) including at least one of: starch-based materials, cellulose-based materials or synthetic polymer-based materials. The super absorbent fiber is obtained by spinning a super absorbent resin in the form of a web.

If the cooling water is supplied from the cooling device 500, the first barrier sheet 300 may rapidly absorb the cooling water, and the first barrier sheet 300 absorbing the cooling water may prevent an abnormal temperature increase and/or flame propagation occurring in a certain sub energy storage system 100 from being propagated to an adjacent sub energy storage system 100.

The first barrier sheet 300 preferably has an area corresponding to a side surface of the sub energy storage system 100, thereby minimizing the use amount of cooling water and maximizing a cooling effect and a flame spread blocking effect. However, the longitudinal end of the first barrier sheet 300 may be exposed to the top of the sub energy storage system stack, thereby rapidly absorbing the cooling water supplied from the cooling device 500.

Referring to fig. 1, when the internal temperature of the energy storage system housing 200 rises above a reference value and/or smoke is sensed, the fire extinguishing apparatus 400 sprays a fire extinguishing agent into the energy storage system housing 200, thereby preventing a fire from occurring in advance or extinguishing an already occurring fire. As fire extinguishing agents, for example, clean extinguishing agents in the form of gases, such as Novec1230, can be applied, and also nitrogen and solid aerosols can be applied.

The fire extinguishing apparatus 400 includes: a fire suppressant tank 410, the fire suppressant tank 410 being installed at an outside of the energy storage system housing 200 to store a fire suppressant; and a fire suppressant spray pipe 420, the fire suppressant spray pipe 420 being connected to the fire suppressant tank 410 on one side and passing through the energy storage system enclosure 200 on the other side.

If the internal temperature of the energy storage system housing 200 rises above a reference value and/or smoke is sensed due to a fire, the cooling device 500 sprays cooling water into the energy storage system housing 200 to prevent the occurrence of a fire or extinguish an already occurring fire in advance.

More specifically, the cooling device 500 sprays cooling water directly onto the first barrier sheet 300. The cooling device 500 includes: a cooling water supply pipe 520, the cooling water supply pipe 520 being connected to a cooling water tank 510 storing cooling water; and a plurality of cooling water spray pipes 530, the plurality of cooling water spray pipes 530 branching off at the end of the cooling water supply pipe 520 and being disposed at a position corresponding to each first barrier sheet 300.

Even though the drawings of the present disclosure show only the case where the cooling water supply pipe 520 is located at the outside of the energy storage system housing 200 and the cooling water spray pipe 530 penetrates the energy storage system housing 200, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, the following is also possible: the cooling water supply pipe 520 passes through the energy storage system housing 200, and the cooling water injection pipe 530 branches off from the cooling water supply pipe 520 inside the energy storage system housing 200.

Referring to fig. 1, a sensor 600 is disposed inside the energy storage system housing 200 to sense at least one of temperature and smoke generation inside the energy storage system housing. That is, the sensor 600 corresponds to a temperature sensor and/or a smoke sensor.

Although not shown in the drawings, information sensed by the sensor 600 and/or an alarm according to the sensed information may be displayed through a user interface disposed outside the module housing 200. If the user determines that there is a risk of fire or a fire has occurred through the sensed information and/or alarm, the user may operate the fire extinguishing apparatus 400 and the cooling apparatus 500 to extinguish or prevent the fire inside the energy storage system.

Meanwhile, referring to fig. 4, the energy storage system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may further include a control device 700 in addition to the above-described components. The control device 700 controls the operation of the fire extinguishing device 400 and the cooling device 500 by referring to the information on the temperature sensed by the sensor 600 and/or the information on the smoke generation.

That is, the control device 700 is an element that: the control device 700 is applied to realize automatic fire extinguishing and/or cooling by allowing the fire extinguishing apparatus 400 and the cooling apparatus 500 to operate without user manipulation when a specific condition is satisfied. The reference temperature for operating the fire extinguishing device 400 and the cooling device 500 may be determined in consideration of the number of the sub energy storage systems 100, the number of the battery modules 120 included in the sub energy storage systems 100, the number of the battery cells 121 included in the battery modules 120, the capacity of the battery cells 121, and the like.

Next, an energy storage system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 5 to 8.

An energy storage system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure differs from that of the previous embodiment only in that a second barrier sheet 310 is additionally applied, with the other components being substantially the same. Accordingly, in describing an energy storage system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the second barrier sheet 310 will be described in detail, and other components that have been described in the previous embodiment will not be described in detail.

Referring to fig. 5 and 6, the second barrier sheet 310 is interposed between the battery modules 120 adjacent to each other in the up-down direction inside the battery frame 110. The second barrier sheet 310 is disposed to pass through the side surface of the battery holder 110 and traverse from one side to the other side in the stacking direction of the sub energy storage system 100.

One second barrier sheet 310 or a plurality of second barrier sheets 310 may be provided. If only one second barrier sheet 310 is provided, it is efficient to place the second barrier sheet 310 at the center of the battery holder 110 in the stacking direction of the battery modules 120. The material of the second barrier sheet 310 is the same as the first barrier sheet 300 described above.

Referring to fig. 7, the first barrier sheet 300 and the second barrier sheet 310 may be coupled to each other by forming a first coupling slit 300a at each first barrier sheet 300 and inserting the second barrier sheet 310 into the first coupling slit 300 a. In this case, the position and shape of the first coupling slit 300a formed at the first barrier sheet 300 correspond to a slit (not shown) formed at a side surface of the battery holder 110 for the passage of the second barrier sheet 310.

Referring to fig. 8, unlike the illustration of fig. 7, the first barrier sheet 300 and the second barrier sheet 310 may be coupled to each other by forming second coupling slits 310a at the second barrier sheet 310 in a number corresponding to the first barrier sheet 300 and inserting the first barrier sheet 300 into the second coupling slits 310 a.

Since the first barrier sheet 300 and the second barrier sheet 310 are connected to each other in this way, the first barrier sheet 300 may absorb the cooling water supplied from the top of the first barrier sheet 300, and the second barrier sheet 310 may again absorb a portion of the absorbed cooling water, thereby preventing the thermal runaway phenomenon from spreading in the stacking direction of the sub energy storage system stack and the stacking direction of the battery modules 120.

The present disclosure has been described in detail. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the scope of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.