Cell to heat sink thermal adhesive
View Patent ↗A battery module includes a housing having an opening and an electrochemical cell disposed in the housing. The electrochemical cell includes a first cell surface having electrode terminals and an second cell surface substantially opposite the first cell surface. The battery module also includes a heat sink integral with the housing and disposed substantially opposite the opening of the housing and a thermally conductive adhesive bonded to the second cell surface and a heat sink surface that is facing the second cell surface. The thermally conductive adhesive includes a bonding shear strength and bonding tensile strength between the electrochemical cell and the heat sink of between approximately 5 megaPascals (MPa) and 50 MPa.
1. A method of manufacturing a battery module, comprising:
applying an adhesive to a housing of the battery module at an interface between an electrochemical cell and a heat sink of the battery module, wherein the adhesive comprises a viscosity of between approximately 40,000 centipoise (cP) and approximately 50,000 cP and a working life of between approximately 1 hour and approximately 3 hours;
inserting the electrochemical cell into the housing toward the heat sink after applying the adhesive; and
curing the adhesive to secure the electrochemical cells to the heat sink at the interface.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adhesive has a thermal conductivity of approximately 0.5 Watt/meter Kelvin (W/mK) and approximately 2.0 W/mK.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adhesive comprises a hardness equal to approximately 80 Shore D after curing.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is a two-component system comprising an epoxy resin and a hardener.
5. The method of claim 4 , comprising mixing the epoxy resin and the hardener at a ratio of between 1:1 and 2:1 epoxy resin to hardener before applying the adhesive to the housing.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adhesive comprises an ultraviolet light curable epoxy resin.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the viscosity is such that the adhesive is self-leveling.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adhesive has an aluminum-to-aluminum bonding shear strength and bonding tensile strength between approximately 5 megapascals (MPa) and approximately 50 MPa.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electrochemical cell and the heat sink each comprise a metallic surface at the interface, and wherein the metallic surface comprises aluminum, copper, or steel.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein curing the thermally conductive adhesive to secure the plurality of electrochemical cells to the heat sink interface comprises applying heat to an exterior of the housing.